Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Florida Southern College volleyball dropped its second conference match of the season on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 3-1 contest to Eckerd at the McArthur Center. The Moccasins (2-7, 0-2 SSC) won the first set but were unable to stop a surge from the Tritons (8-2, 1-1 SSC) as they won three-straight sets and the match. The Mocs will have their home conference opener on Friday, Sept. 27 when they host Embry-Riddle.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set saw a frenzied back-and-forth affair, with a total of seven lead changes and seven tie scores. The set momentum changed in favor of the Mocs at the 11-11 mark as the away side rattled off five-straight points. The Tritons pulled within two (21-19) but were overpowered by the Moccasins, who locked up the set at 25-22.
- The two squads again engaged in a tight contest to begin the second set, with each team alternating three-point runs. The Tritons broke the gridlock at the 19-19 mark, capitalizing off of two Moccasin attacking errors and three kills to flip the script on the Mocs and win the set, 25-22.
- The third set marked a sharp change in the tide of the match as after going down 5-4, the Tritons pulled away and did not trail for the rest of the set. Leading 15-9, Eckerd mounted a 10-6 run to clinch the set, 25-15, earning the final point on a kill from Anna Jungjohann.
- The fourth set saw a 3-3 tie before the Tritons launched a 13-6 run, benefitting from multiple Moc errors. Eckerd then sealed the set and the match with another run, this time a 9-1 span with two kills from Asya Harris to win the set, 25-10, and the match, 3-1.
- Raeley Matthews led the Moccasins with 12 kills, followed by Lena Bondar (eight) and Anica Popadic (seven). Annie Collins led the team with 18 assists while Mika Garza recorded 12 of her own. Beatrice Formilan tallied double-digit digs (11) while Hailey Williams and Matthews each recorded nine. Eckerd outhit the Moccasins .252 to .126, and out-blocked them eight to four.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Despite the loss, FSC still leads the all-time series, 75-11. The loss is the first for the Mocs against the Tritons since Sept. 17, 2016 when Eckerd won a 3-2 thriller at St. Petersburg. The Moccasins are 5-2 against the Tritons since 2016.
- Matthews record the first double-digit kill match of her career as she tallied 12 on an also career-high 37 attempts. Her nine digs are also the most for her this season. She additionally recorded her first assist, service ace (two) and block as a Moccasin
- Popadic has started to find her rhythm this season, as this weekend she recorded 14 kills and hit .423 in the two matches combined.
UP NEXT
- The Moccasins will open the home conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 27 against Embry Riddle at 7 p.m. followed by another match on Saturday, Sept. 28 against Florida Tech at 4 p.m
