LAKELAND, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball lost to Rollins College, 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 26-28), on Saturday. Florida Southern finished with 56 kills but hit .181, with 27 attack errors to the Tars' 18.
FSC moves to 6-6 overall and 1-3 in Sunshine State play. The Tars are 8-7 overall and 1-3 in SSC play.
The Moccasins dropped the first set 25-21 after recovering from an early deficit and later cutting into a six-point hole before the Tars closed it out.
Mel Garrett put down two kills in the opening exchanges and
Tori Borton added a kill as Florida Southern erased a 5-3 deficit, with
Nako Sasaki's ace and
Whitney Mall's kill from Borton lifting the home side to an 8-6 lead. The Tars answered and moved ahead 16-11 in the middle of the set, but
Lindsay Piktel and Mall responded with consecutive kills to bring the Mocs within 16-13. McDonald drove the late push with three straight Florida Southern kills to make it 22-18, and after a Mall kill and another McDonald finish helped trim the margin to 24-21, the Tars won the next rally to finish the set.
The Mocs finished the second set by answering a 23-22 deficit with the final three points, tying it on Garrett's kill before McDonald delivered back-to-back kills from Borton for a 25-23 win. Florida Southern shook off a 3-0 start by the Tars and moved ahead during
Payton Nazzari's service turn, when
Bali Coles put down consecutive kills and Nazzari followed with two straight aces to make it 9-6. The Tars later pushed back from a 14-14 tie and eventually led 21-18, but the Moccasins responded with a Garrett kill, an
Ella Kuosmanen kill and a Rollins setting error to pull even at 21-21. After the Tars went back in front twice late, Kuosmanen and Garrett answered with kills before McDonald's closing pair gave the Mocs the set.
Florida Southern's biggest response in the third set came after it fell behind 18-13, as a Rollins service error, a McDonald kill from
Brielle Mullen and a McDonald/Kuosmanen block brought the home side within 18-16. McDonald supplied kills to even the set at 1-1 and bring the Moccasins within 4-3, while Mall, Piktel and Garrett added points as the Tars moved in front. The home block also kept Florida Southern connected, with Mall and Kuosmanen combining when Rollins led 8-5 and Garrett and Kuosmanen teaming twice before the later McDonald-Kuosmanen stop. McDonald added kills at 19-17 and 20-18, but the Tars scored five of the final six points, with Mall's kill accounting for the Mocs' last point in a 25-19 set loss.
Florida Southern forced extra points in the fourth set and briefly led 26-25 on a Mall kill, but the Tars scored the final three points to take the set 28-26. After trailing 4-3, Mall tied the set before Sasaki served five straight Moccasins points, with Mall and Piktel supplying kills during a run that put the home side ahead 9-4. The Tars later erased a 16-11 Florida Southern lead by tying the set at 16-16, though McDonald answered with a kill to put the Mocs back in front. Down 22-20 late, Florida Southern stayed close behind kills from McDonald and
Catherine Sweeney, then McDonald tied the set at 23-23 before Mall and Sweeney combined on a block to answer a Rollins set point at 25-24.
McDonald led Florida Southern with a career-high 17 kills. Sasaki collected a team-high 17 digs and added seven assists and one service ace. Borton finished with a team-best 23 assists, nine digs and one ace. Kuosmanen posted seven kills on a .313 hitting percentage and led the Mocs with five total blocks.
Vivian Scuteri led the Tars with 12 kills and six blocks. Jenna Garza recorded 23 assists and added four kills. Sarah Seabrooke collected 17 digs.
Up next, Florida Southern volleyball travels to St. Petersburg, Fla., to face Eckerd on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. at the McArthur Center.
