LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball (16-10, 11-7 Sunshine State) defeated Saint Leo University (5-25, 1-18 Sunshine State) 3-0 on Tuesday at George W. Jenkins Field House. Florida Southern took the sets 27-25, 25-21 and 25-16 while finishing with 37 kills while holding the lions to a .045 hitting percentage.
Florida Southern improves 16-10 overall and 11-7 in Sunshine State play. SLU is 5-25 overall and 1-18 in Sunshine State play.
The Moccasins took the opening set 27-25 after facing Lions set points at 24-23 and 25-24, with
Lindsay Piktel tying the set at 25-25 and later finishing it with another kill. Earlier, FSC built a 10-2 lead behind
Nako Sasaki's service pressure, including back-to-back aces, while Piktel added two early kills and the front line contributed multiple blocks. The Lions responded from a 20-13 deficit to get within 20-19, then moved in front 23-22 on consecutive Florida Southern attack errors. The Mocs answered late with four of the final five points, using an SLU attack error to move ahead 26-25 before Piktel's sixth kill closed the set.
In the second set, Florida Southern built a 24-17 cushion and, after the Lions scored four straight points, closed it on
Bali Coles' kill for a 25-21 win. Earlier,
Whitney Mall had three kills in the Mocs' first four points, including back-to-back swings from
Tori Borton assists that gave the home side a 4-2 lead. After SLU tied the set at 5-5, FSC kept moving back in front with kills from
Mel Garrett, Piktel,
Ella Kuosmanen and Coles, while a Mall-Kuosmanen block helped stretch the score to 13-8. Florida Southern later moved from 16-14 to 19-14 on a
Layla Visser-Piktel block and two Lions errors, then used kills from Kuosmanen and Garrett plus a Borton ace to reach 22-15 before finishing the set.
The Moccasins broke open the third set from a 12-9 lead by winning seven of the next eight rallies, getting an ace from Kuosmanen, a block from
Mariana Silva and Visser, and three straight
Brielle Mullen service aces to move ahead 19-10. Earlier, Coles opened the set with a kill from Mullen as FSC scored the first three points, though the Lions answered to tie it at 5-5. Piktel helped Florida Southern regain control with multiple early kills, while Garrett and Kuosmanen added kills and combined on a block during the middle stretch. SLU later closed the score to 20-16, but a service error returned control to the Mocs before Sasaki served the final four points, including an ace, and Piktel ended the 25-16 set with a kill.
Sasaki collected 20 digs including the 1000th of her career, becoming the 26th Moc all-time to reach that milestone. Piktel led Florida Southern offensively with 11 kills and added two blocks. Mullen finished with 18 assists, four aces and nine digs. Garrett added seven kills on a .286 hitting percentage with seven digs and two blocks.
Jansen Warbritton finished with 20 assists, six kills, three aces and eight digs for the Lions. Gina Stavile added six kills, three digs and a block assist. Mia Moser recorded 11 digs and two aces. Shelby Toney also collected 11 digs and added three assists.
Up next, Florida Southern travels to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to face Nova Southeastern on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at Rick Case Arena.
