Spartans End Season in Heartbreaker

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The No. 2 University of Tampa volleyball team concluded its season with a heartbreaking loss to No. 3 Concordia University - St. Paul in the NCAA Division II Semifinal match.

The Golden Bears took the match 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-13) and look to face host Cal State San Bernardino in the NCAA Division II Championship.

The Spartans conclude their season 33-2 while the Golden Bears improve to 33-2 as they continue to their final match of the year.

Three Spartans ended the night with 10 kills in Danielle Selkridge, Holly Reschke and Meagan Burke.

Outside hitter Jessica Yingling came in closely behind with nine swats while senior Eva Dupay grounded seven. Dupay and Yingling each tallied 14 digs on the four set match. Libero Julie Howlett dug out 18 Golden Bear swings to lead the Spartan defense.

Golden Bears duo Megan Carlson and Kayla Koenecke smacked 15 kills with the latter posting an errorless .652 hitting percentage.

The first set saw the UT squad come back with a 7-0 run to finish the stanza 25-23. Middles Burke and Selkridge each notched four kills with Yingling leading the charge with five. The Orlando, Fla. Native matched her kills with five digs on the set.

Concordia regrouped to take the second set 25-14 as Koenecke and Carlson led the attack.

Tampa dropped the third frame in similar fashion as the Golden Bears made few mistakes to win the advantage 25-18.

The match was won in the fourth as Concordia held a lead through the set, ending the Spartan season with a 25-13 final score.

The Spartans head home with an excellent season record of 33-2 as the team concludes its 2011 campaign.