WINTER PARK, Fla. - A resilient Florida Southern College volleyball team opened the 2021 season with a pair of tough wins, as the Moccasins beat Newberry College in five sets and the University of West Georgia in four at the Rollins Invitational on Friday night.
The Mocs, who are now 2-0 on the young season, dropped the first set of each match on Friday. But on both occasions, the team bounced back in a big way, including a hard-fought fifth set against Newberry that needed extra points to decide a winner.
Florida Southern 3, Newberry 2
How It Happened
- Down 1-0, the Mocs roared ahead in the second set to even the score at one set apiece. Tied 5-5, FSC won 12 of the next 15 points, including a trio of kills from Jana Gilic.
- Ahead 19-13, Southern closed the second set with six unanswered points, highlighted by back-to-back Cassidy Markel aces.
- Newberry put up an intense fight late in the third set, which the Mocs ultimately won, 25-23.
- The Wolves earned four straight points to jump ahead, 22-21, but kills from Emma Shaddix and Gilic helped put Florida Southern up two-sets-to-one.
- Both teams had chances to pull away in the fifth, but each time one side pieced together a small run, the other rebounded.
- The Mocs were down 6-3, but rallied to take an 8-7 lead. Then the Wolves capped off a four-point run with a big combo block to even the fifth at 13-13.
- Ronda floored her team-leading 14th kill, followed by an attack error from Newberry's Liz Ober to seal the fifth, 17-15.
Florida Southern 3, West Georgia 1
How It Happened
- Despite dropping the first set, FSC quickly rebounded and closed the four-set win over West Georgia, 18-25, 25-21, 25-18, 25-20.
- The Wolves hit a match-best .258 in the opening set, but the Moccasin defense limited them to attacking percentages of just .026 and .048 in the final two sets.
- With the second set tied 21-21, the Mocs ended with four points in a row, including a Gilic kill and an ace from Megan Carron for the set point.
- Trailing 15-14, Southern cruised to a two-sets-to-one lead by finishing the third on an 11-3 run.
- Gilic and Markel produced a pair of combo blocks, and Ronda tossed a pair of aces to spur FSC to a 25-18 win.
- The fourth set was also even in the first half, but FSC found its groove to conclude the set.
- Errors proved to be lethal for the Wolves, as they committed five total errors after the fourth was tied 14-14.
In Their Own Words
Head coach
Chris Keen when asked about Florida Southern's ability to overcome first-set losses in both matches on Friday...
"The team showed a lot of resilience today. A total team effort created the energy we needed to bounce back when it was needed. Proud of this team and a great start to the season."
Inside the Numbers
- Florida Southern had 13 services aces in the opening match, the most since logging 13 in a four-set win Embry-Riddle in October of 2017.
- Ronda and Gilic had double-digit kills in both matches and paced FSC with 27 and 21, respectively.
- Ronda had a double-double in both matches, with 19 digs against Newberry and 13 against West Georgia.
- Tierra Porter had 20 total kills and hit a team-high .286 in both matches combined.
- Markel was utilized as the team's primary setter and posted 90 assists.
- Beatrice Formilan had 53 total digs, including 30 against Newberry, tied for ninth-most all-time in program history.
Up Next
The Rollins Invitational continues on Saturday, September 11, when the Moccasins take on Georgia College at 10:00 a.m. and Anderson University (S.C.) at 3:00 p.m.
