Kraus Triple-Double Leads Mocs Over Tars, 3-2

WINTER PARK, Fla. – Behind junior Kiersten Kraus' second triple-double of the season, the Florida Southern College volleyball team earned a tough 3-2 Sunshine State Conference victory on the road Friday night in Winter Park. The Moccasins outlasted the host Rollins College over five sets after taking the opening two periods and pulling away in the fifth for their fourth SSC victory of the season.
 
The win moves FSC's overall record to 9-5 while the Mocs improve to 4-4 in SSC play. The Tars fall to 8-7 on the year and 3-4 in league action.
 
Kraus became just the sixth NCAA Division II volleyball student-athlete to achieve two-or-more triple-doubles this season as she secured her second on the year Friday night. The junior dished out 21 assists, secured 12 kills and dug up a team-high tying 15 balls to complete her second triple-double. She also chipped in three blocks as well. Senior Mackenzie Petermann kept up her strong play of late and finished with a team-best 20 kills and 11 digs for her 22^nd career double-double. She also took care of business at the service line as she posted a career-best four aces in the match.
 
Graduate student Elena Djokovic was the only other Moc in double-figures offensively as she tallied 10 kills while coming just one dig short of a double-double with nine. Juniors Zoe Lowe and Madison Fowler each finished with eight kills in the victory. Fowler added three blocks while Lowe chipped in five. Senior Emily Crescenzi led the defensive effort at the net with a team-best eight blocks including three solo. She also chipped in six kills while only committing one attack error.
 
Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney led the team with 31 assists while also picking up six digs while senior libero Caroline Chambers tied for the team-lead in digs with 15.
 
The Tars placed four hitters in double-figures led by Lana Gerard who had a match-high 22 kills in the loss.
 
Two of the five sets went to extra points in a highly-competitive match. The Mocs outlasted the Tars in the opening set as FSC took the opening period 29-27. Neither team led by more than three points the entire set with FSC holding the advantage most of the way. Down 21-19, the Mocs used a 5-1 run to force the first set point of the night at 24-22. The Tars quickly responded and tied the set at 24-24 before an attack error by Rollins gave FSC its third set point of the match at 25-24. An FSC attack error tied the set at 25-25 before Lowe was able to sneak one past the defense for the Mocs' fourth set point at 26-25. Back-to-back Rollins' kills swung the advantage back to the Tars at 27-26 but that would be all the spark the Mocs would need. A kill by Fowler, followed by a kill from Kraus was eventually punctuated by a block from Fowler and Kraus to end the set at 29-27.
 
The second set saw the Mocs jump ahead early including taking a 17-9 lead midway through the period. The Mocs cruised the rest of the set eventually claiming a 25-16 victory.
 
The third set saw the Tars take the early advantage and they held that slim margin most of the way. Down 23-19 late, the Mocs used a 5-1 run to tie the set at 24-24. Two of the points came from blocks, two came from Petermann kills and one came from a Kraus kill. Despite the late rally, the Tars used a block and a kill to close out the set at 26-24.
 
The Tars carried the momentum of the third set into the fourth and took an early lead. The Mocs battled back but a 10-3 run by the Tars midway through the set gave the hosts a 22-16 lead. A quick 3-0 spurt by the Mocs cut the lead to three but the Tars responded with three-straight points of their own to take the set 25-19.
 
The Mocs and Tars traded the opening five points of the fifth set to give Rollins a 3-2 advantage early on. A kill by Lowe then sparked a 6-1 spurt by the Mocs to give FSC an 8-4 lead at the changeover. The Tars came out of the changeover and scored four of the next five points to cut the lead to 9-8. In a set of runs the drama continued, as FSC went on a 5-1 run of its own to force the first match point of the night at 14-9. Petermann tallied two of the Mocs' four kills in the run while the other two came from Fowler and Kraus. A Rollins kills extended the match one more point before Petermann closed out the match with her 20^th kill of the night, 15-10.
 
The Mocs will return to action tomorrow afternoon as FSC travels to Florida Tech for a 4 p.m. match. Read Full Article