WINTER PARK, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball (11-9, 6-6 Sunshine State) defeated Rollins College (10-13, 3-9 Sunshine State) 3-1 on Friday, winning 26-24, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17. Florida Southern hit .235 with 46 kills and used an 8-0 run in the fourth set to help close out the match.
Florida Southern improves to 11-9 overall and 6-6 in Sunshine State play. The Tars are 10-13 overall and 3-9 in Sunshine State play.
The Moccasins recovered from an early 5-1 deficit and from RC taking a 22-21 lead to win the first set 26-24. Earlier, after trailing 5-2, FSC won seven of the next eight rallies, getting kills from
Mel Garrett and
Lindsay Piktel before moving ahead 9-6 on Tars attack errors. Florida Southern later answered a 15-15 tie with kills from
Brielle Mullen and
Ella Kuosmanen plus service aces from
Tori Borton and Garrett, building a 19-16 edge before RC worked back. After the Tars moved in front 22-21, Piktel tied the set with a kill, added another after RC tied it at 24-24, and a Tars attack error closed the set.
The Mocs created the needed separation late in the second set, moving from a 16-15 edge to a 23-18 lead behind kills from Piktel, Garrett and Kuosmanen, plus a Kuosmanen service ace. Earlier, Florida Southern started the set ahead 6-2 with two Kuosmanen kills, a
Whitney Mall kill and a Mullen ace, but RC answered and eventually went in front 11-10. FSC responded immediately with a Tars service error, a Kuosmanen kill from Borton and a Garrett ace to go back up 13-11, then kept finding sideout points as RC stayed close. After the Tars got within 24-20, Piktel finished the set with a kill from Mullen to give the Moccasins a 25-20 win.
Florida Southern was level at 6-6 after Mullen's kill, but the Tars took control of the third set with eight straight points on Jenna Garza's serve to move ahead 14-6. Earlier, the Mocs answered several RC points with kills from
Bali Coles, Piktel and Mullen, with Borton assisting on the opening kill by Coles and Mullen setting up two of Piktel's early finishes. The Moccasins continued to trade sideouts through the middle of the set, getting kills from Mall, Piktel and Garrett before Borton's service ace made it 20-15. RC pushed the margin to 24-15, and FSC held off three set points with a Tars service error followed by kills from Kuosmanen and Mall, but the Tars closed the set 25-18.
Florida Southern seized control of the fourth set with an early eight-point surge, turning a 3-2 edge into an 11-2 lead behind seven straight service points from
Nako Sasaki. Piktel delivered three kills during that stretch, while Garrett added a kill and RC committed multiple attack errors under Mocs pressure. The Tars trimmed into the margin later, including a three-point run that made it 16-9, but FSC continued to answer with sideouts and kills from Coles and Garrett. Sasaki added a service ace during a push to 21-12, and the Moccasins closed the set at 25-17 on a block by Mall and
Layla Visser.
Piktel led Florida Southern with 17 kills while hitting .302.
Mel Garrett finished with a career-high 16 digs, nine kills and two service aces. Mullen recorded 18 assists, 10 digs and converted both of her attacks. Borton added 12 assists, two service aces and six digs.
Sarah Seabrooke recorded 24 digs for RC. Jenna Garza finished with 29 assists, three service aces and six digs. Rylee Yarborough tallied a team-high 10 kills with nine digs. Vivian Scuteri added 8 kills, 3 block assists and 2 aces.
Up next, Florida Southern volleyball team visits Embry-Riddle on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. at the ICI Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
