Spartans Win Battle Of SSC’s Top Teams Behind Danielle Selkridge’s Career Day

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. - In a matchup between the top two teams in the Sunshine State Conference, the No. 5 University of Tampa (14-3, 6-1 SSC) took a five set victory over Barry University (9-3, 6-2 SSC) to move atop the league standings.

Sophomore middle hitter Danielle Selkridge enjoyed a record-breaking performance as UT won by scores of 27-29, 25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 15-11.

Barry came out ahead in the first set, ultimately winning after each team held game point opportunities. Selkridge gave Tampa a boost as she connected on all five of her attempts.

In the second set, Tampa turned a 17-13 deficit into a 10-0 rally as it held off the Buccaneers to even the score at one apiece. Selkridge was 6-for-6 in the frame as Julie Howlett recorded six digs.

The Spartans used a 7-1 run in the middle of the third set to register the 25-17 win. With the frame tied at 13, UT began its spurt as Selkridge led the Spartans with five kills.

The Buccaneers regained their first half momentum as it held on to a lead to earn the fourth set with a slim victory.

The fifth and deciding set opened with each team trading points before UT grabbed a 7-4 lead. After trading points again, a Meghan Sherman and Eva Dupay block then gave UT a 10-7 advantage and followed with another Spartan point that forced a Barry timeout with UT up 11-7.

Barry then took three of the next four points in the fifth, leading to a Tampa timeout with a 12-10 advantage. Selkridge executed an offensive play perfectly out of the timeout and answered with a block solo to stretch the lead to 14-10. After a Barry point, Jessica Yingling scored the game winner to secure the UT victory.

Selkridge finished with a career-high 23 kills to lead Tampa as she also set a school record with a .714 hitting percentage in a five-set match. She also totaled two blocks solos and another assisted for a total of three blocks. She tallied 25.5 points while playing all five sets.

Melissa Vanderhall added 15 kills as Kaleigh Cunningham turned in 14. Meghan Sherman notched a team-high 57 assists.

Defensively, Julie Howlett and Vanderhall each registered 20 digs while Cunningham and Sherman had 11 and 10 respectively. Eva Dupay added a team-high four blocks with Sam Macks finishing with three.

UT is back in action on Saturday in Fort Lauderdale when it meets Nova Southeastern in another SSC contest. The match is scheduled for 4 p.m. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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