Tars Put Up Fight against No. 9 Mocs in SSC Opener

Rollins

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#9 Fla. Southern

Box Score

WINTER PARK, Fla. (September 18, 2015) - A resilient Rollins College volleyball team gave the ninth-ranked Florida Southern Moccasins a run for their money on Friday night in Warden arena, holding strong in the first set and fighting until the end in a 3-0 (28-26, 25-18, 25-18) loss to open Sunshine State Conference action.

The Tars dip to 1-6, and 0-1 in SSC action, while the Mocs stay perfect on the season and advance to 9-0, and 1-0 in conference play.

Sophomore Shannon McDonough led the Tars in kills with nine on the night, followed by freshman Rachel Sawyer with five. Senior MaryEllen Pole led the squad in assists with 13 while posting a set percentage of .325, while fellow senior April Jackson notched eight assists with a percentage of .182.

Rachel Sawyer led the team in digs with 16, while sophomore libero Rebecca Wilson earned 10 while adding 30 receptions. Fellow sophomore Kianna Dieudonné took charge at the net with a team best four blocks, including three block assists, followed by Rachel Sawyer, Bri Civiero, and Sam Schlesman with two apiece.

The Mocs jumped out to a 9-4 lead early in the first frame, but four straight points by the Tars pulled them to within one, 9-8, before the Mocs were able answer back. Florida Southern retaliated with three straight to pull ahead 12-8.

Rollins battled back, and found themselves trailing by one, 16-15, but the Mocs answered with six straight to jump ahead 21-16. A service error by the Mocs, followed by a Rachel Sawyer kill pull the Tars back to within three, 21-18, but Florida Southern halted the run with a kill by Rachel Mostert to set the score at 22-18.

Both teams traded blows to set the board at 23-19 in favor of Florida Southern, but Rollins came out of a timeout to post five straight, including two service aces by Dieudonné, to take a 24-23 lead. Florida Southern battled back to pull ahead, 25-24, but a kill by Civiero off of an assist by Jackson knotted the score at 25-25. Pole earned an ace to give the Tars the lead once again, but the Mocs earned the final three points to take the first set 28-26.

Set two saw the Tars open up with a 5-3 advantage over the nationally-ranked Mocs, but Florida Southern bounced back and took a 7-6 lead. A kill by Rachel Sawyer evened the score at 7-7, but a kill by FSC's Kayshia Brady ignited a seven point run by the Mocs allowing them to jump ahead 14-7, and never looked back as they closed out the second set 25-18.

The final set saw the Mocs pull out to a 16-5 lead before Rollins called a timeout to regroup. The Tars came out of the break to outscore Florida Southern 7-1 to set the score at 17-12, and pulled back to within five points later in the set, 22-17, before the Mocs were able to close out the final stanza, 25-18.

The Tars return to action on Saturday, September 19, when they travel to Melbourne, Fla. to take on Florida Tech in SSC action. Game time against the Panthers is set for 4 p.m. Fans can find links to live coverage on RollinsSports.com.

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