Tampa Bests Nova Southeastern to Close Out Regular Season

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Closing out the regular season on the road, the No. 24 University of Tampa volleyball team battled Nova Southeastern University to a 3-1 win on Saturday at the NSU Arena.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 24 Tampa 3, Nova Southeastern 1 (25-27, 26-24, 25-12, 25-22)
Records: Tampa Spartans (22-8, 12-4 SSC), Nova Southeastern Sharks (12-19, 4-12 SSC)
Location: NSU Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

Set 1 | Senior Allee Stelogeannis led the opening set with a eight kill effort, adding four digs for defense. Freshman Taylor Fosler posted four kills at a torrid .667 clip in the first stanza. Tampa led for most of the set but the resilient Sharks came away with a 27-25 premier set. Sophomore Denvyr Tyler-Palmer posted six kills for the Sharks to lead the charge.

Set 2 | Tampa rebounded after a back-and-forth second set that saw eight tie scores and four lead changes but ultimately went the way of the Spartans. Stelogeannis blasted five kills while Fosler posted a 2-for-2 outing. Tyler-Palmer matched with her own five-kill effort as UT emerged with a 26-24 second set win to knot the match at 1-1.

Set 3 | Freshman Nicole Dominguez led the charge in the third stanza, totaling five kills without an attack error, converting at a .500 attack percentage. Stelogeannis added three more kills for 17 through the match thus far, picking up another five digs to secure a double-double. Tampa defeated NSU handily with a 25-12 win in the third.

Set 4 | The match returned to both teams fighting tooth-and-nail for advantage as the set ended 25-22 in favor of the Spartans to end the match with a Tampa win. Stelogeannis notched six kills to lead Tampa to the win while Dominguez kept the back row tempo with seven digs.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Stelogeannis finished the regular season by matching her career-high in kills with 23. The senior added 18 digs for a double-double. The outside hitter finished the regular-season with a team-best 457 kills.

• Dominguez notched her second double-double of the season behind a rounded 12 kills and 17 digs. The freshman finished with two service aces and a solo block.

• Freshman Sammy Mueller posted a career-high 18 digs in the four set win, adding 28 assists for a double-double. Libero Logan Holanchock led the Tampa defense with 19 digs.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Despite tying Saint Leo for first-place in the Sunshine State Conference, the Lions came away with the conference championship due to their sweep of Tampa in the regular-season series.

• For the first time since the 2004 season, the UT volleyball team did not win the SSC Championship, despite a tie atop the standings.

UP NEXT:

UT will wait for final seeding for the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament on Monday, as the NCAA will host a selection show to announce the 64-team postseason tournament to determine the volleyball national champions. 

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