Tampa Wins Battle of Top 10 Teams
TAMPA, Fla. - The number-one ranked University of Tampa volleyball team took round one of its pair of regular season meetings with ninth-ranked Florida Southern College as the Spartans took a 3-1 win in front of a crowd of 1,309. The victory moves Tampa to 13-1 on the season and 3-0 atop the Sunshine State Conference. Florida Southern drops to 12-4 and 1-1 in league play.
Tampa took game one by a score of 30-21 and then allowed the Moccasins to win the second game 30-24. The Spartans proceeded to win games three and four by scores of 30-22 and 32-30.
After lopsided victories for both teams in the first three games, the fourth game proved to be a battle of the two powerhouses as each had multiple games points. After a pair of failed attempts by both teams, the Spartans closed out the match on a pair of kills by Katelen Dixon.
UT quickly took command of the fourth game as it took an 18-12 lead before the Mocs chipped away at the advantage. Florida Southern eventually cut the Spartan lead to 24-23 and held off a Tampa match point at 29-28. Florida Southern took a brief lead at 30-29 before the Spartans won the next three points to win.
Erin Clark and Alisha Green were the offensive stars for Tampa, recording a team-high 16 kills. Katelen Dixon and Danielle MacDonald were also in double figures with 15 and 14 respectively.
UT and SSC all-time digs leader Margeaux Sinibaldi, who was honored for her record breaking achievement before the match, led all players with 27 digs on the night. At the net, Clark led the Spartans with four blocks as UT had 10 blocks compared to six by the Moccasins.
Tampa returns to action at home on Wednesday as it hosts Flagler at 7 p.m.