Mocs Comeback Falls Short in Fifth Set at Lynn

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team had one of its best defensive performances at the net in recent memory as the Moccasins tallied 22 total blocks Friday night in an epic five-set loss on the road at Lynn. The 22 blocks are the most by a Florida Southern volleyball team since Dec. 8, 2017 when the Mocs registered 25 blocks versus Gannon in the NCAA Championship Semifinals. The 22 blocks are tied for 10^th all-time in FSC history for blocks in a single match.
 
Florida Southern dropped the opening two sets Friday night and led for just four points over those two periods before the Moccasins rallied to take sets three and four. The fifth set opened up with a large run by the Fighting Knights before the Mocs collected themselves and rallied to cut the deficit to five but Lynn was able to find the final two points for a 3-2 victory.
 
The loss drops Florida Southern's record to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Fighting Knights, who received votes in the most recent AVCA Coaches Poll, improved to 9-2 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in league action.
 
Junior Madison Fowler and senior Emily Crescenzi led the defensive effort Friday night as they each registered a career-high 10 blocks. Fowler paced the team with five solo blocks to go along with five block assists while Crescenzi had three solo stops and seven block assists. Fowler was also able to collect eight kills to finish third on the squad while Crescenzi chipped in four.
 
Senior Mackenzie Petermann led the way offensively with a team-high 13 kills to go along with 11 digs and four blocks. The 13 kills and 11 digs mark the 19^th double-double of her career and third this season. Graduate student Elena Djokovic added 10 kills, a team-high tying 17 digs and four blocks for her second double-double of the season.
 
Junior setter Kiersten Kraus came up just shy of her second triple-double of the season with 15 assists, a team-high tying 17 digs and seven kills. She also added five blocks and a service ace for an all around performance. Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney led the team with 19 assists while scoring 13 digs for her second-straight double-double. Senior libero Caroline Chambers registered 15 digs while handing out three assists.
 
The Fighting Knights never trailed in the opening set and used an 8-1 run midway through the period to open things up. Lynn eventually took the first set 25-18. The second set saw the Mocs earn their first lead of the night on the opening point off a service ace from Mulvaney. The Mocs would keep it close early but a 16-4 run with the score tied 9-9 gave the Fighting Knights what looked like a momentum killing 25-13 victory.
 
The third set was tight throughout but a late surge by the Mocs gave FSC its first set victory. Down 19-18 late in the period, Fowler took over and secured a kill, followed by a solo block and punctuated by a block assist along with Kraus to give FSC a 21-19 advantage. A Lynn kill stopped the run but it was immediately answered by a Petermann kill followed by another solo block from Fowler to push the lead to 23-20. Lynn and FSC then traded the remaining four points of the set as Fowler collected another solo block before the set was capped off by a Djokovic kill, 25-22.
 
The fourth set saw the Mocs jump out to a 6-2 lead early and they would never lose the lead the rest of the set as they took a 25-23 victory.
 
The Mocs looked to be carrying the momentum heading into the fifth set but after trading the opening two points, the Fighting Knights opened up an impressive 11-0 run to take a 12-1 lead. Following a service ace, a Lynn kill made it 13-2. With their backs against the wall, the Mocs responded with back-to-back blocks followed by a service ace to cut the deficit to 13-5. Another block from Djokovic and Crescenzi gave the Mocs their sixth point of the period. The Fighting Knights then registered a hitting error followed by a Djokovic kill to put the score at 13-8. The Mocs then had back-to-back attack errors on the final two points to give the Knights the victory at 15-8.
 
FSC will not have much time to dwell on the loss as Barry, who began the year ranked in the AVCA top-10 and is still receiving votes in the national poll, waits on a Saturday match-up in Miami Shores. The Mocs and Buccaneers will meet for a 4 p.m. match tomorrow, Sept. 23. Barry fell to No. 4 Tampa Friday night, 3-1.
 
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