Spartans Bury Barry to Clinch SSC Crown

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Behind a 3-0 sweep of Barry, the No. 5 University of Tampa volleyball team clinched at least a share of the 2015 Sunshine State Conference volleyball championship on Saturday.

The win marks the 11th consecutive SSC title and the 25th in program history, as the Spartans improve to 22-5 and 11-1 in conference action while the hosting Buccaneers dip to 12-10, 7-6 in SSC play.

Seniors Marissa Lisenbee and Berkley Whaley led the charge, as the duo each notched 10 kills.  Middle blocker Katarina Milojevic swung a 4-for-5 effort without committing an attack error, good for a .800 hitting efficiency. Fellow middle Jessica Wagner held the Bucs at the net, posting four blocks while adding six kills on offense.  Junior Allee Stelogeannis mirrored with six kills in addition to eight digs.

Libero Logan Holanchock added nine digs to lead the back row while Whaley picked up eight.

The Spartans used a balance offense to take the opening set by a 25-21 score. Pin hitters Lisenbee, Stelogeannis and Whaley each smacked three kills while senior Wagner stopped a pair of Barry swings at the net on defense.  The middle blocker added two kills as Tampa took a 1-0 advantage after the first stanza.

Barry traded points with Tampa in the early minutes of the second frame as the Buccaneers back row defense robbed the Spartans of some kills. With the score knotted at 5-5, the Bucs jumped out to a three point lead before the swing of Whaley turned the tables.  The senior grounded 5 kills as Tampa claimed its first lead at 18-17 over Barry.  The Bucs could not right the ship as Tampa took the second set 25-21.

Milojevic terminated three kills in four swings in the third frame as Tampa turned a 25-18 win to clinch a share of the SSC title.  Holanchock and senior Megan Heffron each dug out four Barry swings to limit the Bucs to a .116 team attack clip in the final stanza.

Tampa will return home to host Florida Tech on Thursday, Nov. 14 for a 7 p.m. contest in the Bob Martinez Athletics Center.  Live stats as well as a live video webcast will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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