Soaring Spartans Close Out Falcons to End Weekend

WALTHAM, MA. – No. 4 Tampa wins three straight sets after losing first set to Bentley.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

Final Score: Tampa 3 (1: 23-25, 2: 25-23, 3: 26-24, 4: 25-10) , Bentley 1

Records: No. 4 Tampa (6-0, 0-0 SSC) , New Haven (4-3, 0-0 NE10)

Location: Dana Center | Waltham, MA.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set: Looking to close out the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, the Falcons came out hot with back-to-back aces. The Spartans responded with pair of kills from Jenna Davis, igniting a 4-0 run. With the Falcons slowly keeping up, Mackenzie Dufresne entered the game and responded with consecutive kills herself. After going down 17-13, and then 20-14, Tampa had to take their first and second timeouts of the day. Kalli Cors's two deep kills aided the Spartans quick 3-0 run which resulted in a Falcons timeout with the Spartans still down 21-17. A block from Meghan Schreck and Davis tied the game at 22 all and was enough for Bentley to call their second timeout. The Spartans ended the set on a 9-4 run but it wasn't enough as the Falcons held onto their lead to win. Score: 25-23 | Bentley

Second Set: Similar to the first set, the Falcons got out to a quick 2-0 lead but the Spartans picked up momentum after a fantastic save by Zoey Seput, leading to a Nathaly Perez kill. The Spartans would then take a 6-3 lead causing the Falcons to call timeout. Coming out of the break, JJ Ramirez's consistent serving extended the Spartans lead to 9-3. Bentley later got themselves back into the set and Tampa called a timeout, still ahead 10-8. Tampa maintained a constant lead for the majority of the set and a quick putback kill from Dufresne would increase the Spartans lead to 19-15, forcing another Bentley timeout. Bentley did their best to complete a comeback but Perez closed things out with a flawless kill. Score: 25-23 | Tampa

Third Set: The Spartans finally took the first points of a set, coming out to a quick 6-3 lead. Rachel Gregg set Schreckup nicely for a mid-set kill. The duo found each other on the very next play to block a Bentley kill, making the Tampa lead 13-8 as the teams headed into a Bentley timeout. The Falcons came out of the break on fire, recording a 7-2 run which subsequently tied the game at 15-15. Although the Spartans fell behind 19-17, a fast 3-0 run gave them the lead late as the Falcons called another timeout. Perez was the first player of the match to reach double digit kills as she tallied two more late in the set but the Falcons wouldn't let up, forcing a Spartan timeout with the lead 23-22. The set ended on two attack errors in a row from Bentley. Score: 26-24 | Tampa

Fourth Set: Tampa, looking to close out the match and tournament, and Bentley, looking to stay alive, enter the fouth set having each scored at least 23 points in the previous sets. After some initial back-and-forth action, the Spartans began to pull away. It wasn't until a beautiful block from Tess Schrenger, making it 8-4, that Benley took their first timeout of the set. An immaculate kill from Perez, following one from Schrenger, extended the Tampa lead to 13-6. Bentley attempted to slow down Tampa with a timeout after falling down 17-8. Grace Greninger's kill capped off the Spartan's 20-6 run that began earlier in the set, as well as ending the set, match, and tournament. Score: 25-10 | Tampa 

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Nathaly Perez recorded 14 kills 

• Kalli Cors, JJ Ramirez (20), and Zoey Seput logged 10+ digs

• Tampa outblocked Bentley 14-8