Vanderhall, Yingling Power UT Into NCAA Finals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 2 University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team (31-3) edged the No. 9 University of Central Missouri Jennies (32-5) in straight sets to advance to the Division II volleyball national championship on Friday night. Outside hitters Melissa Vanderhall and Jessica Yingling combined for 22 kills as the Spartans reach the finals for the fourth time in program history.

Tampa, who won by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 25-21, will now take on the three-time defending champions in top-ranked Concordia University on Saturday at 4 p.m. on the campus of Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky.

Like they've done all season, the Spartans got off to a fast start by building a 13-7 lead in the opening set. The Jennies regrouped and went on an 8-4 run to bring the score to within two at 17-15 forcing head coach Chris Catanach to call a timeout. The move worked as Tampa registered eight of the next 10 points to win 25-17.

Tampa was errorless in the first set, connecting for 15 kills on .469 hitting as sophomore Jessica Yingling tallied six kills in eight swings. Junior Danielle Selkridge was an uncharacteristic 0-for-4 offensively but contributed with three blocks as the team finished with four total blocks.

The second set was much more competitive as the teams played to seven tie scores while the lead exchanged hands twice. Tampa quickly built a three-point lead after a few errors by Central Missouri, but the Jennies bounced back to tie the score at six. UCMO then took its first lead of the match when Bradye Peniston landed a kill to give her team a 9-8 advantage. The Jennies scored two more points after that to earn their biggest lead of the night at 11-8.

A timeout by Tampa quickly followed and the team responded by reeling off three straight points to tie the set at 12. A block by Selkridge and Meghan Sherman gave the Spartans the lead again at 14-13 and one they would not give up for the remainder of the frame. UT ran away with the set, despite registering just eight kills on .139 hitting to win 25-21.

The final set mirrored the first in terms of score with Tampa prevailing 25-21 as it hit .341. UT held the advantage for most of the third frame until UCMO tied the score at 18. The teams would exchange points until the game was knotted at 21 when the Spartans fired off four straight kills to send them into the national championship match.

Vanderhall, who tallied the last two kills of the match, finished the contest with 12 kills at a .345 rate while Yingling put home 10 kills at a .400 clip to lead the Tampa offense. The Jennies held the edge in kills though, posting 48 while the Spartans registered 40. UT was much more efficient however, notching a .312 attack percentage while UCMO was limited to a .165 mark.

Much of that can be credited to the 13 total team blocks the Spartans put up as they controlled the net for most of the match. Vanderhall and Selkridge each had a hand in five stops while Sherman tallied four.

Libero Julie Howlett anchored the back row, digging out a match-high 20 balls. Vanderhall recorded 10 digs in the winning effort, giving the three-time AVCA All-American her eighth double-double of the season.

The Spartans now look forward to Saturday's match against Concordia which will be the final event of the DII Fall Festival at 4 p.m. The teams have faced off twice this season, splitting the two contests.

Fans can follow along with livestats which will be provided though tampaspartans.com or watch a live stream of the championship match on ncaa.com/allaccess. For instant updates, follow the Spartans on Twitter at twitter.com/utspartans.