Clark Sets Pace as #1 Tampa Tops Florida Tech
TAMPA, Fla. - The top-ranked University of Tampa volleyball team registered a 3-1 victory over Florida Tech in a meeting of Sunshine State Conference teams. The Spartans improve to 23-1 and 10-0 in league play as the Panthers drop to 18-11 and 1-11 in SSC action.
UT came out on fire, recording a 30-18 game one triumph. The Spartans were equally impressive in game two with a 30-23 win. Florida Tech answered with a game three rally to win 31-29 before UT closed out the match with a 30-19 game four victory.
Erin Clark set the pace with a perfect game one as she connected on 9-9 attacks. After trailing 4-1, Tampa broke the game open with eight straight points. The Spartans never trailed in game two as they closed out the game on an 8-1 run.
Game three saw an even matchup as neither team managed to have more than a two point lead. Trailing 28-27, UT allowed Florida Tech to win four of the next five points to claim the win. Tampa rebounded in game four, going on a 9-2 run to begin the game. The Spartans held on to claim the victory.
The duo of Clark and Melissa Vanderhall led the offense as Clark finished with a team high 26 kills to go with a .550 hitting percentage. Vanderall recorded a new career high with 17 kills off the bench and led UT with a .552 attack percentage. Katelen Dixon and Alisha Green were also in double figures with 11 and 10 kills respectively.
UT also had four players with double figures in digs as Margeaux Sinibaldi's 15 led all Spartans. Dixon chipped in 14 while Gabriela Saade had 11. Camila Saade also added 10 off the bench.
The Spartan defense also recorded 10 blocks as Green and Clark had four apiece. Danielle MacDonald added three blocks for Tampa.
After hitting an astounding .606 in game one, Tampa finished with a .340 attack percentage while limiting the Panthers to .190. Gabriela Saade enjoyed team honors with 65 assists.
Tampa hits the road as it will face Nova Southeastern on Saturday at 4 p.m., in Fort Lauderdale.