LAKELAND, Fla. — The Florida Southern College volleyball team (10-4, 4-2 SSC) swept Eckerd College (11-6, 1-5 SSC) 25-23, 27-25, 25-17 on Saturday at Jenkins Field House. The Moccasins capitalized on their strong blocking game, recording 11 total blocks compared to the Tritons' four. The victory was highlighted by a tightly contested second set, where Florida Southern edged out Eckerd 27-25.
Florida Southern opened the match against Eckerd with a strong start, quickly amassing a 3-0 lead through a kill by sophomore
Bali Coles and consecutive service aces by Coles. Despite the Tritons' efforts to close the gap, sophomore
Lindsay Piktel and senior
Morgan Word contributed key plays, helping FSC maintain a narrow advantage.
As the set progressed, both teams exchanged points, with EC briefly tying the score at 5-5. Florida Southern regained momentum with a series of attacks and blocks, including significant contributions from freshman
Chloe Moreland and Piktel, pushing their lead to 19-16.
In the closing moments, Eckerd mounted a late rally to tie the score at 22-22. However, Piktel's decisive kills, with assists from freshmen
Whitney Mall and
Brielle Mullen, secured the first set for the Moccasins, concluding at 25-23.
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In the second set, Florida Southern commenced with a strong defensive stance as Mall and freshman
Layla Visser delivered an early block against Eckerd's Kinga Michalska. After trading points, Florida Southern's Word and junior
Tori Borton combined for effective plays, with Word executing a crucial kill to regain momentum. Despite a series of attack errors, the Mocs maintained pressure, with Coles contributing multiple kills to keep them in contention.
As the set progressed, Florida Southern rallied from a deficit, using crucial blocks from Visser and Word to level the score and eventually take the lead. Piktel delivered a pivotal kill, pushing the Mocs ahead 24-23. In a tense conclusion, Florida Southern capitalized on an attack error by Eckerd's Kaitlyn Dohs and closed the set with another kill by Coles, securing a 27-25 victory.
Florida Southern began the third set with a strong comeback, overcoming an early 3-0 deficit. Key plays included Piktel's kill assisted by sophomore
Nako Sasaki and a service ace by Sasaki that tied the score at 4-4. This momentum shift was further solidified by a series of Triton errors, allowing Florida Southern to pull ahead 9-4.
As the set progressed, FSC maintained their lead, with Mall and Word contributing crucial kills. Borton added a service ace, extending the advantage to 12-5. Despite Eckerd's attempts to narrow the gap, a combination of effective blocks and service aces, particularly by Sasaki, helped Florida Southern sustain a comfortable lead.
The Moccasins capitalized on the Tritons' errors and maintained control throughout the latter stages of the set. Coles' kill, combined with another service error by EC, closed the set at 25-17, securing the victory for Florida Southern.
Piktel led the offensive charge for the Mocs, recording 13 kills on 36 attempts with a .306 hitting percentage. Coles contributed significantly with 12 kills and added 10 digs, finishing with a total of 14.5 points. Word showcased her defensive skills by tallying five total blocks, equaling Mall's output of five blocks, each providing a strong presence at the net. Mullen excelled in the back row, collecting 15 digs to support the defensive efforts. Sasaki had another tremendous match at libero as she tallied 24 digs in just three sets while adding 10 assists and three service aces.Â
Seiler Hruska led the Tritons with 9.5 points, achieving seven kills and two service aces. Gabi Jedrzejczak contributed significantly with 22 assists and two aces, while also adding seven digs. Michalska provided defensive strength with 14 digs and three service aces, contributing 8.5 points. Peyton Walker showcased an impressive .444 hitting percentage with five kills from nine attempts, adding six total blocks to her performance.
The Moccasins will host third-ranked Barry on Friday, October 17 at 6 p.m. The match will take place at the George W. Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Fla.
