Tampa Volleyball Goes 2-0 on the First Day of the South Region Crossover

HOOVER, Ala. – In the first day of the South Region Crossover, The University of Tampa went 2-0, defeating the Shorter University Hawks in four sets before sweeping the Valdosta State Blazers 3-0 in their second match.

The Spartans defeated the Shorter Hawks in four sets with scores of 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, and 25-15. UT's offensive efforts were led by freshmen Sorrel Houghton and Nylah Demps with 15 and 10 kills and .314 and .261 hitting percentages respectively. Additionally, sophomores Taylor Fosler and Nicole Dominguez each contributed heavily to the victory with nine kills and one block each. Dominguez also led the team defensively with 12 digs, followed by Molly McAlvany who suited up as libero for the Spartans, logging nine. Sammy Mueller acted as the sole setter for UT, ending the match with 41 assists, one kill, and one service ace, while senior Jen Aprile led the team in aces with three. Despite the offensive efforts of Shorter's Tiffani Estep who ended the match with 14 kills hitting .667, the Hawks were unable to stop the Spartans.  

Tampa then went on to sweep the Valdosta State Blazers in three sets, 25-22, 25-17, and 25-17. Once again, Houghton had an outstanding match for UT, hitting a whopping .353 with a team-high of 15 kills. This marks Houghton's fourth match in a row with 15 or more kills for Tampa. Fosler too, continued to have a day for the Spartans. She ended the match with 11 kills at a .786 kill percentage. Dominguez stated a double-double for UT, ending the game with 10 kills and 14 digs. At libero, McAlvany logged a team-high of 18 digs while Mueller quarterbacked the team with 42 assists in addition to having two service aces.

After the pair of victories for Tampa, the Spartans move to 7-10 on the season, 3-4 in the Sunshine State Conference. 

Day two of the South Region Crossover will resume this afternoon for the Spartans at 2:30 P.M. CST with a match against the University of West Alabama Tigers. Next week Tampa will take the road on Tuesday the 17th, to take on the Eckerd Tritons before heading home for a pair of home games against the Nova Southeastern Sharks and the Barry University Buccaneers on Friday and Saturday respectively.

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