Spartan’s Earn Catanach his 900th Win in Five-Set Fashion

TAMPA, Fla. - In familiar five-set fashion, the No. 7 University of Tampa volleyball team earned head coach Chris Catanach his 900th career victory.

Tampa took the match 3-2 (24-26, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 15-8) against conference foe Eckerd College.

The win gives the Spartans a 26-3 record and sole ownership of the Sunshine State Conference with a 15-0 mark. The Tritons dip to 21-8 with a 12-3 tally in conference matchups.

The catalyst behind the successful Spartan volleyball program holds the second highest number of wins among active coaches and the third all-time behind the retired Peggy Martin (1,099 Central Missouri/Spring Hill) and active coach Tracy Rietzke (1,021 Rockhurst).

Under his direction, the Spartans have eclipsed the 1,000 win mark as a program, also against Eckerd on Oct. 10 of this season.

The longtime UT coach had the support of his offense as the SSC Player of the Week Danielle Selkridge grounded an errorless 18 kills while outside hitters Jessica Yingling and Holly Reschke each notched 16. Selkridge padded her NCAA Division II leading hitting percentage with a .692 showing. The middle hitter also picked up five blocks against the program nemesis.

Sophomore Meagan Burke recorded double-digit kills with 10 while setter Kahley Patrick paced the onslaught, assisting 48 Spartan swings to the tune of a team .353 clip.

The defense was led by Yingling who tallied 18 digs, good for the Spartan's loan double-double. The senior Orlando, Fla. native didn't stop there, as she blocked four Triton swings. Libero Frances Cardenas amassed 14 digs to complement Yingling's dominant showing, as the duo helped limit Eckerd to a .158 attack percentage.

Triton outside hitter Lindsay Biggs led all players with 22 kills as her sophomore protégé Ali McAlvany had 15. EC setter Madison Burr tallied the squad's only double-double, picking up 11 digs and spinning a 29 assist match.

The Spartans hit the road to face Barry University in their final match of the regular season. The Miami Shores, Fla. matchup is slated for a 4 p.m. start, with live stats being made available through www.tampaspartans.tv.

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Chris Catanach Milestone Wins
1 - South Florida (3-1), 9/17/1984
100 - St. Thomas (3-0), 11/1/1986
200 - Florida Atlantic (3-0), 10/20/1989
300 - North Florida (3-0), 10/22/1992
400 - Florida Tech (3-0), 9/28/1996
500 - Mars Hill (3-0), 10/9/1999
600 - Florida Southern (3-0), 11/23/2002
700 - Eckerd (3-0), 9/16/2006
800 - Lynn (3-0), 10/23/2009
900 - Eckerd (3-2), 11/14/2012