MIAMI SHORES, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball (15-10, 10-7 Sunshine State) dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to No. 11 Barry University (20-4, 15-2 Sunshine State) on Saturday at the Health & Sports Center. Florida Southern won the second and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-18 to force a fifth set, where the Buccaneers closed the match 15-8.
The Moccasins' late push narrowed the Bucs' 21-15 lead to 21-19, with
Bali Coles scoring twice and
Lindsay Piktel and
Layla Visser combining on a block during the four-point stretch. Earlier, Florida Southern answered the Buccaneers' first two points and tied the set at 3-3 on
Nako Sasaki's service ace, but Barry built a 10-5 lead.
Whitney Mall and Coles helped the Moccasins work back within 11-9, with
Brielle Mullen adding an ace during that response. Piktel supplied kills as FSC stayed within reach through the middle of the set, but the Buccaneers pushed the margin to 21-15 before the late response. Barry scored four of the final six points, and Valeriya Kozlova's kill ended the opening set with the Mocs falling 25-21.
Florida Southern turned the second set after falling behind 10-9, getting a Mall kill, a Visser block and two Coles kills around one Barry point to move in front 14-11. Earlier, the Moccasins answered a 7-4 deficit with four straight points, including a
Mel Garrett service ace, before the Buccaneers briefly moved back ahead. After the mid-set swing, Piktel, Garrett and
Ella Kuosmanen helped keep FSC in control, with Kuosmanen adding a block as the lead reached 22-15. Barry pushed back late and closed within 23-21, but Piktel delivered the final two Florida Southern points on kills from Mullen to finish a 25-21 set win.
The Mocs opened the third set with a block by Coles and Visser and a Mullen service ace, then later moved ahead 7-4 on a
Mallory Baruch ace. Barry answered after Florida Southern led 8-7, scoring five straight points to move in front 12-8 and later stretching the margin to 20-11 as the Moccasins were slowed by attack errors and Buccaneers blocks. FSC responded with a Piktel kill, a block by Garrett and Kuosmanen, and a Garrett kill to pull the set to 20-14. Mall added three late kills with
Tori Borton assisting each, but Barry closed out the set 25-19.
Florida Southern led throughout the fourth set, scoring the first four points and closing out a 25-18 win to send the match to a fifth set. The opening stretch included a Piktel and Visser block, a Visser kill and a Visser-Garrett block before the Buccaneers worked back within 5-4. The Moccasins kept answering with kills from Garrett, Mall and Coles, then moved ahead 15-9 with a Piktel kill and two Barry errors. After the Bucs cut into the margin late, Coles and Garrett delivered consecutive kills to push FSC to 22-16, and Visser and Piktel supplied the final two kills of the set.
Barry pulled away late in the fifth set after Florida Southern had worked back to a 6-5 lead. Earlier, the Mocs answered the opening point with a block by Mall and Kuosmanen, then moved ahead 2-1 on a Garrett service ace. After the Buccaneers built a 5-3 edge, the Moccasins used two Barry attack errors and a Mullen ace to go in front 6-5. The Bucs responded with three straight points to lead 9-6, and although Coles and Piktel added kills for Florida Southern, Barry closed the set with the final three points for a 15-8 finish.
Piktel led the Moccasins with 15 kills to go along with three blocks.
Nako Sasaki recorded a match-high 21 digs, eight assists and two aces. Mullen finished with 17 assists, three service aces and eight digs. Mall added 13 kills for the Mocs. FSC held the Bucs to a .181 hitting percentage, their second lowest output of the season behind just a .149 clip when they visited Florida Southern on Oct. 9.
Varvara Osychenko led Barry with 18 kills while adding 13 digs and two blocks. Valeriya Kozlova finished with 14 kills and five blocks. Ivana Zujovic recorded a team-high 10 total blocks and added three kills. Alondra Lebron collected a team-best 20 digs.
Up next, the Florida Southern volleyball plays their final home game against Saint Leo on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at George W. Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Fla.
