Moccasins Sweep the Eagles on Dig Pink Night

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team returned to its winning ways Friday night as the Moccasins swept the visiting Eagles of Embry-Riddle, 3-0. The loss was just the third Sunshine State Conference defeat of the season for the Eagles.
 
The Mocs improved to 11-6 overall while their SSC record moved to 6-5 on the year. The Eagles fell to 12-5 overall and 6-3 in league action.
 
FSC used a dominating block and a balanced offensive attack to down the visitors. The Mocs combined for 15 total blocks in the match, their ninth double-digit block performance of the season. Six different attackers finished with kills in the match for the Mocs ranging from a high of nine kills to a low of four.
 
Senior Mackenzie Petermann kept up her strong senior campaign as she tallied a team-best nine kills to go along with a team-high tying two service aces, six digs and a block. Junior Kiersten Kraus nearly pulled off her fourth triple-double of the season despite the match only going three sets. The Neenah, Wis. Native tallied eight kills, 10 assists and 10 digs in the victory. The setter also chipped in five blocks including a team-high tying two solo stops.
 
Junior Madison Fowler had a outstanding performance at the net for the Mocs. The Detroit, Mich., native tallied a team-high tying six blocks including a two solo while posting eight kills on just 11 swings with zero attack errors. The middle finished with an impressive .727 hitting percentage in the match.
 
Graduate student Elena Djokovic earned six kills, 10 digs and a pair of blocks while senior Emily Crescenzi tied Fowler for the team-lead in blocks with six while also securing four kills.  Junior Zoe Lowe rounded out the attackers for the Mocs as she finished with four kills and four blocks in the victory.
 
Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney dished out a team-best 23 assists while securing two digs. Senior libero Caroline Chambers tied for the team-lead in digs with 10 while also sharing the team-lead in service aces with two.
 
The Mocs hit .316 as a team, fourth best percentage this season for FSC, while holding the Eagles at .147. FSC won the blocking battle 15-3 while the Mocs also out-served the visitors with six aces compared to just one by the Eagles.
 
FSC came out firing in the opening set and cruised to a dominating 25-13 victory. The second set was a little closer early but the Mocs pulled away midway through and took a 25-18 win. The final set was the closest of all three with both teams battling to the very end. A small 3-1 run ended the match for the Mocs as two attack errors and a ball handling error ended the Eagles night, 25-23.   
 
The Mocs will now await the release of the 2023 South Region Crossover schedule which will pit the SSC versus the Gulf South Conference next weekend, Oct. 20-21 in Orlando. FSC will take on three GSC opponents over the two-day event. The pairings are set to be released Sunday.
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