Tampa Dominates Nova Southeastern to Close October Undefeated

TAMPA, Fla. - The Spartans use a dominant performance by their front row to sweep the Sharks.

Final Score: No. 1 Tampa 3 (1: 25-17, 2: 25-12, 3: 25-17), Nova Southeastern 0

Records: No. 1 Tampa (20-0, 12-0 SSC), Nova Southeastern (13-9, 6-7 SSC)

Location: Bob Martinez Athletic Center | Tampa, Fla.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

First Set: The match started off cagey as neither team holding a lead over one point until Tampa broke the seesaw to lead 10-8. The first 24 points were split evenly and included eight ties in total. However, Tampa would grab the lead and start to extend it at this point. Tampa would slowly but surely pull away from the Sharks to achieve their largest gap of the set at the end. | Score: 25-17 Tampa

Second Set: After trailing out of the gate in the second set, Tampa started to assert their dominance to quickly grab the lead. Once ahead, Tampa would use a couple of five point scoring runs to pull away from the Sharks again in the second set. The Spartans closed out the set with three consecutive blocks to punctuate a 2-0 lead in the match. | Score 25-12 Tampa

Third Set: Tampa built off the momentum gained from the end of the second set to build an 11-4 lead just 15 points into the third set. Unlike the previous sets though, Nova Southeastern would regroup and steadily bring the gap down to 15-18 with the help of a couple of Spartan errors. Tampa would then regroup and slam the door by scoring seven of the final nine points to close out the match. | Score 25-17 Tampa

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Nathaly Perez led the Spartans with 14 kills, hitting an impressive .571 on 21 attempts.
• The Spartans recorded their 7th conference sweep of the season.
• Kayla Dondero led Tampa with 22 assists.
• Jenna Davis recorded 5 blocks, and has recorded at least 5 blocks in 5 of the last 7 games for the Spartans.
• Tampa's defense held the Sharks to a .031 team hitting percentage.