Tampa, Fla. (November 16, 2007) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (26-10) fell 3-1 in the NCAA Division II South Regional semifinals to the No. 14 ranked Florida Southern Moccasins (26-8), on Friday evening at the Bob Martinez Sports Complex on the campus of the University of Tampa.

After dropping the first two games 19-30 and 14-30, the Sharks rallied to take the third game 30-26. NSU seemed destined to force a fifth and decisive game, where they were an amazing 13-1 in five-game matches during the regular season. The Sharks built a 27-23 advantage in game four, but the Mocs went on a 7-1 run to close out the match and advance to the NCAA South Regional Final.

Overall, NSU was led by Aley Tallman (So., Wichita, Kan.) who had a team-high 13 kills and .291 hitting percentage. Melinda Gorman (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) had 11 kills and hit .194 and Christina Chubb (Jr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 10 kills and hit .226 for the match. Setter Valia Petrova (Jr., Sofia, Bulgaria) tallied 37 assists, 16 digs and four kills, while Emily Carle (Jr. Missouri City, Texas) and Andrea Irarrazabal (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) had seven kills each.

Florida Southern out-hit NSU .304 to .144, had 20 more kills, 23 more aces and three more blocks than the Sharks. The victory for Florida Southern avenged two regular season defeats at the hands of NSU.

Ashley Martin had a match-high 20 kills, Beverly Stasis had 19 kills and Danielle Durham posted 16 kills for FSC. Elise Burke distributed a match-high 59 assists and Stasis recorded a match-high 23 digs.

The 2007 campaign was a season of many firsts and new records for the Sharks. NSU fashioned a 15-game improvement over their 11-20 finish in 2006, and their 26 wins more than the previous three season's win totals combined.

Two seniors will also be graduating from the 2007 squad, as Jenny Fitch (Batavia, Ill.) and Jessica Donisi (Palm Bay, Fla.) suited up for the final time for the Sharks.