FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Oct. 31, 2008) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball dropped a five set thriller to the Eckerd College Tritons by the scores of 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25 and 16-14 inside the University Center Arena in action on Friday evening. The loss drops the Sharks to 19-7 on the season and 7-3 in Sunshine State Conference play while Eckerd improves to 17-11 and 5-6 in SSC play.

NSU came out firing in the opening set, hitting .324 en route to a 25-15 victory. Outside hitter Christina Chubb (Sr., Oakland Park, Fla.) led the charge with four kills, followed by setter Valia Petrova (Sr., Sofia, Bulgaria) and outside hitter Jenerra McGruder (Jr., Euless, Tex.) with three apiece. Petrova added three service aces and 10 assists in the set.

Eckerd rebounded to win the second set 25-23. The Tritons out-hit NSU .176 to .158, led by four kills from outside Lydee Benoit. Middle hitter Molly Sigerich (Fr., Downers Grove, Ill.) tallied seven kills and also had a block for NSU.

NSU went back up with a 25-20 third set victory. The Sharks hit .279 as a team while holding Eckerd to a .143 attack percentage. Middle Emily Carle (Sr., Missouri City, Tex.) ignited the offense with five kills, followed by Chubb with four. Libero Kathleen Yony (So., Miami, Fla.) contributed with seven digs for NSU.

Eckerd answered once again, coming from behind to register a 25-23 victory. The Sharks stumbled on offense, hitting just .086 as a team while Eckerd hit .133. McGruder had a team high four kills in the set while defensive specialist Alison Kalish accounted for six digs.

The Sharks had two set points but couldn't put the Tritons away in the fifth and final set, falling 16-14. Despite hitting .231, the Sharks feel short as Eckerd hit .310 as a team. Ariana Chinn led the way for Eckerd with seven kills and no errors in nine attempts in the set. Sigerich, Chubb, and Melinda Gorman (Sr., Sarasota, Fla.) had two kills apiece for NSU.

For the match, NSU out-hit Eckerd .216 to .185. The Sharks had nine more kills, nine more assists, six more aces, and four more blocks than the Tritons.

Sigerich led NSU with 17 kills and a .351 hitting percentage. Chubb and Carle also had double-figures in kills with 14 and 12, respectively. McGruder and Gorman had eight apiece. Petrova distributed 54 assists, had five kills, three aces and eight digs. Yony led the Sharks with 15 digs.

NSU remains at home, hosting University of Tampa at 4 pm on Saturday, November 1st inside the University Center Arena.