Volleyball Struggles at No. 15 Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. – (Volleyball) Florida Tech volleyball fell to 13-7 overall and 1-7 in Sunshine State Conference play after a tough 3-0 loss to the No. 15
Florida Southern Moccasins Friday night.

Mayne Pegorari and Sacha Gumbs tallied 11 kills each while Marcela Vasconcelos hoisted 27 assists and
Frankie Brown added five blocks. Amanda Boyce joined the record books with 27 digs earning her membership in
the 1,000 career dig club.

Leaders for the Mocs included Ashley Martin with 15 kills, Elise Burke with 43 assists and Daryl Baby with 21 digs. Danielle Higgnbotham added seven
blocks.

Game one found favor with the Panthers in the beginning with a score of 4-1. The Mocs quickly fought back to take the lead 8-6. Tech tried to maintain
their composure, but Southern’s lead grew to 13-9. The Mocs solid attack left the Panthers struggling on pass defense, but a few blocks got them right back
into the game as Southern took the first time out at 18-17. After the time out the Mocs scored seven unanswered points gaining a nine point lead. Tech only
scored three more points before Southern took game one 30-20.

In game two the Mocs scored eight quick points forcing a Panther time out. A Pegorari kill stopped the run, but Tech had a long way to go
trailing 10-1. Southern maintained a 12-point lead through half the game, but the Panthers closed the gap with Amy O’Brien at the
service line bringing the score to 23-16 and forcing a Moc time out. A few more Panther kills and a Frankie Brown block
instigated a second Moc time out with a score of 25-22 in favor of the host team. A Gumbs ace tied the game at 27 and the rest of the game
was a nail-biter, complete with long rallies and huge plays into extra points, but it was the Mocs that edged the Panthers in the end, 31-29.

Game three found the Mocs in control with a five-point lead. Unforced errors by the Panther offense extended their deficit to 14-5. Southern maintained
control of the game, leading by as many as 15 points and out-hitting the Panthers .471 to .000 to win the game 30-14.

The Panthers will return to the Clemente Center Saturday, Oct. 6, to face SSC foe Rollins at 4 p.m.