Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. - Florida Southern College volleyball fell in its conference home opener on Friday night, dropping a 3-0 contest to Embry-Riddle at Streamline Sale Arena at Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins (2-8, 0-3 SSC) were unable to contain a potent Eagles (7-0, 3-0 SSC) offense that hit .494 for the evening to help the Eagles remain unbeaten in 2019. The Mocs will conclude their opening weekend of home conference action on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Florida Tech.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a 2-2 start to the first set, the Eagles powered ahead with a 9-0 run on five kills from Melanie Canfield to lead, 11-2. The Moccasins battled back to pull closer but could not overcome the early Embry-Riddle run as the Eagles held on to win the first set, 25-11.
- The second set saw the Moccasins earn their first lead of the match as they went toe-to-toe with the Eagles early in the set. Embry-Riddle, however, again mounted significant runs and used a .607 hitting percentage to propel them to a 25-17 second-set win.
- The Moccasins turned the tide to start the third set, pulling ahead 5-1. The two squads then traded runs, first for the Eagles with a 7-3 run and then the Moccasins with a 6-4 run to tie the set at 12 a-piece. Embry-Riddle closed out the set and the match with strong hitting, mounting a 13-4 run to win the set, 25-16 and the match, 3-0.
- Lena Bondar led the Mocs with nine kills, followed by Raeley Matthews with seven kills and Rachael Martin with six. Mika Garza tallied 29 assists and Hailey Williams led the team with eight digs. The Moccasins were outhit by the Eagles 0.494 to 0.235, and outblocked five to zero.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Despite the loss, Florida Southern still leads the all-time series against Embry-Riddle, 9-2. The loss is the first at home against the Eagles for the Mocs and is the first loss against ERAU since November 16, 2015, when the Mocs dropped a 3-2 thriller at Daytona Beach.
- Setter Garza set the new season-high for assists in a three-set match with 29. The freshman leads the team with 200 so far in 2019.
UP NEXT.
- The Moccasins will conclude this weekend's action on Saturday with a conference matchup against Florida Tech at 4 p.m.
