No. 1 Spartans Toe Past Mocassins in Four Sets

LAKELAND, Fla. - While chasing the University's best start in history, the top ranked University of Tampa volleyball team won its road match against conference rival Florida Southern College in four sets. With the win, the Spartans improve to 24-0 with a 11-0 Sunshine State Conference tally while the Mocs fall to 13-11 with a 7-5 mark in conference matches.

Junior Jessica Yingling led all Spartans with 15 kills with Danielle Selkridge and senior Eva Dupay coming in with 11 and 10 kills respectively. The 6'2 Selkridge posted six blocks and freshman middle blocker Meagan Burke notched four. Yingling and Dupay both picked up three blocks as the UT squad totaled 14 on the match.

Sophomore Holly Reschke and libero Julie Howlett paced the defense as the tandem amassed 23 and 21 digs respectively. Setting twosome Kahley Patrick and Sloane Baby each recorded a double-double in the four set match. Both picked up 11 digs while Patrick assisted 32 attacks to Baby's 14.

The back-and-forth first set saw a bevy of Spartans recording multiple kills, with Selkridge leading the UT squad with four kills on the 25-19 victory. FSC right side hitter Gabby Fernandez mirrored Selkridge's performance with four kills of her own as the Spartans pulled ahead late in the set.

The second round saw Yingling sizzle, swinging an errorless 6-for-9. Selkridge picked up three more blocks with Reschke digging out six FSC attacks. The duo helped limit the Mocs to a .083 attack percentage while the hard-hitting Spartans swung at a .517 clip with a single attack error in the second stanza.

FSC took the third set as a trio of Mocs tallied four kills each. The top ranked Tampa squad dropped the set by a 25-20 margin as Southern forces a fourth frame.

In the fourth frame, Dupay paced the 25-20 win with five kills. Libero Howlett dug out 13 FSC attacks on the fourth frame while Reschke tallied 11. The combo limited the Mocs to a .062 hitting percentage during the fourth stanza.

Spartans continue to chase history as they face Eckerd in a Friday night away match. With the win, Tampa can tie their best start in team history at 25. Live stats for the match we be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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