Tampa Beach Finishes Third in AVCA Small College Championship
TAVERES, Fla. – Spartans Claim 3rd overall at AVCA National Championships. Brunick and Anderson Earn All-American Honors.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final Scores:
Day 1:
v.s. Florida Southern- Tampa 3, FSC 0
v.s. Tusculum- Tampa 4, Tusculum 1
Day 2:
v.s. Concordia Irvine- Tampa 3, CUI 0
v.s. Saint Leo- Tampa 3, Saint Leo 1
Day 3:
v.s. Colorado Mesa- Colorado Mesa 3, Tampa 2
v.s. Concordia Irvine- Tampa 4, CUI 1
Record: Tampa 17-15
Location: Hickory Point Beach || Tavares, Fla.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Day 1: The Spartans traveled back to Hickory Point beach looking to repeat as National Champions and made their presence known on Day 1. Their first matchup of the day game against familiar foe Florida Southern College. Just as they did previously in the season, the Spartans made quick work of the Mocs. Julia Oswald and Payton Brunick in the 2's allowed only 21 points over two sets in the Spartans clean 3-0 sweep of the Mocs. Tampa's second match of the day would fall against a less familiar opponent in the Tusculum Pioneers. This time it was the Spartans' pairing of Katie McKiel and Melissa Elias that would demonstrate complete domination, the pairing took their match in straight sets 21-9 and 21-12. The only blemish in the result sheet came in the 4's after the Spartans chose to forgo the third set following the decision.
Day 2: Tampa returned to the courts early on Friday morning square off against the Eagles from Concordia Irvine. In their first ever meeting the Spartans showed no flaws, allowing an average of just under 13 points in the three matches that came to conclusion. This time it was Cassidy Ehrie and Valerie Rosequist in the 5's that would seal the 3-0 win for the Spartans. In the afternoon, the Spartans would battle another familiar cross-town opponent, Saint Leo. Similar to their match against Tusculum, the only blemishes on the result sheet came when the Spartans chose not to play a third set in the 2's and the 5's after already clinching the match. Tampa would close each of the other three matchups in straight sets, and advance to the tournament semi-finals.
Day 3: The Spartans would square off against what would prove to be their first major test of the tournament, Colorado Mesa, on Saturday morning in the semi-finals. The 1's and 2's would take their matchups convincingly in straight sets. The Mavericks would take the 4's in straight sets and it came down to the 3's and 5's in two third set battles. Tampas 5's would come up just three points short in the third, leaving the fate of the match resting in the 3's matchup. Unfortunately, Colorado Mesa would clinch the 3's matchup 15-10 and take the overall match 3-2. The journey for a 3-peat ended here, but the Spartans still had more tournament volleyball to play. In the afternoon Tampa played a rematch against Concordia Irvine to compete for the third place. The Eagles showed a bit more fight the second time around but the Spartans claimed the 3-2 win to end the tournament, showing great resilience following the tough loss. The 5's gave the Spartans their first win of the match in straight sets, and both the 2's and 3's would claim wins in the third set, ending the Spartans tournament and season on a win. Following the conclusion of the tournament senior Kiersten Anderson and Sophomore Maddie Brunick were awarded AVCA All-American Honors. In her final season, Anderson went 20-10 competing in every match for the Spartans. Brunick would end her sophomore year 19-11 also having competed in every match for the Spartans. The two went 8-2 as a pairing during the year and were 5-1 on the weekend.