Florida Southern Takes Down Palm Beach Atlantic on the Road

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team took its show on the road in Sunshine State Conference play for the first time this season as the Moccasins traveled to West Palm Beach to take on the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish. After dropping the opening set, the Mocs stormed back and won three-straight sets to take a 3-1 victory Monday night.
 
The victory pushes FSC's record to 9-4 on the season and 3-2 in SSC action while the Sailfish fell to 6-11 overall and remain without a win in conference play at 0-7.
 
Seniors Madison Fowler and Sandra Sasaki led the way offensively as they each tallied a team-best 12 kills. Fowler had just one hitting error all night and finished with an impressive .647 hitting percentage in the victory. The Detroit, Mich. native also paced the defense with six blocks including one solo. Sasaki committed just two hitting errors and finished with a .400 hitting percentage in the match. She also tallied three digs, a pair of blocks and one service ace.
 
Seniors Kiersten Kraus and Zoe Lowe each tallied nine kills in the win. Kraus added 14 assists, eight digs, four blocks and a service ace while Lowe chipped in a dig. The only other Moccasin with a kill was graduate student Mackenzie Petermann who finished with six kills, two service aces and 10 digs.
 
Graduate student libero Caroline Chambers led the backline with 16 digs while sophomore setter Mary Kate Mulvaney chipped in 10 digs while leading the team with 24 assists. She also had a service ace.
 
The Sailfish were led by Savanna Rogers who had a match-high 17 kills while the next highest teammate had seven kills.
 
FSC won the blocking battle 10-4 and also dominated at the service line with nine aces compared to PBA's four. The Mocs also nearly picked up 20 more digs than the Sailfish at 57-36. The Mocs finished with a .268 hitting percentage including three sets over .300. The Sailfish were held to .107 including .019 in the three sets in which they lost.
 
The opening set was close until a 9-1 run by the Sailfish midway through the period opened up a 12-7 lead for the hosts. The Mocs were eventually able to cut the lead to just one following a block by Sasaki and Fowler to put the score at 21-20. The Sailfish outscored the Mocs 4-3 down the stretch and took the opening set 25-23.
 
The second set opened with both teams trading runs with the Mocs opening the set with a 6-1 run immediately followed by a 5-0 run by the Sailfish. A kill be Sasaki ended the Sailfish run and began an 11-4 run to open up a seven-point lead at 17-10. The Mocs cruised through the rest of the set as a Sailfish attack error ended the period, 25-18.
 
The third set was similar to the second as the Mocs used a run midway through the set and eventually found themselves ahead 17-10 once again. FSC held onto the lead the rest of the way and a PBA service error closed out the set 25-18.
 
The Sailfish came out swinging in the fourth set at took an early 6-1 lead. The hosts would hold the lead until a 20-4 run by the Mocs, the largest of the match, gave FSC the set and the match, 25-14. Sasaki closed out the match with back-to-back kills off assists from Mulvaney.
 
The Mocs will now return home for a Tuesday night match against Eckerd. The Mocs will host the Tritons tomorrow night in their annual Dig Pink match and fans are encouraged to wear pink. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside George W. Jenkins Field House.
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