Florida Southern College women’s volleyball swept Palm Beach Atlantic 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 26-24) Thursday at Rubin Arena in West Palm Beach, Florida. The victory moved Florida Southern College to 8-6 overall and 3-3 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Florida Southern College hit .284 with 38 kills and limited Palm Beach Atlantic to a .093 hitting percentage. The Moccasins also held an 11-2 advantage in total blocks, helping them close out each set after Palm Beach Atlantic built early leads.
Florida Southern College rallies in first two sets
Florida Southern College trailed 13-9 in the opening set before winning seven of the next eight rallies to take a 16-14 lead. Layla Visser, Whitney Mall, Elizabeth McDonald and Mel Garrett supplied kills during the run, while Brielle Mullen added a service ace and Florida Southern College received block points involving Ella Kuosmanen, Mall and Visser.
Palm Beach Atlantic pulled within 16-15, but McDonald answered with a kill from Mullen. Garrett and Visser then teamed for consecutive blocks, and Lindsay Piktel and Kuosmanen added another block as Florida Southern College extended its advantage. Piktel and Mall closed the set with the final two kills in a 25-20 win.
Palm Beach Atlantic also led early in the second set, taking a 7-4 advantage before Florida Southern College won seven of eight points to move ahead 11-8. Piktel and Garrett produced kills during the rally, while Mall added two early kills and Garrett and Visser combined on a block.
Payton Nazzari contributed a service ace during the middle portion of the set. After Palm Beach Atlantic cut the deficit to 21-19, Florida Southern College scored the final four points on a Mall kill, a Visser kill, a block by McDonald and Visser, and a Palm Beach Atlantic attack error to win 25-19.
Florida Southern College finishes sweep in extra points
Palm Beach Atlantic opened the third set with a 4-0 lead and later moved ahead 17-12. Tori Borton answered with a kill and a service ace, while McDonald added an ace as Florida Southern College narrowed the margin to 18-16.
Florida Southern College trailed 21-18 before taking advantage of a Palm Beach Atlantic service error and attack error. After Florida Southern College committed a service error, Piktel and Borton delivered kills to tie the set at 22-22. Palm Beach Atlantic moved ahead 24-23, but Florida Southern College took the final three points on a Sailfish service error, a McDonald kill from Nako Sasaki and another Palm Beach Atlantic attack error.
Piktel finished with 10 kills while hitting .429 and added three digs. Mall matched her with 10 kills and recorded three block assists, while Visser hit 1.000 with three kills on three attacks and finished with eight total blocks. Sasaki collected 17 digs and added five assists.
Palm Beach Atlantic leaders and next match
Sydney Corbett led Palm Beach Atlantic with nine kills and 10 points, along with seven digs and an ace. Sofia Augusto recorded a team-high 14 digs and added two service aces. Palm Beach Atlantic fell to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Florida Southern College is scheduled to host No. 9 Barry on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at George W. Jenkins Field House in Lakeland, Florida.
FSB Take
Florida Southern College controlled the most important statistical areas in the sweep. The 11-2 blocking advantage, .284 team hitting percentage and .093 opponent hitting percentage supported the Moccasins’ ability to recover from early deficits and finish all three sets.
Source: Original report