LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team fell Tuesday night at home to the visiting Eckerd College Tritons, 3-1. The Moccasins won the opening set but the Tritons were able to escape of George W. Jenkins Field House with a victory after rebounding and winning three-straight sets to capture the victory.
The loss drops Florida Southern's record to 6-5 on the season including 1-4 in Sunshine State Conference play while the Tritons improved to 10-2 overall and 3-2 in league action.
The Mocs struggled to get the offense going all night long as they hit .114 as a team with a high of .194 in the third set. The Tritons came in at .203 while posting a match-high .393 hitting percentage in the third set as well.
Senior
Mackenzie Petermann was the lone Moc with double-digit kills as she tallied a match-high 17 while adding nine digs and three blocks. Juniors
Kiersten Kraus and
Zoe Lowe each added nine kills to the effort while Kraus chipped in a team-best 19 assists, eight digs and one block. Lowe added five digs and a block assist.
Senior libero
Caroline Chambers led the way in the back row with 13 digs on the night while freshman setter
Mary Kate Mulvaney registered her fourth-straight double-double with 14 assists and 10 digs.
The Tritons were led by Stella Antypa and Seiler Hruska who each tallied 11 kills in the match while Antypa added a match-high 17 digs. The Tritons out-blocked the Mocs 11-5 and were led in that department by Kalli Schoening who posted eight total stops including one solo.
The opening set was a back-and-forth affair with neither team gaining more than a three-point lead the entire set. With the set tied at 22, the Mocs took advantage of a pair of Triton service errors and a kill from junior
Madison Fowler to take the opening set 25-23.
The second set saw the Tritons use a 6-1 run midway through the period to open up an 18-10 lead and they never looked back. They went on to take the set 25-16 while holding the Mocs to a .000 hitting percentage.
The third set opened similar to the end of the second as Eckerd jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. The lead eventually ballooned to 17-9 midway through but a 7-0 run by the Mocs cut that lead to just one. Five of the seven points came from Petermann kills including the final three points of the rally. The Mocs kept it close until a 5-1 run by the Tritons gave the visitors a 24-19 lead. The Mocs were able to fight off one set point but an Eckerd kill ended the set at 25-20.
The fourth set once again opened with a big run by the Tritons who opened up a 5-1 lead early. Down 9-6, the Mocs began a 7-1 run that included six Eckerd attack errors including two that were aided by Moccasin blocks. The first block came from Fowler and Lowe while the second was a Petermann, Fowler connection. After the Mocs and Tritons traded the next two points, the Tritons began a 10-3 run of their own to take a 21-17 lead late. The Mocs battled and secured three of the next four points including a kill from Lowe and two Eckerd attack errors to cut the deficit to 22-20. An Eckerd kill gave the Tritons a 23-20 advantage but a service error kept the Mocs' hopes alive. Up 23-21, the Tritons used a kill followed by a block to take the set and the match, 25-21.
The Mocs will now turn their focus to Palm Beach Atlantic who will visit George W. Jenkins Field House Friday, Sept. 29 for a 7 p.m. match. There will be a Block Party outside on Mr. George's Green prior to the match for FSC students.
