Mocs Open SSC Play with Sweep of Saint Leo

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team opened Sunshine State Conference play Friday night in front of a boisterous crowd inside George W. Jenkins Field House as the Moccasins swept the visiting Lions of Saint Leo, 3-0. FSC dominated the match from start to finish only trailing for seven points the entire match.
 
The victory improved FSC's record to 6-1 on the season including 1-0 in conference play while the Lions suffered just their second loss of the season falling to 5-2, 0-1 in league action.
 
Senior Mackenzie Petermann was once again the offensive spark for the Mocs as she tallied a match-high 13 kills on 28 swings with just one error for an outstanding .429 hitting percentage. Petermann added nine digs and a pair of service aces to her total as well. Junior Zoe Lowe finished second on the team with seven kills on the night while assisting on a block and picking up two digs. Junior Madison Fowler went 5-for-5 on her opening five swings and finished with five kills on 10 attacks with just one error for a .400 hitting percentage. Fowler also chipped in a pair of blocks and two digs.
 
Junior Kiersten Kraus and freshman Mary Kate Mulvaney split the setting duties with Kraus finishing with a team-best 15 assists to go along with her six kills, six digs and two blocks. Mulvaney handed out 13 assists while digging up four balls and securing one service ace. Junior Megan Carron returned to the libero role and led the team with 12 digs. Graduate student Elena Djokovic also earned double-digit digs with 11 while picking up a team-high tying three blocks including two solo stops.
 
The Mocs hit .257 as a team while holding the Lions to just .084. FSC won the match in straight sets 25-13, 25-19 and 25-19.
 
FSC opened the match with a 9-2 run powered by two Fowler kills and a five Saint Leo errors. The Mocs cruised the rest of the set, closing the period with a 5-1 run capped off by another SLU error.
 
The second set saw the Lions take their only leads of the match. After a block by Fowler ad Kraus to open the second stanza, the Lions scored back-to-back points to take their first lead of the night at 2-1. The Mocs quickly responded and retook the lead at 3-2 before another spurt by the Lions gave the advantage right back at 5-4. SLU would eventually take an 8-6 lead before three-straight points by the Mocs erased the lead for good. The Lions tied the set once more at 9-9 but that would be it as the Mocs opened things up with a 5-1 run that included a service ace from Mulvaney sandwiched between four kills from Petermann. FSC would once again coast its way to the end of the set taking a 25-19 victory, ending on another SLU hitting error.
 
The third set opened much like the first with FSC taking an early 5-1 lead. The advantage would balloon to 9-3 before a small surge by the Lions cut the advantage to just two at 10-8. The Lions kept it close for the next several points, but with the score set at 18-16 the Mocs began another 5-1 run to open things up once again. The two teams traded the final four points for a final score of 25-19, this time capped off by a Kraus kill to close out the match.
 
The Mocs will not have much time to celebrate their SSC opening victory as the preseason favorites come to town Saturday afternoon. FSC will take on fourth-ranked Tampa at 4 p.m. inside George W. Jenkins Field House, looking for its first win in the series since 2018.
 
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