#9 Tampa Opens South Region Crossover With Sweep

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 9 University of Tampa (18-2) volleyball team picked up its third victory over No. 24 University of West Florida (13-10) with a 3-0 win at the South Region Crossover. UT won by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 25-16.

West Florida led for the majority of the first set until Tampa took its first lead at 17-16. After trailing 21-19, UT forced a side out before taking four straight points behind the serving of junior Melissa Vanderhall. The Spartans hit .405 in the frame while holding UWF to a .229 clip.

The beginning of set two mirrored the first as the Argonauts built a 12-7 lead before UT went on a 5-1 run to come within one point. Tampa finished the set while winning four of the final five points to claim the five-point victory.

Tampa eluded a slow start in the third set as it never trailed in the frame. After leading by as many as seven points, UT hit at a .483 clip to close out the Argonauts.

All-American Melissa Vanderhall was outstanding for Tampa as the reigning South Region Player of the Year had a team-high 15 kills while carrying a .481 hitting percentage. Vanderhall also had a pair of service aces and nine digs.

Kaleigh Cunningham was also in double figures with 13 kills as sophomore Brianne Yeates added eight. Meghan Sherman led UT with 45 assists. Julie Howlett had 15 digs to lead the Spartans while Vanderhall and Danielle Selkridge each registered two blocks.

Tampa finished the match with a .408 attack percentage while holding UWF to a .216 mark. The UT defense also finished with 46 digs compared to 32 for the Argonauts.

The Spartans have a pair of non-conference matches on its slate for Saturday, beginning with a 1:15 p.m. meeting with Arkansas-Monticello. UT then concludes the South Region Crossover against North Alabama at 8 p.m.

Tampa will offer a webcast and live stats for all games on Saturday through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, which is a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.