Box Score SAINT LEO, Fla. - Florida Southern College volleyball fell in its conference opener on Friday night, dropping a 3-0 contest to Saint Leo at the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Moccasins (2-6, 0-1) could not overcome strong hitting from the Lions (6-2, 1-0), with the latter finishing the night with a .418 hitting percentage. The Mocs will look to rebound on Saturday afternoon when they travel to St. Petersburg to take on Eckerd.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Lions came out strong in the first set, tearing out to a 6-2 lead on four errors from the away side. From there the Lion lead held at four as each side swapped points until the 11-7 mark, where Saint Leo began pulling away. Saint Leo took the first set, 25-18, on a Moccasins attacking error.
- The second set followed the same narrative as the previous set, with the Lions earning a 6-2 lead early. The Moccasins cleaned up their attacking errors and hit .400 for the set, but a .500 hitting percentage for the home side propelled them ahead and just out of reach. The Lions took set two, 25-17, on three-straight points capped off by an Ashley Quero service ace.
- Set three saw the Mocs come alive in the beginning action of the set by battling back-and-forth with the Lions, keeping the score tied at eight. Saint Leo mounted a 6-1 run on four kills for a 14-9 lead, and then earned the set, 25-14, and the match, 3-0, with an 8-1 run capped off by a Quero kill.
- Erica Ronda led Southern with eight kills, followed closely by Rachael Martin and Anica Popadic with seven apiece. Beatrice's 11 digs led the team, with Ronda (7) and Hailey Williams (5) behind her. The Lions outhit the Moccasins, .418 to .182, and out-blocked them 4.0 to 1.0.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- The series record for the Moccasins now falls to 75-11 all-time against the Lions. Florida Southern has now lost two-straight away matches at Saint Leo, but is still 9-4 against them since 2014.
- Popadic led the Mocs with a .636 hitting percentage, the highest she's ever hit for Southern since joining in 2018. Her seven kills are the most for her since Sept. 28, 2018, when she recorded eight against No. 9 Palm Beach Atlantic in a 3-1 upset victory.
- Ronda continues to lead the Moccasins this season in kills (82), kills per set (2.83), total attacks (248) and service aces (15), while being second on the team in digs (94) and digs per set (3.24).
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins return to action on Saturday with a road match at Eckerd at 4 p.m. Southern will then open the home conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 27 against Embry Riddle at 7 p.m. and on Saturday, Sept. 28 against Florida Tech at 4 p.m
