TAMPA, Fla. — Florida Southern volleyball lost to Francis Marion, 3-2, on Saturday, with scores of 14-25, 26-24, 25-23, 24-26, 12-15. Florida Southern won the second and third sets, including a third-set push from 17-19 to 22-20, but could not close out the match.
Florida Southern falls to 3-2 overall while FMU moves to 4-2 on the season.
Florida Southern fell behind early and could not recover in a 25-14 first-set loss, as FMU took advantage of an early 9-1 run behind Mocs attack errors and kills from Haleigh Kamer and Camryn Faggart.
Tori Borton stopped that stretch with a kill, and
Lindsay Piktel and Coles followed with kills as FSC worked the score to 11-5. Florida Southern's clearest push came after trailing 14-5, when
Mel Garrett was involved in two blocks with
Catherine Sweeney adding one, then Garrett put down a kill from
Ella Kuosmanen to cut the margin to 14-9. Coles added two more kills later in the set,
Mallory Baruch served an ace, and Piktel and
Whitney Mall each contributed late kills, but the Patriots reached set point at 24-13 and closed the set at 25-14.
FSC worked through a tight start to set two before
Payton Nazzari's service turn produced three points, including a Coles block and a Nazzari ace, to move ahead 11-9. Kuosmanen later served the Mocs through consecutive
Mel Garrett kills and an ace for a 15-12 advantage, though FMU continued to answer and tied the set at 17-17 and again at 23-23. Garrett delivered kills for Florida Southern's 22nd, 23rd and 24th points, and Coles added the late swing that put the home side back in front before the set ended 26-24.
Nazzari opened the third set with a service ace, but FSC had to answer an 8-3 Patriots lead; Mall put down a kill, then joined
Layla Visser on a block before
Elizabeth McDonald and Mall added blocks in a five-point response that tied the set 8-8. FMU later moved ahead 19-15, but Piktel's kill and a Patriots attack error brought the Mocs within 19-17 before the late push. Trailing 20-17, Florida Southern scored five straight on a Kuosmanen block, Kuosmanen's kill from Borton, consecutive
Brielle Mullen aces and
Mel Garrett's kill from
Nako Sasaki; after FMU tied it, Nazzari's ace gave the Mocs a 24-22 lead and a Patriots service error ended the set.
The Mocs built a 13-8 lead in the fourth behind kills from Kuosmanen, Coles and Sweeney, with Mullen assisting each point in that three-point stretch. The Patriots answered to tie the set at 14-14, but FSC responded with a kill from Mall to move back in front 16-14. FMU later went ahead 18-17 and stretched the margin to 22-18, forcing Florida Southern into its late comeback attempt before the set closed in the Patriots' favor. Florida Southern erased a 24-21 deficit, getting a
Mel Garrett kill, a Borton service ace and a Coles block to tie the set at 24-24 before FMU scored the final two points for a 26-24 finish.
Florida Southern mounted its main push in the fifth set after falling behind 11-5, winning six of the next seven points and getting back within one at 12-11 on consecutive Sweeney kills. After Sweeney's late kills, Stockwell and a Mocs attack error gave FMU set point, and although Coles answered from Sasaki, Vanessa Blake finished the 15-12 set for the Patriots.
Mel Garrett finished with a team-high and career-high 12 kills, adding five digs and two blocks. Coles totaled 11 kills, 12 digs and a personal best four blocks for 14 points. Mullen recorded a team-high 18 assists with 10 digs and two service aces, while Mall added 10 kills and three blocks.
McKayla Stockwell led FMU with 11 kills, 15.0 points and six total blocks. Aubrey Johnson recorded 42 assists, 13 digs, five kills and two service aces. Alyssa Whiteside collected 15 digs and added three service aces.
Up next, the Florida Southern volleyball team faces #17 UMSL on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 1:30 p.m. at Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Fla.
