ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida Southern College volleyball defeated Eckerd College, 3-1, on Tuesday night. Florida Southern won the first two sets 25-22 and 28-26, including a second-set rally from a 23-20 deficit, before closing the match 25-18 in the fourth.
Florida Southern improves 7-6 overall and 2-3 in Sunshine State play. The Tritons are 10-6 overall and 2-3 in Sunshine State play.
The Moccasins erased a 15-10 deficit in the first set and finished from a 21-21 tie by taking four of the last five points to win 25-22. After EC built an early 7-3 lead,
Elizabeth McDonald answered with a kill and then served through three straight points as the Mocs tied the set at 7-7. The Tritons later moved back in front 15-10, but Florida Southern climbed back behind a McDonald kill, a
Whitney Mall block, a
Tori Borton kill and an
Ella Kuosmanen service ace that tied it at 15-15; after EC briefly regained the lead,
Brielle Mullen's ace and a
Layla Visser kill put the Mocs ahead 18-16. The Tritons went back up 21-20, but Visser tied the set with a kill before
Mel Garrett and
Lindsay Piktel supplied late kills, with Piktel closing the set on an assist from Mullen.
Florida Southern erased a 23-20 deficit late in the second set and finished off a 28-26 win over the Tritons. Borton set up two early Kuosmanen kills and one by Mall during a push that gave the Moccasins a 10-7 lead. EC came back to lead 16-14, but Garrett and Kuosmanen combined on a block, Mall added a kill and
Payton Nazzari served an ace to pull Florida Southern even at 17-17. After the Tritons moved ahead 23-20, McDonald answered with a kill and a service ace, and a Garrett kill plus consecutive EC attack errors put the Mocs in front 25-24. The Tritons went back up 26-25, but Piktel tied the set with a kill, Mall's block moved Florida Southern ahead, and Piktel closed the set with another kill.
The Mocs had a 15-11 lead midway through the third set before the Tritons answered with nine straight points and moved in front 20-15 on the way to a 25-18 set. McDonald helped the Moccasins start the set quickly with three kills among their first six points, while Mall and Kuosmanen combined on a block and Visser added another to help build a 7-3 edge. Piktel and Garrett added kills as Florida Southern pushed the margin to 10-4, and Borton's kill helped make it 13-6. After EC's run, McDonald and Garrett each put down late kills, but the Tritons closed the set with a Grace Dumont kill.
Florida Southern turned a 6-4 edge into a 10-4 lead behind
Nako Sasaki's serve, getting two aces from Sasaki and a Piktel block during a four-point push. Mall opened the set with a kill from Borton, and Visser added two kills as the Mocs moved ahead 4-1. The visitors kept answering EC's brief pushes through the middle of the set, with Piktel, Garrett and Mall supplying kills that helped maintain a lead of at least four points from 15-11 through 20-15. After the Tritons closed within 21-18, Kuosmanen put down a kill from Borton, Mall added a kill from Kuosmanen, and an EC attack error finished Florida Southern's 25-18 fourth-set win.
Piktel led the Moccasins with 13 kills and added one solo block. McDonald finished with 12 kills, two service aces and eight digs. Sasaki collected a team-high 21 digs, added 10 assists and served two aces. Mullen recorded 18 assists, 12 digs and one service ace.
Hayden Nash finished with nine kills and a team-high eight total blocks. Sydney Williams recorded a team-best 15 digs and added a service ace. Grace Dumont handed out 24 assists with eight digs and two total blocks.
Up next, the Florida Southern volleyball team travels to West Palm Beach, Fla., to face Palm Beach Atlantic on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m. at Rubin Arena.
