Volleyball
Moccasins Notch First Win of 2012 With Sweep of Missouri S&T
Anne Pietkiewicz recorded nine kills, 15 digs and hit .308 against Missour S&T.MONMOUTH, Ore. - Florida Southern Volleyball earned its first win of the 2012 season here Friday afternoon with a three-set victory over Missouri S&T (25-14, 25-22, 25-15) on the second day of the Western Oregon Classic held at WOU’s New P.E. Building.
In Friday’s win, the Moccasins, who are now 1-2 on the season, used a strong offensive attack that produced 44 kills and only eight attack errors for a hitting percentage of .313. In the match, five Mocs recorded at least five kills in the sweep.
For the third straight match, FSC’s offensive attack was paced by sophomore right side hitter Gabby Fernandez (Tampa, Fla.), who had 13 kills and hit .370. In three matches in Oregon, Fernandez has recorded 44 kills and is averaging 4.40 kills per set.
Along with Fernandez, senior outside hitter Anne Pietkiewicz (Winter Haven, Fla.) chipped in with nine kills and hit .333, while adding 15 digs on defense and sophomore outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Kent.) added seven kills and seven digs.
In the first set, both teams played even early on before the Mocs used a 9-2 run to push out to a 16-9 lead capped by a kill from junior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.). The Miners pulled within 20-13, before the Mocs closed the set on a 5-1 run to earn the 25-14 win.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair as there were 12 ties and six lead changes. Neither team led by more than two points until the Mocs scored four of the final five points to seal the win and take a 2-0 advantage in the match. Fernandez had five of her 13 kills in the set.
FSC left little doubt in the third set as they never trailed as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead and led by as much as nine points at 21-12 on a kill by Pietkiewicz. MST got within 22-13, before the Mocs scored three of the final five points to seal the three-set sweep. In the third set, FSC hit .395 as a team.
Junior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.) had another outing running the team as she recorded six kills, 43 assists, 11 digs and hit .857 playing in her home state and sophomore defensive specialist Lauren Tekavec (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded a career-high 21 digs.
The Miners, who were playing their 2012 opener against the Mocs, was paced by 12 kills and 12 digs from Julie Meyer. Hayley Wright added eight kills and Krita Haslag contributed seven kills in the loss.
MST hit .126 for the match and committed 18 attack errors and had seven errors. FSC had eight attack errors and five service miscues in the 73 minute match.
The Mocs will finish tournament play later in the evening on Friday as they face Cal State-Los Angeles at 10:30 EDT. Live stats and a tournament home page are available through the Western Oregon website. The tournament home page can be accessed at http://www.wouwolves.com/news/2012/8/28/WVB_0828123129.aspx.
