Florida Southern Snares the Sailfish in 3-0 Sweep

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team snapped its recent losing skid with an impressive 3-0 sweep of the visiting Sailfish of Palm Beach Atlantic. The victory marked the first win in the series for the Moccasins since Sept. 28, 2018, ending a seven-match losing streak versus the Sailfish. FSC came out firing in the opening set and the Mocs went on to post their highest hitting percentage of the season as a team at .429 while holding the Sailfish at .119.
 
The victory moves FSC's overall record to 7-5 on the season including a 2-4 mark in Sunshine State Conference play. The Sailfish fall to 5-7 overall and 1-4 in league action.
 
Graduate student Elena Djokovic posted her second-highest kill total in an FSC uniform with 15 while achieving her highest hitting percentage since arriving in Lakeland at .500. The Belgrade, Serbia native, used just 26 swings to achieve her 15 kills while committing just two errors. She also took care of business in the back row finishing second on the squad with eight digs and chipping in one service ace. While in the front row she assisted on three of FSC's eight blocks.  Senior Mackenzie Petermann finished just behind Djokovic with 14 kills while finishing with a .429 hitting percentage. She took just 28 swings while committing just two errors. She also worked hard in the back row picking up seven digs while chipping in one service ace and a block assist.
 
Junior Madison Fowler made the most of her 10 swings as she posted seven kills while committing just two errors for a .500 hitting percentage performance. She also tied for the team lead in blocks with four and earned one dig. Junior Kiersten Kraus added five kills, 15 assists, seven digs, two blocks and a service ace for another all-around effort. Junior Zoe Lowe was the final Moccasin with more than one kill as she finished with five while assisting on one block.
 
Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney saw her double-double streak come to an end in the quick three-set victory as she dished out a team-best 24 assists while digging up three balls. Senior libero Caroline Chambers led the team with 15 digs while also earning a team-best two service aces.
 
As mentioned earlier the Moccasins came out firing from the opening whistle as they started the first set with a 5-1 run and never looked back. The Mocs did not relinquish the lead the rest of the set and used a number of 3-0 and 4-0 runs throughout the period to pull away for an impressive 25-15 victory capped off by a setter-to-setter connection as Kraus put down the assist from Mulvaney for the set winning point. The Mocs hit .500 in the opening set, putting down 17 kills while committing just two errors on 30 swings.
 
The second set was unlike the first or third as both teams refused to give up a large lead. Neither team led by more than two points the entire set including a streak of 12-straight points where they alternated serve. The Sailfish forced the first set point at 24-22 on an FSC service error, but the Mocs would not go down easy as Djokovic smashed down FSC's 23^rd point and an attack error by the Sailfish knotted the set at 24-24. A Sailfish kill gave PBA its third set point of the night at 25-24 but once again FSC would not go away as a service error followed by a Petermann kill reversed the roles and gave the Mocs their first set point of the second stanza. A solo block by the Sailfish staved off their eventual defeat but a kill by Fowler followed by another PBA attack error ended the set at 28-26. PBA had its best hitting performance of the night in the set at .244 but the Mocs still bested it at .314 with just three hitting errors during the set.
 
The third set was all Moccasins as FSC once again posted a .500 hitting percentage while holding PBA to just three kills and a -.143 hitting percentage. After some early back-and-forth action and PBA leading 5-4, the Mocs began a 21-4 run that would close the door on any Sailfish hopes ending the match at 25-9. Three-straight PBA attack errors ended the set.
 
Florida Southern will be back in action tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. as the Mocs host the Nova Southeastern Sharks. The match also serves as FSC's annual Family Day where family and friends of the Moccasins will join their student-athletes on the court for pregame introductions. Read Full Article