Florence, Ala. (September 14, 2007) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team defeated University of Montevallo three games to one in the Sharks' first match of the UNA Regional Crossover Tournament. NSU beat UM 27-30, 30-22, 30-12, and 30-16 to improve to 8-4 on the season while the Falcons fall to 3-12 on the year.

Setter Valia Petrova (Jr., Sofia, Bulgaria) led the Sharks' attack, recording NSU's first triple-double of the season with 11 kills, 41 assists and 10 digs. The 11 kills also marks a career high for Petrova.

Middle blocker Emily Carle (Jr., Missouri City, Tex.) had five kills in the opening game loss for NSU. Even though the Sharks out-hit Montevallo .205 to .133 and out-scored the Falcons 22 to 15 in points, they fell by a 30-27 score. Petrova had three kills, 10 assists and two digs in game one.

Led by outside hitter Paola Ruiz's (Fr., Rio Piedras, P.R.) seven kills, the Sharks took down Montevallo 30-22 in game two. Middle Melinda Gorman (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.) followed with four kills while Petrova tallied one kill, 14 assists and four digs. NSU out-hit the Falcons .441 to .143 in the game.

NSU took control of game three from the beginning, and extended their lead the entire game for a 30-12 victory. The 18 points marks the largest margin of victory in a game for the Sharks this season. NSU hit .480 in the game while limiting Montevallo to a -.107. Ruiz once again led the Sharks in kills, landing four in the game. Petrova had two kills, nine assists and two digs in the game.

The Sharks continued to roll in game four, defeating Montevallo 30-16. Petrova had a game high five kills for NSU. She also had eight more assists and two more digs to total 11 kills, 41 assists and 10 digs in the match.

NSU hit .348 in the match while limiting Montevallo to just .018. The Sharks out-scored the Falcons 90-38 in points, 67 to 30 in kills, 55 to 28 in assists, 11 to one in blocks, and 45 to 32 in digs in the four games.

Ruiz led NSU in kills with 15, followed by Gorman with 12 while Petrova and Chubb each had 11. Defensive specialist Alison Kalish (So., Miami, Fla.) came off the bench to lead the team with three aces and 11 digs.

Katy Handrick, Kara Zawisza, and Katie Johnson each had six kills for Montevallo.

The Sharks continue play at the University of North Alabama Regional Crossover at 5:30 pm (ET) vs. Harding University in Florence, Ala. The match can be followed via livestats at http://www.roarlions.com/Volleyball/Current_Season/2007region.htm