Tampa, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team fell in three sets at #8 Tampa in Sunshine State Conference play on Saturday afternoon by the scores of 25-22, 25-21 and 25-20. The loss drops the Sharks record to 14-9, including 5-5 in SSC play while Tampa improves to 22-2, 9-1 SSC.

NSU was behind the eight-ball in the first set, falling behind 9-2. The Sharks rallied to close to within three points at 21-18 but couldn't complete the comeback in the 25-22 loss. Junior outside hitter Lucia Cizmarova (Bratislava, Slovak Republic) had a set high four kills for NSU. The Sharks were out-hit .300 to .111.

Nova Southeastern fell behind early in the second set, trailing 14-7. A mid-set run wasn't enough for the Sharks as they lost 25-21.Freshman middle blocker Carly Perschnick (Dwight, Ill.) had a set high four kills and a .667 attack percentage for NSU. The Sharks were out-hit .452 to .281.

A back-and-forth third set saw seven ties and a lead changes before the Spartans pulled away late to win 25-20. The Sharks hit a match high .343 in the set but Tampa countered at .395. Cizmarova and sophomore outside hitter Anabely Escarpita (Boca Raton, Fla.) tied for the set high with three kills apiece.

For the match, Tampa out-hit NSU .384 to .243. Cizmarova tallied a match high 11 kills for the Sharks and hit .250. She was followed by Perschnick with eight kills and senior outside hitter Jenerra McGruder (Euless, Tex.) with six. Senior All-America setter Valia Petrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) registered 34 assists, four kills, eight digs and a block. Freshman defensive specialist Paige Boivin (Plainfield, Ill.) contributed with four digs.

Kaleigh Cunningham and Melissa Vanderhall tied for the Spartans team high with 14 kills.

The Sharks will travel return home to host Barry on Think Pink night on Tuesday, October 27th at 7 p.m. inside the Don Taft University Center.