Florida Southern College

TAMPA, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team saw its four-match win streak come to an end Tuesday night as the No. 3 Spartans of the University of Tampa secured a 3-1 victory. Junior Kiersten Kraus secured her third triple-double of the season in the loss as she climbs into third in the national rankings for triple-doubles in NCAA Division II.
 
The loss drops Florida Southern's record to 10-6 on the season including 5-5 in Sunshine State Conference play while No. 3 Tampa improves to a perfect 16-0 and 10-0 in league action.
 
Kraus led or shared the team lead in kills, assists and digs versus the Spartans. She posted a team-best 15 kills while sharing the team lead in assists (13) and digs (19). Senior Mackenzie Petermann was the only other Moc in double-figures as she posted 10 kills and 11 digs for her 24^th career double-double.
 
Graduate student Elena Djokovic chipped in seven kills while also digging up 15 balls defensively. Senior libero Caroline Chambers shared the team-lead with 19 digs while dishing out six assists. Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney tied for the team-lead in assists with 13 while also posting 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season.   
 
The first set was a close battle early before both teams traded small runs. With the Mocs leading 10-9 after making a 5-0 run, the Spartans began a 13-2 surge to retake the lead at 22-12. The two teams traded the final six points of the set with Tampa taking a 25-15 victory.
 
The Moccasins jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second set and never allowed the Spartans to get back into the set. The Spartans were able to get to within one point four separate times but the Mocs continued to fight them off. A 6-2 run late in the period gave the Mocs a 23-17 lead but the Spartans were not done. The hosts went on a 4-0 run to cut the deficit to just two but kills by Kraus and a back row kill from Chambers ended the set, 25-21.
 
A pair of 6-0 runs by the Spartans in the third put FSC's chances out of reach in the set. Tampa's first 6-0 run gave the Spartans a 9-3 lead and the final 6-0 run came on the final six points of the set after the Mocs cut the deficit to just two at 19-17. Tampa took the set 25-17.
 
An 8-0 run by the Spartans doomed the Mocs in the fourth, FSC was leading 10-7 when the Spartans exploded for eight-straight to take a 15-10 advantage. The two teams battled for the next several points before the Spartans closed out the match out-scoring the Mocs 7-2 down the stretch.
 
The Mocs will return home for their final match before the South Region Crossover. FSC will host Embry-Riddle Friday night, Oct. 13 in the annual Dig Pink match to benefit Breast Cancer research and awareness. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the match Friday night inside the George W. Jenkins Field House.
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