WINTER PARK, Fla. (Nov. 15, 2008) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team was shocked by the Rollins College Tars in five sets by the scores of 25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, and 13-15 in their Sunshine State Conference and regular season finale. The Sharks, drop to 21-11 on the season, 9-7 in SSC play while Rollins, who overcame a two set deficit, improves to 19-18 overall and 4-12 in SSC play.

The Sharks took the opening set behind the play of seniors Melinda Gorman (Sarasota, Fla.) and Emily Carle (Missouri City, Tex.), who had four kills apiece. Senior setter Valia Petrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) added three kills, 13 assists and seven digs. NSU out-hit Rollins .200 to .000.

NSU hit a match high .286 to win the second set, 25-20. Carle, Molly Sigerich (Fr., Downers Grove, Ill.) and Andrea Irarrazabal (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) each had three kills. Libero Kathleen Yony (So., Miami, Fla.) had a set high five digs.

Rollins rebounded to win the third set, 25-21. The Tars out-hit NSU .179 to .111 behind the performance of Caitlin Vyborny, who had five kills and no errors in seven attempts. Gorman had four kills for NSU.

Even though the NSU hit .232 as a team, the Sharks were beaten 25-23 by Rollins, which hit a match high .342. Vyborny once again led the Tars, with six kills. Petrova had nine assists and six digs.

In an amazing feat, Rollins won the fifth set despite hitting .000 as a team and posting only two kills. NSU helped the Tars out with 13 errors, including five attack errors, four service errors, two reception errors, and two ball handling errors.

For the match, NSU out-hit Rollins .198 to .152. NSU had 23 more kills, 22 more assists, 11 more digs, and 19 more total points but also had 30 attack errors and 19 service errors. Gorman and Carle tied for the team lead with 15 kills. Sigerich followed with 11. Petrova totaled six kills, 51 assists, and 24 digs in the match. Vyborny led Rollins with 15 kills.

The Sharks now await a possible bid to the NCAA South Regional Tournament.