Mocs Take On Lynn to Open Up NCAA South Region Championship

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern volleyball team will head to Tampa, Fla. this Friday, Nov. 18 to begin play at the 2022 NCAA South Region Championship. The Mocs enter as the No. 7 seed and will face the No. 2 seed Lynn on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The match will mark the 33^rd appearance by the Moccasins in NCAA postseason play.
 
FSC holds a 22-10 record in opening round matches at the NCAA Tournament and have won eight-straight dating back to 2011. The Mocs and Fighting Knights have never faced each other in NCAA postseason play but the Mocs have an overall 33-17 mark versus the Fighting Knights dating back to 1997. The Fighting Knights have won seven of the last eight meetings between the two programs including wining the last six-straight.
 
None of the current Moccasins have competed at an NCAA Region Championship with graduate student Emma Shaddix the lone returner from the 2018 squad but the Jupiter, Fla. native used the 2018 season as a redshirt so she did not see any action on the court. The Mocs will look offensively to junior Mackenzie Petermann (3.39 kps) and senior Ali Travis (2.45 kps) to lead the way while Shaddix (1.95 kps), senior Jana Gilic (1.55 kps) and senior Madison Barton (1.55 kps) all could be called on for key kills throughout the match. Senior setter Mika Garza will run the offense as she has been averaging 9.94 assists per set over the last five matches and enters postseason with a 9.07 per set seasonal average.
 
One area that has been a strong point for the Mocs this season is their serving attack. FSC ranks third in the Sunshine State Conference in service aces per set at 1.70. The only team to finish ahead of the Mocs are Eckerd (1.89) and Nova Southeastern (1.75). Both Travis (38) and Garza (34) have 30-plus aces this season while seven total Mocs have double-digit aces in 2022.
 
On the backline, graduate student libero Beatrice Formilan leads the way with 5.07 digs per set which ranks second in the SSC and 35^th nationally. Travis is the top non-libero on the team with 2.65 digs per set followed by Petermann at 2.61. Garza is the final Moc over 2.00 digs per set with 2.34 on the season. At the net it has been the dynamic duo of Gilic and sophomore Madison Fowler. Fowler leads the team with 77 total blocks while Gilic has 71 but has a team-best 0.99 blocks per set average. Shaddix is the best non-middle on the team in blocks with 64 total.
 
The Fighting Knights have won seven-straight heading into the postseason and 17 of their last 19 matches. Lynn is also an impressive 8-1 in neutral site matches in 2022 including going 3-0 at the FSC Volleyball Classic to open the year. The Fighting Knights boast the sixth-ranked attack in terms of kills (14.37) and assists per set (13.21). Lynn is also 23^rd nationally in hitting percentage (.252) and has amassed 1,394 kills.
 
Paige Barash leads the Fighting Knights with 345 kills, while Nadia Lindner, a 2021 AVCA All-American, is second on the roster in both kills (332) and digs (246). Graduate transfer Monica Mazzonleni is in her first year with the Fighting Knights and is hitting a team-best .352 with 257 kills and is sixth in the Sunshine State Conference with 91 blocks. Graduate student Nikolija Katanic is fourth on the team in kills (184), while hitting .254 with 34 blocks. Senior Emily Edwards enters the tournament ranked 11th nationally in assists per set (11.05) and has been named the SSC Setter of the Week four times.
 
The winner of the Florida Southern versus Lynn match will face the winner of No. 3 seed Barry versus No. 6 seed Nova Southeastern. The other half of the bracket is made up of No. 1 seed Tampa versus No. 8 seed Spring Hill and No. 4 seed Eckerd and No. 5 seed West Florida.
 
The Mocs advanced the NCAA South Region Semifinals in 2018 in head coach Chris Keen's first year at the helm of the program. Florida Southern defeated West Florida 3-1 in the opening round before falling to Palm Beach Atlantic 3-0 in the semifinals. Florida Southern is 31-35 all-time in NCAA postseason play and has the fourth most postseason appearances of any NCAA Division II program.
 
Florida Southern will take to the court Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. inside the Bob Martinez Athletics Center on the campus of the University of Tampa. Tickets may be purchased at the gate. The ticket gate will open 60 minutes before the first match of each day. Admission for each day of the tournament is: Adults ($10), Senior Citizens/Children under 12 ($5) and children under 2 (Free). Tickets are CASH ONLY.
 
Parking is available for free at the Delaware Parking Garage and the West Parking Garage. The Delaware garage is located southwest of the Martinez Center, while the West garage is located north of the Martinez Center.