September 29, 2017
Tampa Fails to Reel in No. 4 Ranked Sailfish
UT falls to the PBA Sailfish in three sets.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish prove to be too tough to catch, thus defeating the University of Tampa Spartans in three sets. The Sailfish move to 11-0, 6-0 in SSC play, while the Spartans fall to 3-9, 1-3 in SSC competition.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic 3, Tampa 0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-23)
Records: Tampa Spartans (3-9, 1-3 SSC), Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (11-0, 6-0 SSC)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1 | After a neck race to the end, the No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic took the first set 26-24. Courtney Vogler set the tone of the game, with an outstanding first kill and point of the match. Vogler ended the set with three kills, at a .500 hitting percentage, in addition to having three blocks for the Spartans. Freshman Nylah Demps headed Tampa on the pins, stating four kills, two blocks, four digs and a service ace for UT. Despite ending the set with a five to two block advantage over the Sailfish, the Spartans were unable to stop PBA's Ally Rohn, who had five kills in the set hitting .556.
Set 2 | Palm Beach Atlantic came out hot in the second set. Tampa couldn't seem to find its groove, and PBA maintained intensity and dominance. The Sailfish won the set 25-15. Senior Kasey Reynolds defended the Sailfish the best she could, picking up seven digs in the set. Offensively, Sorrel Houghton had a team-high of two kills in the set.
Set 3 | After intermission, it was clear when Tampa took the court, that they were not going to be defeated without putting up a fight. Sophomore Taylor Fosler had four kills in the set, ending the match with nine total, hitting .261. Additionally, freshman Melissa Elias logged 14 assists and five digs for the Spartans. Despite the outstanding defensive efforts of Reynolds and Gen Beaumier, who ended the match with 16 and 10 digs respectively, PBA won the third with a set score of 25-23.
INSIDE THE STATS:
• Nicole Dominguez and Nylah Demps each contributed nine kills to Tampa's 39 total in the Match.
• Tampa out blocked Palm Beach Atlantic, nine to four.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
• Gen Beaumier had a season-high of 10 digs against the Sailfish.
• Tampa leads the all-time series against the Sailfish 8-4, however, they have lost the last four matchups between the two schools.
UP NEXT:
Tampa continues it's road weekend tomorrow, Saturday the 30th, against the Rollins College Tars. Tampa will not return home until Friday, Oct. 20 where they will host the Nova Southeastern Sharks for a 7 pm. match. Live stats and a live video webcast will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com.
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