Sensational Spartans Pounce Panthers on Senior Night

Tampa, Fla. – No. 3 Spartans Shine on Senior Night

Final Score: Tampa 3 (1: 25-15, 2: 25-16, 3: 20-25, 4: 25-14), Florida Tech 1

Records: No. 3 Tampa (26-1, 17-1 SSC), Florida Tech (9-19, 3-15 SSC)

Location: Bob Martinez Sports Center | Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set: Florida Tech was the first team to strike in the match, scoring the first 2 points of the day, but the Spartans swiftly responded with a 6-1 run that was aided by back-to-back kills from Nathaly Perez. Tampa continued to control the early stages of the set but after they doubled Florida Tech's score at 14-7, Panther head coach, Jordan Willis, called the first timeout of the day for either team. However, the timeout proved unsuccessful as the Spartans commanded the rest of the way, recording a total of 15 kills and 2 aces. The first set of the day was closed out with a kill from Perez, her fourth of the first set.  | Score: 25-15 Tampa

Second Set: Picking up where she left off in the first set, Perez opened the second with another kill as the Spartans quickly scored the first 3 points of the set. Maintaining their lead through the beginning of the set, Tampa led at 14-10 following a strong block from Mackenzie Dufresne and Perez as Florida Tech called their first timeout of the second set. However, the Spartans stayed strong through the Panther timeout and even grew the lead to 20-13, prompting another timeout from the visitors. The second break was met with a dominant kill from Kalli Cors which fueled the Spartans for the remainder of the set and a serving error from the Panthers ended the set in which the Spartans never trailed.   | Score: 25-16 Tampa

Third Set: The Spartans met the Panthers, who scored the first 2 points of the third set, with 4 straight of their own, including back-to-back JJ Ramirez assisted kills. Unfortunately, Tampa soon lost their lead and after a 4-1 run, in favor of Florida Tech, capped off with consecutive aces, put the Spartans down 9-7 and Coach Catanach called his first timeout of the day. The Panthers were able to sustain their lead throughout the middle of the set but after an ace from Ramirez marked 3 straight for the home team, the Panthers called a timeout as their lead was cut to 3. After allowing a 3-0 run shortly after the break, Tampa called their second timeout of the set, falling down 20-15. Florida Tech persevered, avoiding being swept, and eventually closed out the set on back-to-back errors from Tampa.    | Score: 25-20 Florida Tech

Fourth Set: An early lead in the fourth set in favor of the Spartans, at 3-1, quickly grew to 11-5 through a strong offensive presence and the Panthers needed a timeout in hopes of getting back on track. Scoring 5 of the next 6, Tampa dominated their way through the middle of the set and a picturesque kill from Cors extended their lead to 19-8. Tess Schrenger closed out the afternoon for the two teams with a kill that was phenomenally assisted by Emily Noe, which marked the 50th kill and 47th assist for the Spartans on the day.  | Score: 25-14 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Jenna Vaske tallied a hitting percentage of .500

• The match was led with 25 digs from Ramirez

• Perez and Schrenger added 10 kills each