No. 4 Spartans Fly Past the Yellow Jackets For Their Second Sweep of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament

WALTHAM, MA. – No.4 Spartans Fly Past the Yellow Jackets For Their Second Sweep of the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament

INSIDE THE MATCHUP: 

Final Score: Tampa 3 (1: 25-21, 2: 25-23, 3: 25-20) , American International 0

Records: No.4 Tampa (5-0, 0-0 SSC) , American International (1-4, 0-0 NE10)

Location: Dana Center | Waltham, MA.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set: The Spartans and Yellow Jackets would battle back and forth early on in the first set. However, as the Spartans began to slow down, they called timeout down 13-11 to the Yellow Jackets. Tied 14-14, JJ Ramirez's heads-up dig not only saved the point but allowed for an easy kill from Jenna Davis. Building on that momentum, the Spartans extended their lead over the Yellow Jackets late into the set. An ace from Kali Cors, followed by a block from Mackenzie Dufresne and Meghan Schreck on the next play put the Spartans up 23-18. Schreck then closed out the set a few plays later with a kill. Score: 25-21 | Tampa

Second Set: Tampa began the second set fighting to keep up with American International and not taking the lead until 8-7. Later on the Yellow Jackets got back on track and gained control of the game at 15-13, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout. A block from Rachel Gregg and Schreck tied the set at 19 all. The Spartans and Yellow Jackets exchanged blows late until the Spartans were down 22-20 which signaled a final timeout from Coach Catanach. A phenomenal dig from Zoey Seput and a beautiful block from both Jenna Vaske and Dufresne tied the game at 22-22. Kali Cors closed the set out with a kill to give Tampa a two-set lead. Score: 25-23 | Tampa

Third Set: The Spartans picked up the final set right where they left off; Seput set up Davis for the kill perfectly, making it 6-2 in favor of the Spartans. Ramirez led the Spartans out of the break with a pair of aces. The Yellow Jackets went on an 8-2 run which prompted a Spartans timeout though up 14-12. Lily Lucas recorded crucial digs late in volleys and then followed that up with an ace forcing the Yellow Jackets to call timeout with the Spartans up 22-17. Back-to-back kills from Tess Schrenger set the Spartans up 24-18. An easy set and kill from Emily Noe to Gregg ended the game and match. Score: 25-20 (Tampa)

INSIDE THE STATS: 

• Rachel Gregg recorded a .625 hitting percentage

• Mackenzie Dufresne recorded a .778 hitting percentage 

• Tampa improves to 5-0 on the season