No. 2 Spartans Blank Nova, Extend Winning Streak

TAMPA, Fla. - Kicking off the final homestand of the regular season, the second-ranked University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team trounced the visiting Nova Southeastern Sharks in straight sets on Friday night in the Bob Martinez Sports Center. With the win, Tampa improves to 25-3 overall and 14-1 in Sunshine State Conference play while NSU drops to 8-19 and 3-13 in the SSC.

The Spartans, having already clinched their sixth consecutive SSC title last weekend, won by scores of 25-6, 25-23, 25-16 and extends their winning streak to 15 games.

In the opening set of the match, UT used an 11-0 run to build a 17-4 lead as five different Spartans recorded at least one kill in that span. The home team went on to win the game by 19 points, the largest margin of victory for Tampa this season.

The Sharks got right back in the contest during the second frame, forcing 14 tie scores and six lead changes. With the score knotted at 15, senior Kaleigh Cunningham slammed home a kill that put the Spartans up for good. Melissa Vanderhall powered Tampa with seven kills in set while Danielle Selkridge followed with four in six swings.

Head coach Chris Catanach then emptied his bench in the final game as 12 different Spartans saw action. Freshman Holly Reschke was four-of-five in the set as Tampa hit a cool. 500 on the way to a 25-16 triumph.

Selkridge and Vanderhall finished with a match-high 10 kills, hitting .692 and .304 respectively. Selkridge entered the match as the fourth most efficient player in the nation in hitting percentage and improved that number to a .445 mark. Jessica Yingling followed with seven kills at a .429 rate as UT finished with 43 kills, compared to just 26 for NSU.

Senior setter Meghan Sherman dumped three kills on five attempts and handed out 38 assists, guiding UT to a .447 hitting percentage for the match.

Libero Julie Howlett anchored the backrow for the Spartans, collecting a match-high 14 digs and help limit the Sharks to a .189 clip for the contest. Selkridge also contributed defensively with four blocks, helping the team notch 10 overall in the match.

Tampa returns to the court Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. for the final home match of the season against Barry University. The Spartans will honor their four seniors for Senior night before the contest. Live stats will be available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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