Florida Southern Nearly Forces Fifth Set on the Road at Barry

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team nearly forced a decisive fifth set for the second-straight match Saturday afternoon but the host Barry Buccaneers were able to escape with a 3-1 victory after a 26-24 fourth set decision. The Buccaneers, who began the 2023 season ranked No. 6 in the country, won the first, third and fourth sets to capture the victory.
 
The loss is the third-straight for the Moccasins who fall to 6-4 on the season and 1-3 in Sunshine State Conference play. The Buccaneers, who have struggled early this season, improved to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in league action.
 
The Buccaneers were led by defending National Player of the Year Diana Akopova who tallied match-highs in kills with 21 and digs with 17. The Moccasins countered with senior Mackenzie Petermann who posted her 20^th career, and fourth of the season, double-double with 16 kills and 11 digs. Classmate Madison Barton, who saw action in just three of the four sets, finished second on the team with 10 kills, her first double-digit performance of the season. Junior Zoe Lowe nearly reached double-figures as she tallied nine kills while her classmate Madison Fowler finished fourth on the squad with six.
 
FSC tallied double-digit blocks for the second-straight match as the Mocs rejected 11 of the Buccaneers' attacks. The Bucs responded with 11 blocks of their own as well. Senior Emily Crescenzi continued her recent breakout performances with a team-best seven blocks including two solo stops. The Wilmington, N.C. native, has 17 blocks over the last two matches. Fowler added four blocks to bring her total over the last two matches to 14.
 
Senior Caroline Chambers continued to hold down the libero position for the Mocs where she contributed a team-best 16 digs. Junior Kiersten Kraus and freshman Mary Kate Mulvaney each finished with 20 assists and 10 digs. The performance was Kraus' seventh double-double of the season while it marked the third for Mulvaney. The pair have registered double-doubles in each of the last three matches.
 
Both teams struggled to get rolling offensively as the each finished below .200 in hitting percentage. The Mocs registered a mark of .172 while the Buccaneers did not do much better at .188.
 
The Moccasins opened the match with back-to-back points off a block from Fowler and graduate student Elena Djokovic followed by a Petermann kill but the Buccaneers responded with five-straight points and they would not trail the rest of the way. The Mocs kept it close throughout and even tied up the set at 22-22 but a 3-1 spurt by the hosts closed out the set, 25-23.
 
The second set opened with the Buccaneers jumping out to a 6-1 lead before the Moccasin exploded for a 6-0 run of their own including two blocks, two Petermann kills, a service ace and a Barry hitting error. The two teams traded the lead several times throughout the set but trailing 18-17 the Mocs went on an 8-3 run to close out the set. Barton had a hand in five of the eight points for the Mocs as she tallied four kills during the run, including the set-clinching point, and assisted on a block along with Crescenzi.
 
Barry opened the third set with an impressive 11-3 run and never relinquished the lead as the Buccaneers cruised to a 25-18 victory to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
 
The fourth set was close throughout with neither team holding more than a four-point lead. When Barry took the lone four-point advantage midway through the period, the Mocs responded with four-straight points to tie the set at 18-18. After a service error ended the rally, the Mocs responded with two-more points to take a late 20-19 lead. After both teams traded the next two points, the Buccaneers rattled off three-straight to take a 23-21 advantage. The Mocs, who did not want to be outdone posted their own 3-0 run to take a 24-23 lead and force their second set point of the match. Back-to-back kills by All-American Akopova gave Barry its first match point of the day and the Buccaneers were able to secure the victory as a Moccasin hitting error ended the match, 26-24.
 
The Moccasins will now return home to begin preparation for their first midweek SSC match of the year as the Eckerd Tritons will visit George W. Jenkins Field House this Tuesday, Sept. 26 for a 7 p.m. match.
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