Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 AIKEN, S.C. - Florida Southern College volleyball split a pair of matches on Saturday at the USC Aiken Convocation Center, defeating Lee, 3-1, and falling to Lander, 3-0. The Moccasins (2-5) had a strong defensive outing against the Flames (4-2) but struggled to find their footing offensively against Lander (5-1). The Moccasins will now turn their attention to the opening weekend of conference action against Saint Leo on Sept. 20 and Eckerd on Sept. 21.
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LEE
- The Mocs cruised early with a 10-6 lead, capitalizing on six errors from the Flames and two early aces from Erica Ronda. Lee regrouped and battled back with multiple kills from Abby Stroh to draw even at 14. The Flames would temporarily grab a 16-15 lead, but from there would not lead for the remainder of the set as the Moccasins pulled ahead with kills from Rachael Martin to win the first set, 25-22.
- An early 6-3 start to the second set for the Mocs was erased by the Flames on a 9-3 run of their own (12-9). Lee slowly increased the buffer between themselves and Southern, benefitting from three service aces and multiple attacking errors from the Mocs to win the second set, 25-19.
- FSC continued its domination at the start of sets with a 7-3 run to start the third set. Aside from one tie score (14-14), the Mocs led for the entire set, pulling away from the Flames in the latter portion of the set on aces from Ali Travis and Beatrice Formilan and benefitting from six Lee errors, earning the third set 25-18 after a Mackenzie Pearson service error.
- The fourth set saw continued command from the Moccasins as they never trailed in the last set of action. The Mocs totaled six blocks in the fourth set from Tierra Porter (3), Martin (2) and Lena Bondar (1). The Moccasins won their last two points on two Ronda kills to take the fourth set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
- Formilan tied the season-high of aces in a match (4) and recorded 16 digs, while Ronda led the team with 12 kills and 18 digs in addition to three aces of her own. The Moccasins tallied 13 total blocks, led by Porter (6), Martin (4) and Bondar (2).
HOW IT HAPPENED AGAINST LANDER
- The Moccasins struggled to find their footing offensively in the first set with seven kills and errors on 32 attempts. The Bearcats kept the Mocs just out of reach to take the 25-20 first-set victory.
- Southern improved on their offensive production in the second set, tallying 14 kills to Lander's 10 kills. However, the Bearcats took advantage of attacking errors from the Moccasins to again gain a slight edge, winning the second set by a closer, 25-21 scoreline.
- Lander closed out the match with a strong performance in the third set, recording 14 kills and just two attacking errors. Outhitting the Moccasins .444 to .037, the Bearcats cruised to a 25-14 third-set win to seal the match in three sets.
- Ronda led the Moccasins with nine kills and tied Formilan for the team-high in digs (8). Porter put up a five-kill, .333 hitting percentage performance, with an additional three blocks. Freshman Raeley Matthews tallied up a team-high three aces.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The Moccasins move to 2-1 all-time against Lee and 1-1 all-time against Lander, with a 1-1 record in neutral site matches against both squads.
- Both Formilan and Ronda recorded five aces on the day. The latter in now in a tie for first in the conference for service aces (15) and second in the conference in aces per set (0.58), while the former is approaching the top ten in the conference for service aces (10).
- Porter is now fifth in the conference in total blocks (26) and blocks per set (1.00).
- Formilan's 24 digs on the day makes her the team-leader and third in the conference in total digs on the season (121).
- Lee was held to a .077 hitting percentage, the lowest an opponent has hit against Southern this season and the lowest since Rollins was held to a .027 hitting percentage last season (Nov. 9, 2018).
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins will return home and prepare for its opening weekend of conference action against Saint Leo on Sept. 20 and Eckerd on Sept. 21.
