LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball (14-9, 9-6 Sunshine State) defeated Palm Beach Atlantic University (13-13, 6-9 Sunshine State) 3-1 Saturday, winning 25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 25-20. Florida Southern hit .290 to PBA's .155 and finished with a 12-2 edge in blocks.
Florida Southern improves to 14-9 overall and 9-6 in Sunshine State play. The Sailfish fall to 13-13 overall and 6-9 in Sunshine State play.
The Mocs opened the first set with a 10-0 run, with
Brielle Mullen serving all 10 points and adding three aces while
Layla Visser delivered two early kills and helped on multiple blocks. After PBA got on the board,
Lindsay Piktel answered with a kill, and
Nako Sasaki later served three straight aces to push Florida Southern ahead 16-2. The Sailfish found brief responses through kills and service pressure, but the Mocs continued to side out with points from Piktel,
Bali Coles,
Mel Garrett and opponent errors. Piktel finished the set with a kill from Mullen, giving Florida Southern a 25-14 win.
Florida Southern pushed the second set into late ties at 18-18 and 20-20, but PBA answered down the stretch and took the set 25-22. Earlier, Piktel and Mullen helped stabilize the offense, while Visser,
Ella Kuosmanen and Garrett were involved in blocks as the Mocs moved in front 14-10. The Sailfish tied it at 14-14, and after Garrett put Florida Southern back ahead, the visitors built an 18-15 edge.
Tori Borton's kill, a Coles-Kuosmanen block and a PBA error brought the Mocs level again, and
Whitney Mall's kill followed by Kuosmanen's ace tied the set at 20-20 before the Sailfish closed it out on Kelsey Rogers' kill.
The Mocs overcame a 9-6 deficit in the third set with six straight points, starting with a Mall kill before Kuosmanen served five consecutive points to put the home side ahead 12-9. PBA moved back within 13-12, but Piktel answered with a kill, and Florida Southern later used kills from Garrett and Piktel plus a block by Kuosmanen and Piktel to build a 17-14 edge. Garrett added a kill and an ace as the Mocs pushed the margin to 20-15. Mall delivered kills for the 21st and 22nd points, Piktel added two late kills, and Florida Southern finished the set 25-20.
Florida Southern overcame a 20-18 deficit by winning the final seven points of the fourth set, closing a 25-20 set victory behind Borton's serving run. Earlier, the Mocs answered a 17-12 hole with three straight points during Coles' serve, using PBA errors to get back within 18-16. After the Sailfish moved ahead 20-18, Garrett delivered kills for the next two Florida Southern points to tie the set at 20-20. Kuosmanen followed with back-to-back kills, Garrett added another kill and the game-winning block to finish the set at 25-20.
Piktel led Florida Southern with 16 kills to go along with four blocks. Sasaki recorded team highs of four service aces and 16 digs, along with nine assists. Mullen finished with 22 assists, three service aces and 10 digs. Coles tabbed her second-straight double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs. Visser posted a team-high six total blocks and added three kills.
Kaelynn Sims led PBA with 11 kills, adding two blocks and four digs. Juliana Imbuzeiro finished with 25 assists, two aces and four digs. Sofia Augusto collected a team-high 13 digs and added four assists.
Up next, Florida Southern visits Florida Tech on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. at Charles and Ruth Clemente Center in Melbourne, Florida.
