No. 14 Florida Southern Sweeps Florida Tech, No. 2 Tampa Up Next
By Florida Tech // October 7, 2015
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Entering Tuesday night’s matchup the Panthers were hoping to pull out an upset at Jenkins Field House over Sunshine State Conference foe and No. 14 ranked Florida Southern (13-2, 4-2 SSC), which was fresh off its first two losses of the season this past weekend.
However, hope was not enough on the night as Florida Tech (7-6, 2-4 SSC) was unable to muster up enough resistance against a talented, quick-striking Moccasins squad, dropping the match in three sets (22-25, 19-25, 17-25).
With the result the Panthers have now lost their first five road games of the season, including a 0-4 record in road SSC matches. FIT is also winless in its last six contests against FSC, dating back to Nov. 9, 2012.
Leading the Panthers on the night was senior Marilyn Dick with nine kills and six digs, while classmate Alea Hamm notched eight kills and two blocks. Freshman Olivia Hersey tacked on seven more kills and three digs.
Senior Kim Juriga registered four kills and five digs on .222 hitting in the contest.
Senior Ashtin Truesdale collected a match-high 25 assists to go along with eight digs and three kills. Sophomore Becca Bower recorded a match-high 17 digs.
Kendall Marotti paced the Mocs with 16 kills and 12 digs on a .500 hitting percentage. Anna Tovo knocked in 12 more kills for FSC, while Kayshia Brady added eight more kills in the win. Bethany Besancenez had a team-high 21 assists.
The Panthers hit .175 in the match compared to the Mocs’ .359. FSC finished with more digs (51-42) and blocks (6-3). However, each team ended the match with 22 errors apiece.
FIT returns to the comforts of the Clemente Center for a SSC matchup with No. 2 Tampa on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. This contest is Florida Tech’s Breast Cancer Awareness Match. All proceeds from FIT’s match will be donated to help support current Eckerd volleyball head coach Michelle Piantadosi, who was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and recently began treatment.
There will be pink Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirts available upon donation and a silent auction featuring items from a few of the Panthers’ athletic partners will be held over the course of the match. Proceeds from both will go to benefit Piantadosi.
A survivor ceremony will be held before the match. All fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Links to live coverage will be available for the Panthers’ matchup at FloridaTechSports.com/live
