Crowder Era Begins with Sweep of #17 Washburn

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Ashlee Crowder era of Florida Southern College volleyball began Friday night as the Moccasins swept the visiting 17^th-ranked Ichabods from Washburn University, 3-0. The 3-0 victory marked the first sweep by the Mocs over a top-25 ranked team since Oct. 19, 2018 when FSC defeated then-12^th-ranked West Florida 3-0 at the South Region Crossover in Orlando.
 
The Moccasins used a balanced offensive attack and a commanding presence at the net to disrupt the Ichabods throughout the match. FSC saw six attackers finish with three or more kills in the match while a total of six student-athletes combined for 15 blocks to hold Washburn to just a .063 hitting percentage for the match.
 
Senior Mackenzie Petermann led the way offensively with nine kills to go along with nine digs and four block assists. Juniors Zoe Lowe and Kiersten Kraus each finished with seven kills. Lowe had just one hitting error and finished with a .375 hitting percentage while also posting three blocks including a pair of solo stops. Kraus, who plays setter for half the rotation, finished with a team-best 16 assists as well as 11 digs for her first career double-double in an FSC uniform. Junior Madison Fowler and graduate transfer Elena Djokovic each chipped in five kills to the offensive effort. Fowler added five blocks including two solo while Djokovic chipped in three blocks including one solo and seven digs. Senior Jana Gilic led the way at the net with seven total blocks including two solo while chipping in three kills on eight swings.
 
Junior Megan Carron, the reigning Female Iron Moc for the Florida Southern College Department of Athletics, made her debut at libero for FSC and finished with a team-high 22 digs. The Mocs used a total of three setters throughout the match with Kraus finishing with the team-high 16 assists. Freshman Mary Kate Mulvaney started in her first career collegiate match and dished out seven assists with two digs. The third setter to see action was senior Cassidy Markel who handed out six assists while picking up two digs.
 
FSC hit .211 as a team including a match-high of .412 in the second set. The Ichabods were held to .063 and had a best of .146 in the opening set. The Mocs won in straight sets 25-18, 25-23 and 25-23.
 
Florida Southern will be back in action tomorrow afternoon, Sep. 2, at 3 p.m. as the Mocs close out the FSC Volleyball Classic with a match against in-state foe Flagler.
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