Spartans Thwart Upset With Victory Over Lions
SAINT LEO, Fla. - In five-set fashion, the No. 3 University of Tampa stifled the Saint Leo University upset attempt with a 3-2 win. Tampa took the thriller by set scores of 25-15, 19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12.
The Spartans improve to 11-1 on the season with a 3-0 mark in Sunshine State Conference play while the Lions dip to 10-5 record and 0-2 in SSC meetings.
Sophomore Jessica Wagner sported a .455 attack percentage with seven kills while outside hitter Berkley Whaley amassed 17. Setter Gina Clarke posted a double-double as the freshman notched 21 assists and 16 digs. Libero Frances Cardenas led all players with 20 total digs for the squad.
The UT team blocked 10 SLU attacks, with Meagan Burke tallying six. Sophomores Marissa Lisenbee and Wagner stopped three apiece while Whaley picked up four.
Lions junior Alexa Griffith-Hardy led all players with 18 kills at an astounding .516 attack percentage. SLU outside hitter Lauren Campbell followed with 14 kills in the five set contest.
The Spartans ended the match hitting .211 as a team while Saint Leo totaled a .218 clip.
UT will continue its road matchups with a contest in the MacArthur Center of Eckerd College. The Spartans will face off against the Tritons Saturday with a 4 p.m. start time. Live stats will be made available through www.tampaspartans.tv.
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