UTampa falls in NCAA South Region Championship 5-set thriller

Boca Raton, FL. – The UTampa season draws to a close after falling to Lynn at the NCAA South Region Championship.

Final Score: Tampa 2 (1: 17-25, 2: 25-16, 3: 25-15, 4: 19-25, 5: 13-15 ), Lynn 3

Records: Tampa (26-5, 16-4 SSC), Lynn (30-3, 17-3 SSC)

Location: de Hoernle Sports Center | Boca Raton, FL.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set:  Zoey Seput assisted on kills from Connor Rahn and Nathaly Perez to help Tampa jump out to an early 3-0 lead, kicking off the NCAA South Region Championship against Lynn. The Fighting Knights quickly responded with three separate scoring runs, prompting the Spartans to call a timeout as Lynn led 15-11. Although Tampa scored a quick kill and an ace following the break, they were forced to call another timeout during a 7-0 Lynn run that extended the Knights' lead to 22-13. Despite three different Spartans recording an ace in the final seven plays, it wasn't enough to close the gap, and the hosting Fighting Knights claimed the first set of the match.      | Score: 25-20 Lynn

Second Set:  Jumping out to a 3-0 lead, as they did in the first set, the Spartans responded to a 4-0 run by the Fighting Knights by scoring 6 of the next 7 points. Lynn called their first timeout of the day, trailing 12-7. Unfortunately for the No. 1 seeded Knights, Tampa answered the stoppage with an 8-0 run, during which Perez contributed 2 of her 4 second-set kills and a block. Despite Lynn scoring 7 straight points, forcing Tampa to call their first timeout as their lead narrowed to 21-15, the Knights couldn't overcome their game-high 11 errors in the set. The Spartans closed it out by taking 4 of the final 5 points.    | Score 25-16 Tampa

Third Set:  The third set began with both teams exchanging points before the Spartans broke away with an 8-0 run, highlighted by 2 kills from Hayley Dillon and 2 blocks by Seput, prompting Lynn's first timeout. Unable to find an offensive rhythm, the Knights hit just .027 as a team in the set, while Tampa maintained a steady lead. Heading into Lynn's second timeout at 18-11, the Spartans' offense continued to shine with 12 kills and a team-hitting percentage of .256, their best of the match. Tampa comfortably secured the set.     | Score: 25-15 Tampa

Fourth Set: With their season on the line, down 2 sets to 1 in the championship match, Lynn came out hot in the fourth set as they quickly found themselves with a 7-0 lead. UTampa responded to being in the hole by scoring 6 of 7 points with Mak Carter grabbing 2 kills and an assist as the tournament hosts' early lead was shaved down to 11-9. Opposite of the third set, the Fighting Knights were the squad to hold a middle-of-the-set lead and the Spartan's Head Coach, Chris Catanach, called his second timeout of the set as his team fell down 12-18. An ace from Kalli Cors capped off 3 straight Spartan points that sent the Knights into their first timeout of the set. The stoppage allowed Lynn to gather themselves and eventually close out a set in which they never lost their lead.  | Score: 25-19 Lynn

Fifth Set: As if taken from a movie, the nail-biting NCAA South Region Championship match entered its fifth and final set. Back-to-back Tampa kills, one from Rachel Gregg and another from Perez, followed by JJ Ramirez ace, helped the Spartans lead 6-3 early. Unfortunately, consecutive errors helped Lynn get to 8-7 and Tampa calling their first timeout of the set. The Spartan lead was soon overtaken and the, visiting, No. 13 team in the country was now down 2 headed into their final timeout. Two Fighting Knight errors and a timeout later, the Spartan's deficit was cut lowered to 13-14. A kill from Lynn, one play later, would close out the set, match, and season for UTampa.   | Score: 15-13 Lynn

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Perez had 18 kills for the second game in a row and 44 for the Tournament.
• Jenna Davis, Carter, Cors, and Rahn all recorded 3 blocks, Seput grabbing 4.
• Seput tallied 45 assists, her 12th game of the season recording 40 or more.