No. 2 Tampa Volleyball Sink Tars 3-1

WINTER PARK, Fla. - With a torrid offensive effort, the No. 2 University of Tampa volleyball team downed Rollins College 3-1. Reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Berkley Whaley torched the Tars with 20 kills to give Tampa the victory. The outside hitter posted a career high in kills (20) in a double-double effort for the UT squad.

The Spartans improve to 19-1 with a pristine 7-0 tally in Sunshine State Conference matchups while the Tars dip to 17-5 with a 4-3 record in SSC play.

In addition to Whaley, two other UT players reached double-digit kills, as right side hitter Marissa Lisenbee and outside hitter Holly Reschke swatted 12 and 11 respectively. Junior Meagan Burke swung 9-for-16 at a .438 attack percentage while Whaley hit at a .349 clip.

Setter Kahey Patrick tuned the offense with a 44 assist night, including a pair of kills to round out the Spartan attack.

Outside hitter Whaley flashed her defensive skill with a 15 dig showing. Libero Jen Scholz led the floor with 19 digs while senior Frances Cardenas picked up 11. Sophomore Lisenbee blocked six attacks as freshman Allee Stelogeannis mirrored with four.

The Tars were led by Camille Indest who planted 16 kills but were unable to build on her momentum.

Tampa took the first set 25-20, as a trio of Spartans tallied a three kills apiece in Whaley, Lisenbee and Reschke. Winter Park, Fla. native Scholz led the defense with seven digs in the premier stanza.

UT rode a 5-0 rally in the second set behind some solid service from Patrick. Tampa was unable to capitalize on the early momentum and ultimately dropped the second set to the Tars 25-20 to draw the match even at 1-1.

The Spartans took the third set and the match advantage by a 25-19 score. Sophomore Whaley grounded 11 kills in the third set alone to give UT the edge while Patrick assisted 15 attacks. Libero Scholz served up a pair of aces to put Tampa on a 7-1 run to victory.

The final set went to Tampa by a 25-17 final score, pushing the match from reach for host Rollins College.

Tampa returns to action with a road match against rival Florida Southern College Friday at 7 p.m. Live stats will be made available through www.tampaspartas.com under the interactive schedule page.

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