Spartans Keep the Sharks at Bay to Advance to the NCAA South Regional Final

PENSACOLA, Fla. –  The No. 9 nationally ranked University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team defeated Nova Southeastern in a Friday night showdown at UWF Field House. The win moves the No. 2 seeded Spartans to the NCAA South Regional Final against No. 1 West Florida.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:    

Final Score: No. 9 Tampa 3, Nova Southeastern 1 (1: 20-25, 2: 25-14, 3: 25-15, 4: 25-14)   

Records: No. 9 Tampa (30-2, 19-1 SSC), Nova Southeastern (25-6, 15-4 SSC)    

Location: University of West Florida Field House || Pensacola, Fla.     

All-Time Series: Tampa currently leads the all-time series 36-3. 

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HOW IT HAPPENED:   

First Set: The first set began as a back-and-forth affair that knotted up at 9-9 midway through the set. Soon after, Nova would go on an 11-3 scoring run which proved to be too difficult for the Spartans to recover from. || Score: 1-0 Nova

Second Set: Much like the first set, the second began as a back-and-forth battle, neither team gaining a significant advantage. This time however, it was the Spartans who would capitalize on an 11-3 run, five of which were assisted by freshman setter Emily Noe. Tampa would close out the set by a score of 25-14. || Score: 1-1 Tie 

Third Set: Tampa established their dominance early on by opening the third set with a 9-1 scoring run. The Spartans would hold on to their lead capitalizing on great defense at the net from outside hitters Kalli Cors and Katie McKiel as well as middle blocker Sierra Rayzor. The third set, similar to the second, was finished in dominant fashion by UT, 25-15. || Score: 2-1 Tampa

Fourth Set: The Spartans chipped away at the Sharks throughout the fourth set, slowly building a sizable lead. Tampa capitalized on 4 services aces in the set and continued to dominate at the net defensively. The fourth set finished with the same score as the second, 25-14 UT.  Final: 3-1 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:   

• The Spartans recorded at least 20 blocks for the 5^th time this season, tallying 3 solo blocks and 18 assisted blocks .
• Melissa Elias and Noe both recorded double digit assists with 16 and 20 respectively.
• Cors lead the team in points with 13.5.

UP NEXT: The Spartans move on to the NCAA South Regional Final as they faceoff against No. 1 seed West Florida. The contest will take place at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday, December 4.

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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