BOCA RATON - Florida Southern Moccasin Volleyball pushed its record to .500 on the season after completing play here Saturday in the Courtyard by Marriott/Lynn Invitational with a three-set victory over Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (25-16, 25-19, 25-19) at the deHoernle Center.
With the win, the Mocs, who have now three straight matches, finished 3-0 in the tournament as they swept all three of their matches in straight sets.
In Saturday's game, the Mocs received a balanced offensive effort as they recorded 39 kills, including 10 of the 14 players that saw action picking up at least a kill. FSC also hit ..248 and held a 9-1 edge in blocks in a match that featured 22 ties and seven lead changes.
"I'm really happy with the way we played this weekend. It feels good to get our record back to .500 on the season and get on a winning streak," Mocs coach Jill Stephens said. "Our team continues to improve and make fewer mistakes."
Against Mayaguez (1-1 on the season), senior outside hitter Anne Pietkiewicz (Winter Park, Fla.) and sophomore outside hitter Kate Stromberg (Lexington, Kent.) each led the way with eight kills. Freshman middle blocker Kayshia Brady (Crescent City, Fla.) had one of the best games of her brief college career as she recorded five kills, hit .250 and had five block assists in the win.
Pietkiewski added six digs and three blocks, inclduing two solo blocks, while freshman libero Arielle Fernandez (Pacifica, Calif.) posted a career-high 10 digs for the match.
In the first set, UPRM jumped out to a 2-0 lead and led 6-5 when the Mocs went on a 6-3 run to take an 11-9 lead following an attack error by Mayaguez's Maria A. Rodriguez. FSC's lead would eventually grow to as much as nine points at 24-15 following a kill by Pietkiewicz, before the team's traded points to end the set.
The second set had nine ties and four lead changes as neither team led by more than two points until the Mocs used a 6-1 run to turn a 17-17 tie into a 23-18 edge. The run was keyed by two Pietkiewicz blocks and capped by a kill from junior setter Ali Skayhan (Beaverton, Ore.). In the second set, Pietkiewicz, junior middle blocker Dominique Hale (Kingman, Ariz.) and freshman outside hitter Hailey Prescher (Dana Point, Calif.) each had three kills for the Mocs and Fernandez had eight of her team-high 10 digs.
Much like the second set, the third set was also competitive as their were 10 ties and two lead changes. In the set, the Mocs closed on a 5-1 run, including Stromberg recording three kills. For the set, Stromberg and Rodriguez combined to record 13 kills as Stromberg had seven of her team's 15 in the set, while Rodriguez had six of Mayaguez's 11 kills in the set. In addition to Stromberg, Brady and Skayhan combined for five blocks in the set.
Mayaguez was paced offensively by 16 kills from Rodriguez, while Leishla M. Ramos recorded a match-high 20 digs in the loss.
The Mocs return to action next weekend as they travel to Savannah, Ga., to play in the Armstrong Atlantic Classic. FSC will open the tournament on Friday, Sept. 14 at 2:30 p.m. against North Alabama, before facing Flagler later in the day at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 15, the Mocs will play UPR-Rio Piedras at 11 a.m. and conclude the tournament at 2 p.m. against the host school, Armstrong Atlantic.