Tampa Falls in South Region Semifinal Heartbreaker

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Concluding the season in the NCAA South Region Semifinal, the No. 3 University of Tampa volleyball team fell 3-2 to rival Florida Southern College on Friday evening in the Rubin Arena.

The Spartans finish their 2015 campaign with a 27-6 overall record while the advancing Mocs improve to 25-8.

UT out-hit Florida Southern despite the outcome, swinging at a team .281 attack percentage while the Mocs hit .220 across the five-set heartbreaker.  Tampa had not lost to FSC since the 2008 season.

Senior Berkley Whaley finished her storied Tampa career with 27 kills while fellow senior Jessica Wagner added 13.  Classmate Marissa Lisenbee totaled career-highs in both kills with 21 and digs with 24 to finish her volleyball career.

Setter Gina Clarke posted a career double-double performance, totaling 70 assists and 27 digs to lead the floor in both categories.  Libero Logan Holanchock produced 21 digs and sat five shy of breaking the single-season digs record for the Spartans.  The freshman ended her first collegiate season with 606 digs.

Florida Southern was led by outside hitter Anna Tovo, as the sophomore totaled 22 kills at a .262 attack efficiency. Senior Kendall Marotti led the opposing squad with 21 digs on defense.

The Spartans finish the year in the NCAA South Region Semifinals with a 27-6 season tally.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/tampaspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instagram (tampaspartans). UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com