NCAA DIVISION II SEMIFINALS
- Pensacola, Florida
- Dec. 8, 2017
No. 3 seed Florida Southern edged past No. 7 seed Gannon in five sets in the first NCAA Division II Semifinal match. No. 1 overall seed Concordia-St. Paul advanced in a sweep of Rockhurst.
This is the first national title appearance for the Mocs, while CSP has won eight previous national titles with the last coming in 2016.
MATCH STATS
- Florida Southern def. Gannon 3-2 (16-25, 25-15, 25-23, 24-26, 15-12)
- Florida Southern moves to 30-6; Gannon ends the season at 32-7
- Florida Southern advances to the Division II Championship match
- Box Score
- Florida Southern Recap / Gannon Recap
Key Stats: Florida Southern put up 14 blocks and served up eight aces in a five-set win over Gannon to advance to the NCAA Division II Championship match. The Moccasins outdid the Golden Knights in kills (60-59), aces (8-5) and blocks (14-7). Gannon came out on top in hitting percentage (.197 to .191) and digs (104-92).
Key Players: Four Mocs played posted double-digit kill efforts, led by senior middle blocker Sydney Marshall‘s 17. Senior outside hitter Anna Tovo (14), junior outside Nicole Mattson (10) and freshman middle Rachael Martin (10) followed. Marshall and Martin hit at a team-best .400 clip, while Mattson and Tovo paced the defense with 24 and 22 digs respectively. Senior middle Allie Geary put up at a team-best nine blocks, while Marshall added six. Junior outside Whitney Drost led the team with three aces.
Senior outside Kelsey Ansec put down a match-high 20 kills, while sophomore outside Ally Smith (18) and freshman middle Ashley Kerestes (11) also reached double digits. Kerestes hit at a .364 clip and managed a team-best five blocks, while senior libero Sara Crandall notched a match-high 28 digs. Freshman setter Ashley Beyers added 25 digs to her 47 assists and two aces. Smith chalked up 14 digs and sophomore outside Toni Leitshuh posted 11.
It Was Over When: Gannon took a 6-3 lead in Set 5 with two Ansec kills and Beyers ace. Florida Southern tied it up at 6, 7 and 8 before pushing ahead by two at 10-8 with help from two Martin kills and a kill and a block by Mattson. The Mocs went up four at 13-9 after putaways by Mattson and Marshall. A Tovo kill put Florida Southern on the hill at 14-10. A Marshall kill three points later clinched the victory.
#FSCVB Senior Allie Geary on making it to the National Championship game. #LetsGoMocs #OneMore #RoadTo31 pic.twitter.com/ojEeGJBSgR
— FSC Mocs (@FSC_Mocs) December 9, 2017
MATCH STATS
- Concordia-St. Paul def. Rockhurst 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 31-29)
- Concordia-St. Paul moves to 33-3; Rockhurst ends the season at 32-8
- Concordia-St. Paul advances to the Division II Championship match
- Box Score
- CSP Recap / Rockhurst Recap
Key Stats: No. 1 Concordia St. Paul outhit Rockhurst .250 to .138 and bested the Hawks 54-42 in kills. Rockhurst outblocked the Bears 13-12. Both teams served up two aces.
Stat Leaders: Three Bears players posted double-digit kill tallies, while four managed double-digit dig efforts. Junior outside Hope Schiller led the way with a 15-kill, 11 dig double-double and a team-best eight blocks. Junior outside Brooklyn Lewis added 13 kills, while senior middle Mariya Sampson chipped in 10. Sophomore outside Sydney Book and senior middle Shelby Seurer notched eight kills apiece to round out the offense. Seurer put up six blocks, while freshman libero Tori Hanson pulled up a team-leading 15 digs. Freshman outside Erin Fallert (13), junior setter Elizabeth Mohr (13) and Schiller (11) followed.
Sophomore outside Karli Reichert was the lone Hawks player with double-digit kills, tallying 16 to go with four blocks. Sophomore outside Alyssa Woodman (9) and sophomore middle Mary Rolf (7) were next on the team offensively. Rolf put up a team-best seven stuffs, while senior libero Anne Hellwege guided the defense with 20 digs. Senior setter Grace Carter turned in a 31-assist, 17 dig double-double, while junior defensive specialist Kalie Arnold registered 11 digs.
It Was Over When: Set 3 featured 13 ties, including five in extra points, and eight set-point attempts. Rockhurst led by as many as four at 19-15, but CSP rallied to tie the score at 20 with a pair of Lewis kills. Later, down 22-20, the Bears scored four in a row, with kills by three different players, to gain their first match-point try at 24-22. Two kills and a block turned the tables and gave Rockhurst its first chance at the set at 25-24. A Lewis kill thwarted that attempt and Seurer and Sampson stopped the next two. A hitting error tied the score at 28 and a Lewis putaway made it 29-28 CSP. Rockhurst stopped that try with a kill by Audrey Arand, but followed with back-to-back hitting errors to end the night.
VB: @CSPBearsVB is headed back to the @NCAADII Championship after a sweep of @RUhawks! CSP will face Florida Southern tomorrow night at 5 pm as they search for their 9th title in 11 years! #BeGolden #WeAreCSP #D2VB pic.twitter.com/hVWRm9QJ9I
— Concordia St. Paul (@CSPBears) December 9, 2017
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