FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Sept. 20, 2009) - The #23 Nova Southeastern University volleyball team was defeated by #5 Tampa in four sets in Sunshine State Conference play on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans won by the scores of 25-21, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-21. The loss drops NSU's record to 9-6 (1-2 SSC) while Tampa improves to 11-1 (2-0 SSC).

"It was one of the most balanced matches I've ever coached," said NSU head coach Steve Wilcosky after the match. "That is the difference between a top ten team and what we are striving to be. Tampa is a very disciplined team. We had some great individual performances but as a team we need to be more disciplined."

Tampa hit .341 en route to a 25-21 victory in the first set. Defending SSC player of the year Melissa Vanderhall carried the Spartans with seven kills and no errors in 11 attempts. The Sharks hit .294 as a team and were led by junior outside hitter Taylor Pohlman (Olathe, Kan.) with four kills.

The Sharks answered in the second set to win, 25-20. Freshman middle blocker Carly Perschnick (Dwight, Ill.) propelled NSU to a .436 hitting percentage with six kills and no errors in ten attempts. Senior outside hitter Jenerra McGruder (Euless, Tex.) followed with five kills. Tampa was held to a match low .163 attack percentage.

Five kills from Kaleigh Cunningham helped Tampa to a 25-20 third set victory. The set was tied at 15 apiece when the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to capture the momentum. Sophomore middle blocker Molly Sigerich (Downers Grove, Ill.) had five kills for the Sharks, who hit .190 as a team. Tampa hit an even .300.

The Spartans went to freshman outside hitter Jessica Yingling in the fourth set to win 25-21. Yingling recorded five kills and a .625 attack percentage in the set as the Spartans hit a match high .452. NSU, which hit .310, was led by Sigerich and junior outside hitter Lucia Cizmarova (Bratislava, Slovak Republic) with five kills apiece.

For the match, NSU out-hit Tampa .306 to .303. The Sharks had one more kill and one more dig while the Spartans had one more assist and seven more aces. The two teams were even with six blocks. Sigerich tallied a team high 15 kills and a .444 attack percentage to go along with three blocks. Cizmarova and McGruder were also in double figures with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Perschnick and Pohlman each finished with nine kills. Senior All-America setter Valia Petrova (Sofia, Bulgaria) posted five kills, 45 assists, 14 digs and two blocks. Junior libero Kathleen Yony (Miami, Fla.) had a team leading 20 digs.

Vanderhall paced Tampa with 17 kills. She was followed by Yingling with 16 and Cunningham with 11.

The Sharks remain at home to host Palm Beach Atlantic inside the Don Taft University Center at 7 pm on Thursday, Sept. 24th.