Tampa Takes Two in First Day of South Region Crossover

ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 21 University of Tampa volleyball team swept both of its opponents to open the 2016 South Region Crossover hosted by the Sunshine State Conference in Orlando, Fla.  UT bested Christian Brothers in consecutive sets before sweeping second-seeded Shorter 3-0.

INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:

Game One Final: No. 21 Tampa 3, Christian Brothers 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-16)
Records: UT Spartans (11-4), CBU Buccaneers (10-9)
Game Two Final: No. 21 Tampa 3, Shorter 0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-15)
Records: UT Spartans (12-4), SU Hawks (14-3)
Location: Orlando Sports Center | Orlando, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Tampa vs. Christian Brothers

Set 1 | Tampa used its three pin-hitters to take the opening set by a 25-21 score.  Senior Allee Stelogeannis peppered three kills in the first frame while freshman Katie McKiel added her own three-kill effort.  Junior Molly McAlvany was the final Spartan with three kills while fellow junior Kelsey Watts served up a trio of aces in the first frame victory.

Set 2 | McKiel unloaded a five-kill barrage in the second frame as the CBU defense could not stop the freshman outside hitter. Sophomore Gen Beaumier added three kills while Logan Holanchock and her four digs led the defense. The Buccaneers saw an outbreak from Mary Kathryn Miller posted a 5-for-6 effort from the middle. UT took the stanza by a 25-22 score.

Set 3 | The Spartans concluded play with a .524 attack percentage in the third set as the offense was running on all cylinders. Middle Alexandra Misca hit a perfect 3-for-3 and an equally pristine 2-for-2 set from McAlvany. The UT offense was too much for CBU to handle, resulting in a sweep by a 25-16 final set score.

Tampa vs. Shorter

Set 1 | Stelogeannis continued her rampage into the Spartans' second game of the day, swatting four kills to open the match. Holanchock anchored the back row with an astounding nine digs in just the first set. Fosler grounded three kills as Tampa bested Shorter 25-19 in the premier set.

Set 2 | McKiel and Stelogeannis each blasted five kills in the second set as UT rolled to a 25-15 victory. Sophomore Holanchock added another six digs to stymie the Hawks.

Set 3 | Senior Stelogeannis delivered another five-kill salvo in the final set as the Spartans swept the Hawks in consecutive sets behind a 25-15 third set score.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• McKiel led the offense with a torrid .600 attack percentage in the first game before adding

• Middle blocker Taylor Fosler totaled five blocks including a pair of solo stops at the net. The freshman finished with five kills at a strong .556 clip.

• Tampa's setting tandem of Jen Aprile and Sammy Mueller dished 35 assists combined, pacing the offense to a team attack percentage of .321 in the 3-0 sweep of CBU.  The duo added another combined effort with 37 assists to keep the offensive tempo

• Holanchock finished with three service aces to match the strong serve of Watts in game one before McAlvany added two aces against Shorter.

• Defensively, Holanchock tallied 28 digs on the day, holding opponents below .200 in both matchups (CBU hit .176 while Shorter hit .071).

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tampa hit above .300 for the sixth time this season to begin play. The top offense in the Sunshine State Conference hit .321 in the 3-0 sweep of Christian Brothers before besting Shorter with a team .290 clip.

• Stelogeannis turned her 10^th double-double of the season with 14 kills and 13 digs against Shorter. The outside hitter's consecutive double-double streak came to an end in the first game of the day, as the senior totaled 10 kills and seven digs.

UP NEXT:

The Spartans will conclude its run in the South Region Crossover ton Saturday, Oct. 15 with a 10 a.m. contest against Union University in Orlando, Fla. Live stats will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com. 

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