Tampa Stay Undefeated on the Road With Win Over Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. – The ninth ranked University of Tampa volleyball team continues dominant play with a win over Florida Southern.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:  

Final Score: No. 9 Tampa Spartans 3 (1: 25-20, 2: 25-13, 3: 17-25 4: 25-16), Florida Southern Moccasins Sailfish 1

Records: No. 9 Tampa (25-2, 16-1 SSC), Florida Southern (13-11, 9-8 SSC)  

Location: George W. Jenkins Field House || Lakeland, Fla.   

All-Time Series: Tampa currently leads the all-time series against Florida Southern as the series stands at 78-56. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED:  

First Set: The game opened up with both teams battling throughout the first set. Florida Southern was able to keep the game interesting but were never able to take the lead in set 1. || Score: 1-0 Tampa

Second Set: The scoring in the second set was kicked off by Sorrel Houghton who opened up the set with a kill. After errors by both teams, Tampa was able to get back on track as the duo of outside hitters Katie McKiel and Kalli Cors recorded back-to-back kills to give the Spartans a 6-1 lead. After going on a five point lead, the Moccasins were able to narrow the score to a three point margin. Following a Tampa timeout, Tampa was able to go on a 5-1 scoring run led by Sierra Rayzor, McKiel, and Houghton. || Score: 2-0 Tampa

Third Set: Unlike the first two sets, Florida Southern came out on the attack and were able to jump out to a quick lead. The Spartans were unable to take the lead in the third set, despite a late run to narrow the deficit, the lead proved to be too significant for Tampa as they dropped the set 25-17. || Score: 2-1 Tampa   

Fourth Set: The Spartans opened the fourth set with some offensive momentum, causing the Moccasins to call a timeout with a score of 11-4 following a Sarah Luoma kill, who would finish the night with eight kills. Tampa would continue to impress with their offensive attack in the middle of the set, leading by a score of 21-9. The Spartans would come out on top in this set, winning 25-16 and the match 3-1. || Final: 3-1 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:  

• Melissa Elias led the game in assists tonight as she recorded 23.
• Emily Noe finished the evening with 19 digs.
• Mackenzie Dufresne had a .571 hitting percent while also leading the game in blocks with five.
• Claudia Rivera has recorded double digit digs in her last 23 of 25 games.

UP NEXT: The Spartans will remain on the road as they travel to Fort Lauderdale to take on No. 22 Nova Southeastern on Saturday, November 13 at 1 PM.

GAMEDAY MULTIMEDIA: Fans may watch all home games and Sunshine State Conference contests on TampaSpartans.tv. Live stats are also available through TampaStats.com.  

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