No. 12 Sailfish Endure Spartans in Four Sets

TAMPA, Fla. – The No. 20 University of Tampa volleyball team fell 3-1 to regional foe No. 12 Palm Beach Atlantic on Saturday at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center. The Sailfish dropped the opening set before using their strong middle tandem to defeat the Spartans in four frames.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: #12 Palm Beach Atlantic 3, #20 Tampa 1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 33-31)
Records: Tampa Spartans (15-5), Embry-Riddle Eagles (18-3)
Location: Bob Martinez Athletics Center | Tampa, Fla.
Follow Us: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo

Set 1 | UT opened the match with a 25-20 win in the first set, using five kills from sophomore Gen Beaumier as a catalyst. Senior Allee Stelogeannis blasted four kills while providing eight digs on defense.  Setter Jen Aprile kept the tempo with eight assists and held her own on defense with seven digs in the premier set of play. PBA outside hitter Ally Rohn took 18 swings in the set, converting just four kills.

Set 2 | The Sailfish middles began their offensive tear in the second set, as the duo of Sarah Ragland and Emma Ballantyne combined for an errorless 9-for-13 stanza. Ballantyne added three blocks in a rounded set. Freshman Nicole Dominguez posted five kills for Tampa as the Spartans were unable to keep pace with the .382 team attack percentage of PBA.

Set 3 | UT continued to struggle in third set as the offense continued to remain stagnant. Stelogeannis posted three kills to lead the team but PBA senior Ballantyne continued her rampage with five kills at a .571 attack clip.

Set 4 | Refusing to quit, Tampa battled with Palm Beach Atlantic in the fourth, trading points throughout the stanza as Beaumier and freshman Katie McKiel ignited for six kills apiece. Libero Logan Holanchock posted 14 digs in the fourth set alone to keep the Spartans alive, however the defensive performance was not enough to stifle the Sailfish, as PBA emerged with a 33-31 win to clinch the top-25 battle.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Outside hitter Stelogeannis finished with yet another double-double outing, notching 14 kills and 20 digs, two digs shy of setting a new career-best. The double-double gives her 14 total on the season and ties her longest consecutive streak with five in a row.

• Sophomore Holanchock tied her season-high with 25 digs in the four set contest, matching her effort against Embry-Riddle on Sept. 23 and her five set mark against Henderson State on Sept. 2.

• Right side hitter Beaumier set a new career-best with 15 kills for UT.  The sophomore added six digs, four assists, a block and a service ace in the rounded effort, leading the team with 16.5 points.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The loss marks just the second time that the Spartans have been defeated by the Sailfish, dropping their most recent matchup on Nov. 6, 2015.

• Tampa will meet PBA for a second time this season, traveling to West Palm Beach in the final weekend series of the regular season on Nov. 18.

UP NEXT:

The Spartans will host Eckerd College for a Tuesday, Oct. 25 match slated for a 7 p.m. start time. Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com.

TAMPA SPARTANS MOBILE APP:

A free app is also available for free download through Apple and Google Play stores. Please search for Tampa Spartans Front Row.

RECEIVE TEXT AN EMAIL ALERTS:

UT also offers a free messaging service for text and/or email, which sends alerts and press releases for Spartan teams. To sign up, please register atwww.tampaspartans.com.