Mocs Take Down Lions on Throwback Night

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern volleyball team celebrated Throwback Night inside George W. Jenkins Field House Thursday night as the Mocs defeated the visiting Lions of Saint Leo, 3-1. FSC wore throwback uniforms during warmups and music from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s was played throughout the night. A trio of Moccasins led the offensive effort in the match including junior Mackenzie Petermann, graduate student Emma Shaddix and senior Ali Travis who all finished with double-digit kills.
 
The victory moved FSC's record to 12-8 on the season and 5-5 in Sunshine State Conference action. The Lions fell to 9-13 overall and 2-9 in league action.
 
Petermann led the way Thursday night with 12 kills, nine digs and a solo block. Shaddix added 11 kills, four digs and a season-high tying four blocks. Travis had 10 kills, 14 digs and a pair of blocks. The double-double was her third-in-a-row and sixth of the season.
 
Senior Mika Garza and junior Cassidy Markel split time at the setter position throughout the match with Garza finishing with a team-high 25 assists and a career-high six service aces. Garza was just one service ace away from cracking the top-10 all-time at Florida Southern for service aces in a single match. Markel added 15 assists, 11 digs and a pair of kills. The double-double was her third-in-a-row and also third of the season.
 
Graduate student libero Beatrice Formilan held down the backline with a team-best 26 digs and one service ace. The Mocs front line produced 12 blocks on the night with senior Jana Gilic leading the way with six blocks including two solo stops. Sophomore Madison Fowler added four blocks including two solo blocks as well.
 
Every set was tightly contested with the Mocs earning the edge in the first, second and fourth sets while the Lions used a valiant come-from-behind effort to take set three. FSC won the match 25-23, 25-22, 24-26 and 25-21.
 
Both teams struggled offensively on the night with the Mocs hitting .137 as a team compared to SLU's .096. The two teams also combined for 17 service errors including 10 from the Mocs and seven from the Lions. FSC posted nine service aces to counter their 10 errors while the Lions were only able to grab four aces on the night.
 
The Mocs will now turn their attention to Florida Tech who will visit Jenkins Field House this Saturday at 4 p.m. The match will serve as Family Day for Florida Southern volleyball.  
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