Tars Bitten by Mocs in Home Finale

WINTER PARK, Fla. (April 16, 2021) – The Tars fell 3-0 to the Florida Southern Mocs in their final home contest of the spring, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.  Rollins is still looking for their first victory of the shortened season, sitting at 0-9, while Florida Southern improves to 2-1 overall.
 
The Tars were led by seven kill performances from Marlee Johnson and Emily Diaz.  Abbie Tutor hit a .375 to pace the Rollins attack.  Rebecca Kuehn registered 24 assists.  Candace Doxey recorded two block assists and a solo block on the defensive side on the net.  Tutor aided the defensive effort with four block assists of her own.
 
Mackenzie Petermann led the Florida Southern offense with 12 kills, while hitting at .400.  Cassidy Markel tallied a game high 30 assists.  Emily Crescenzi totaled four blocks including one solo block.
 
Florida Southern grabbed the lead early in the first set.  The Mocs scored five consecutive points to take a 7-3 lead, which they would not surrender for the remainder of the set.  The lead ballooned to as much as eight, at 21-13, before Rollins went on a late run.  A kill by setter Rebecca Kuehn sparked the rally, which also featured kills from Emily Diaz and Abbie Tutor, and brought the score to within four, at 22-18.  Rollins hold not complete the comeback however, as Florida Southern righted their ship and put away the next three points.
 
Set two followed much of the same script.  The Mocs took an early lead, and it grew into a commanding 23-11 score line.  The Tars however, found their way late, registering seven consecutive points, highlighted by kills from Marlee Johnson, Diaz, and Tutor and an ace by Emma Begley.  Overall, Rollins scored nine of the set's final 11 points, but the hole proved to be too big, as Florida Southern took a commanding 2-0.
 
The story of the final set reads much like the first two.  The Mocs used streaks of six points, to take a 10-6 lead, and five points, to take a 19-9 lead.  Rollins last gasp effort started with Florida Southern sitting at match point.  A Moc service started a Rollins four point run that also featured an ace from Kuehn.  However, the Mocs recovered to score the all-important final point, and take the victory.
 
Up Next:
Rollins will conclude their spring season tomorrow, Saturday, April 17, when they travel to Melbourne to take on Florida Tech.  First serve is set for 5 p.m.
 
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