FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Oct. 21, 2008) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team won a five set nail biter over Barry University inside the University Center Arena in Sunshine State Conference play on Tuesday evening. The victory, NSUs fifth in a row, brings their record to 17-5 on the season, including 6-2 in SSC play while Barry falls to 10-7 and 2-6 in SSC play.
NSU took the first set, 25-23. The Sharks hit a match high .302 in the set, led by freshman middle Molly Sigerich (Downers Grove, Ill.) with four kills. Setter Valia Petrova (Sr., Sofia, Bulgaria) distributed 14 assists while defensive specialist Alison Kalish (Jr., Miami, Fla.) had five digs. Barry was led by outside hitter Camilla Pagnan with four kills and five digs.
The Buccaneers rallied to win the second set after facing set point, winning 26-24. Barry out-hit NSU .186 to .130 and had three total blocks in the set. Seniors Emily Carle (Missouri City, Tex.), Melinda Gorman (Sarasota, Fla.) and Christina Chubb (Oakland Park, Fla.) each tied for the team lead with three kills. Libero Kathleen Yony (So., Miami, Fla.) and Petrova had seven digs apiece.
Nova Southeastern rebounded to win the third set, 25-23. Despite being held to a .105 attack percentage, NSU found a way to win by stepping it up on defense, limiting Barry to a .024 attack percentage. Outside hitter Paola Ruiz (So., Rio Piedras, P.R.) had six of the nine kills for the Sharks. Yony added seven more digs.
Pagan carried Barry to 26-24 victory in the fourth set, totaling ten kills and only one error in 19 attempts for a .474 attack percentage. The Sharks hit .184 as a team, as Sigerich, Ruiz, and Chubb had three kills, apiece. Yony totaled seven digs for the third consecutive set.
NSU overcame an 8-6 deficit to win the match deciding fifth set, 15-12. Gorman rose to the occasion, blistering the Bucs defense with four kills while Chubb added three. Petrova tallied nine more assists and Yony added six digs. The Sharks out-hit Barry .172 to .120.
For the match, NSU out-hit Barry .180 to .175. The Sharks had nine more assists, six more aces, four more digs and ten more total points than the Bucs in the match.
Offensively, Gorman led the charge with 12 kills. She was followed by Ruiz, who set a new season high with 11 kills. Chubb posted ten while Carle and Sigerich had nine. Petrova tallied 51 assists, four kills, and three aces. Defensively, Yony set a new career high with 31 digs in the match while Petrova had 21. Gorman, Sigerich and Chubb each had three blocks.
Nova Southeastern celebrated Think Pink! Dig For A Cure Night to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. The Sharks wore pink warmup uniforms and pink shoelaces to show support for breast cancer awareness month.
Pagnan led Barry with 23 kills and 20 digs. Bucs libero Lauren Evans established a new career high with 37 digs.
NSU will travel to St. Augustine, Fla. to play Flagler College on Friday, October 24th at 7 pm before traveling to Daytona Beach, Fla. on Saturday, October 25th to play Embry-Riddle at 4 pm. Both matches can be heard live on the NSU Athletics Audiocast Network.
