Tampa Cruises to Opening Round Victory Over Clark Atlanta
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 7 University of Tampa (28-3) volleyball team made quick work of Clark Atlanta University (24-19) in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Regional at the Martinez Center with a 3-0 win.
In the lone three-set sweep of the first day of the regional, Tampa won by scores of 25-21, 25-14, 25-20. The day featured a total of four matches as the third-seed Palm Beach Atlantic, seven-seed Christian Brothers and five-seed Florida Southern all won. The CBU and FSC matches were both upsets as higher seeded West Florida (2) and Eckerd (4) both bowed out of the tournament on the first day of action.
The Spartans were led in their three set sweep by Marissa Lisenbee. The freshman led the team with ten kills and added three digs. The three frames featured 51 total kills by the Spartan offense, with setter Kahley Patrick providing 40 assists.
The opening set displayed sound balance for the Spartans as Lisenbee, Holly Reschke, and Danielle Selkridge all contributed four kills. Selkridge swung at a 4-6 clip, improving her already nation-best .503 attack percentage. Libero Frances Cardenas paced the UT defense with six of the 12 total digs, as Tampa took the opening stanza 25-21.
The Spartans stepped up their defense in the second frame, limiting Clark Atlanta to just 14 points. The offense was provided by Meagan Burke and Lisenbee again, connecting for five and four kills, respectively. Role players Jessica Wagner and Kim Amerell both came off the bench to record multiple kills and help the Spartans to a 25-14 victory.
The final set featured additional Tampa players stepping up to finish off the Panthers of Clark Atlanta. Sophomore Jackie Neff led UT in the frame with five kills. Newcomer Megan Heffron connected for three kills, while Amerell added four more of her own. Tampa took the third stanza 25-20, sealing the victory.
The Spartans advance to the regional semifinals to meet Sunshine State Conference opponent Florida Southern College. The teams will square off on Friday at 7:30 p.m., at the Martinez Center. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.
Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans),
Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans),
YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instragram (tampaspartans).
UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text
alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at
www.tampaspartans.com.