Moccasins Start Conference Play with Victory over Embry-Riddle

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College volleyball team opened up Sunshine State Conference play Friday night inside George W. Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins, who had not had a match since Sept. 21 due to Hurricane Helene, came out swinging and handed the Eagles their first conference loss of the season after the visitors entered with a perfect 3-0 SSC mark. FSC took the opening two sets before falling in the third and eventually capturing victory in the fourth for a 3-1 SSC opening victory.
 
The win improves Florida Southern's record to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in league play while the Eagles fell to 10-3 on the year and 3-1 in conference action. The 7-2 mark by the Moccasins marks the best start for the program since 2016 when FSC also started 7-2 and finished 22-11 with a trip to the regional championship match.
 
Florida Southern was paced by a trio of hitters in senior Sandra Sasaki, senior Zoe Lowe and graduate student Mackenzie Petermann as they all finished in double-figures. Sasaki led the effort with 14 kills, four digs and a pair of blocks while Lowe chipped in 13 kills, four digs and a block. Petermann closed out the night with 12 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. The double-double marked the fourth of the season for Petermann and 37^th of her career.
 
Senior Kiersten Kraus once again just missed out on a triple-double as she dished out 20 assists, picked up 12 digs and finished just two kills shy of double-figures with eight. She also added four blocks and a service ace to her totals. Graduate student libero Caroline Chambers dug up a team-best 21 balls in the win while also sharing the team lead with three service aces. Sophomore Mary Kate Mulvaney and junior Morgan Word also shared the team lead with three service aces each. Mulvaney added a team-best 22 assists while picking up 16 digs for another double-double. Word added a pair of kills and four blocks to complete her night.
 
Senior Madison Fowler led the defensive effort at the net with seven blocks including one solo stop. She also added three kills and a pair of digs from the front row.
 
Embry-Riddle was led by Jaden McBride and Isabella Rujano who finished with 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Rujano also led the team in digs with 20 while libero Gabriela Pagan finished with 18 digs.
 
The Mocs used a pair of 4-0 spurts early in the first set to take a 11-5 lead. A few points later the Mocs began a 7-2 run which featured three blocks, three kills and a service ace to take a 20-12 advantage. The Eagles tried to fight back with a 11-4 run of their own late but the Mocs hung on and an attack error gave FSC a 25-23 victory. The second set was back-and-forth throughout the entire period. With the Mocs trailing 19-18 late in the period, FSC went on a 6-1 run to force the first set point of the period at 24-20. The Eagles fought off two set points before a block by Kraus and Fowler sealed the deal at 25-22.
 
The third set was very similar to the second set as both teams battled back-and-forth. With the Eagles leading 21-18 late in the set, FSC went on a 4-0 run to take a 22-21 lead and the Mocs were looking to complete the sweep. The Eagles had other plans as they responded with a 4-0 run of their own to take the set 25-22.
 
The fourth set looked to be going in a similar direction of the second and third sets as both teams kept it close early. With the score knotted at 10-10, the Mocs began a 13-6 run to open up a 23-16 lead. The Eagles would score three of the final five points of the match but it was not enough as Petermann sealed the match with a kill at 25-19.  
 
FSC will be back in action tomorrow, October 5 at 4 p.m. as the Moccasins host Rollins College in another Sunshine State Conference match. The Mocs will celebrate Family Day on Saturday as well. Read Full Article