Petermann and Chambers Secure Career-Highs in Victory on Family Day

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team celebrated Family Day inside the George W. Jenkins Field House Saturday afternoon as the Moccasins took down the visiting Sharks of Nova Southeastern behind seniors Mackenzie Petermann's and Caroline Chambers' career-high performances. The members of the FSC volleyball team invited their close family and friends to join them on court during pregame introductions before taking on the Sharks and winning in four sets, 3-1.
 
The victory moves the Moccasins up the Sunshine State Conference leaderboard as FSC improved to 8-5 on the season including 3-4 in conference play. The Sharks record falls to 7-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.
 
Petermann, FSC's offensive leader, exploded for a career-best 27 kills Saturday afternoon as she hit an outstanding .346 from her outside hitter position. She also collected her 21^st career double-double in the process with 10 digs. She was not only a defensive force in the back row but she also led the team with two solo blocks including the match-winning stop in the fourth set. In total, the senior had three blocks with two solo and one assisted.
 
Joining Petermann in double-figures were graduate student Elena Djokovic and junior Kiersten Kraus. Djokovic finished second on the team with 11 kills while also completing a double-double with 14 digs, her third of the season. Kraus was also able to manage a double-double and nearly pulled off her second triple-double of the year. The Neenah, Wis., native collected 10 kills, 20 assists and seven digs. The pair were also a force upfront as Djokovic assisted on a pair of blocks while Kraus finished with a team-high tying four blocks including one solo. Senior Emily Crescenzi shared the team lead in blocks with Kraus as she also finished with four, all of the assisted variety.
 
Senior libero, and Lakeland native, Caroline Chambers dug up a career-best 19 digs while also handing out a career-best seven assists. She also was able to secure a service ace in the victory. Freshman setter Mary Kate Mulvaney led the team with 25 assists while also digging up eight balls.
 
Both the Moccasins and Sharks posted a strong hitting percentage with FSC finishing at .245 and NSU coming in at .241. Both teams tallied 10 blocks while the Sharks held the advantage in aces 6-4. The largest discrepancy in the match came in digs as FSC out-dug NSU 61-46.
 
FSC picked up where it left off Friday night as the Mocs opened the match with a 6-1 run, which included three kills from Petermann. The Mocs would eventually open up a seven point lead and held the lead for most of the set until a late rally by the Sharks knotted things late. Trailing 19-16, the Sharks used a 6-3 spurt to tie the set at 22-22. A kill from junior Zoe Lowe followed by a service ace from senior Cassidy Markel gave the Mocs their first set point of the night. The Sharks responded with a kill followed by a block to tie the set once more at 24-24. A Djokovic kill followed by an NSU attack error ended the set in FSC's favor, 26-24.
 
The second set was one of runs. The Mocs used a 5-1 run early to open a 10-7 lead but it was immediately answered by a 6-0 run from the visitors which gave NSU a 13-10 lead. After trading the next two points, the Mocs went on a 7-1 run to retake the lead at 18-15. The two teams then traded the next seven points before FSC closed out the set with a 4-1 spurt which featured a kill and service ace from Djokovic and was capped off by a Petermann kill to give FSC a 25-20 victory.
 
The third set began as a tight back-and-forth battle but with the score knotted at 12, the Sharks went on a 6-0 run to take an 18-12 advantage. The Mocs were able to score two quick points off a kill from Crescenzi and a block from Lowe and Crescenzi before another NSU run ended the set. The Sharks went on a 7-1 spurt to close out the period, 25-15.
 
The Moccasins got off to a quick start in the fourth as they opened the set with an impressive 8-2 run. A few points later, the Sharks began a run of their own as they out-scored the Mocs 7-1 to tie the set at 11-11. It was now FSC's turn to make a run as the Mocs immediately responded with a 5-1 clip of their own to open up a 16-12 advantage.  The Sharks slowly worked their way back into the set and eventually cut the lead to just one at 19-18. Another quick 3-1 spurt by the Mocs pushed the advantage to 22-19 before the teams traded the final six points of the set closing the match in favor of FSC, 25-22. A solo block by Petermann ended the match.
 
Florida Southern will now hit the road for three-straight matches. The Mocs will open the road swing with a trip to Winter Park, Fla. to take on the Rollins College Tars on Friday, Oct. 6. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Read Full Article