Tampa Volleyball Ends Season in Five-Set Loss in NCAA Regional Semifinals

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Tampa volleyball team saw its 2019 season come to an end in the NCAA South Regional semifinals in a five-set match against fellow Sunshine State Conference opponent Barry University.

Tampa's season ends with a 24-9 overall record, while the Buccaneers advance to Saturday regional championship match with a record of 22-11.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

The Buccaneers took the first two sets by identical scores of 25-18. Tampa hit just .167 in the opening set as Barry grabbed the 2-0 lead with marks of .375 and .469 in the first two games.

Though the Spartans hit just .162 in the third set, they ultimately prevailed by a 25-23 margin. UT would continue its success as it hit .400 in the fourth set while limiting Barry to its lowest hitting percentage of the match at .220 in a 25-19 fourth set triumph for UT to knot the score at 2-2 and force a deciding fifth set.

In the fifth set, the teams played even throughout with neither squad leading by more than two points during the deciding set. The Spartans had five match points as they held the one-point advantage until the Bucs took their first lead of the set since being up 7-6 on a Spartan hitting error that made it 20-19 in favor of Barry. The Bucs would be awarded the match point as a ball-handling error was called on the Spartans to give Barry the match with a 21-19 fifth-set win. 

INSIDE THE STATS:

• UT had three players in double-figures in kills, highlighted by Sorrel Houghton's 18 as the junior turned in a double-double with 11 assists. She also added four total blocks and two service aces.
• Katie McKiel added 16 kills and 10 digs.
• Middle hitter Kamari Potter recorded 11 kills to go with a .320 hitting percentage. The sophomore also had four blocks.
• Nicole Dominguez led the Spartan defense with 17 digs, one of four Spartans in double figures.
• Melissa Elias added 14 digs and nine kills.
• Freshman Mackenzie Dufresne was extremely effective with a .571 hitting percentage, going 8-for-14 on her attacks with zero errors. Her five blocks also represented a team-high.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• This marks the 35th NCAA tournament appearance for the Spartans, who have now appeared in 25 consecutive NCAA tourneys.
• Meeting three times in 2019, UT and Barry went five sets in each of their meetings. The regular-season series was a split with each team winning 3-2n on their home court.
• This was the 11th postseason meeting between Tampa and Barry, as the Spartans are now 11-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament against the Buccaneers. UT had previously won five straight over the Bucs in the regional.

UP NEXT:

With the 2019 season complete, please visit TampaSpartans.com for complete information on Tampa Volleyball.

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 free messaging service for text and/or email, which sends alerts and press releases for Spartan teams. To sign up, please register at TampaSpartans.com.