Sailfish Stymie Spartans in Sweep

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – In a top-25 showdown, the No. 24 University of Tampa volleyball team fell in straight-sets to regional foe No. 10 Palm Beach Atlantic University, Friday evening. The Sailfish bested the Spartans 3-0 behind set scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 26-24

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:

Final: No. 10 Palm Beach Atlantic 3, No. 22 Tampa 0 (25-16, 25-18, 26-24)
Records: Tampa Spartans (21-8), Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (27-3)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set 1 | The Sailfish offense began the contest with a swift-swing, hitting .500 as a team behind a 5-for-6 set from outside hitter Olivia Finckel. Tampa was led by right side hitter Gen Beaumier, as the sophomore swung a perfect 3-for-3 to begin play. PBA rolled to a 25-16 premier set with its strong offensive showing.

Set 2 | Tampa held steady with the Sailfish in the second set, as freshman Taylor Fosler posted a pair of blocks and three kills. The set saw nine tie scores and two lead changes but the set ultimately went to PBA as the home team pulled away late in the set to earn a 2-0 match advantage. A 25-18 score won the set as middle hitter Sarah Ragland totaled four kills in the frame for the Sailfish.

Set 3 | Despite mounting an eight-point comeback attempt, the Sailfish outlasted the Spartans 26-24 in the third and final set to take the match 3-0. UT rattled-off eight consecutive points facing match point to tie the set at 24-24 before PBA hung on for the win. Fosler posted five kills and two blocks for the Spartans as her monster day was not enough to defeat the No. 10 ranked team in Division II.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Outside hitter Nicole Dominguez led UT in kills, posting 10 to lead all players on the match. The freshman added nine digs to narrowly miss a double-double effort.

• Senior Allee Stelogeannis led on defense for Tampa, notching 15 digs to tie for the match-lead.

• Palm Beach Atlantic used an even offense to take the contest as no player reached double-digit kills with five athletes totaling eight or nine kills. Middle blocker Ragland dominated the match, posting nine kills at a blistering .692 clip with four blocks.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tampa has lost three consecutive contests to Palm Beach Atlantic, with today's loss marking the first time in the all-time series that the Sailfish has swept the regular season series against the Spartans.

UP NEXT:

UT will play its final regular-season contest of the 2016 season on Saturday, battling Nova Southeastern University on the road for a 4 p.m. Live stat and video links will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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