Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (November 4, 2006) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (11-20, 3-13 SSC) concluded the 2006 campaign, falling 3-2 in a five-game battle versus SSC rivals Barry University (15-13, 8-8 SSC) on Saturday afternoon in the NSU University Center Arena.

The Sharks took games one and two by identical 30-26 scores, but the Bucs rebounded to take game three 30-27, game four 30-20 and game five 15-13.

NSU was led by sophomore outside-hitter Melinda Gorman (Sarasota, Fla.) who registered a team-high 17 kills, while fellow outside-hitter Christina Chubb (So., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) had 16 kills and hit .423 for the match.

Barry junior middle-hitter Samara de Freitas posted a match-high 33 kills and .491 hitting percentage to lead the Bucs. Barry setter Maria Romanowski also registered a match-high 55 assists for the visitors.

NSU's senior right-side Karla Ortiz (Miami, Fla.) had 14 kills, and a .257 attack percentage, senior setter Megan Johansen (Arlington, Neb.) had 52 assists and senior libero Itza Miranda (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) posted 17 digs in their final match for the Sharks.

Overall, the Sharks out-hit the Bucs .200 to .193 and out-blocked Barry 10 to seven. Barry had 84 points, while NSU had 78 points in the evenly-played contest.

The match closed the curtain on a season that featured many memorable highlights including the opening of the University Center Arena, which ushered in a new chapter in the 25-year history of Nova Southeastern University Athletics.

Under the direction of first-year head coach Steve Wilcosky, the Sharks notched 11 victories which eclipsed the win total of the previous two seasons combined. During the season, NSU also fashioned an impressive four-match sweep on the road in the C.W. Post Tournament.

With 10 underclassmen returning in 2007, the future looks very promising for the NSU volleyball program