BOX SCORE

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s volleyball team (4-15) took on a good attacking team in Palm Beach Atlantic (17-2) Wednesday night, falling on the road to the Sailfish, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-7).

The Sailfish opened the match with a pair of kills from Christina Alessi, but Lauren Lewkowicz (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) responded with the Sharks first kill of the match. NSU then got kills from Danielle Graham (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Anabely Escarpita (Sr., Boca Raton, Fla.) to knot the match, 3-3.

PBA built an 18-9 advantage midway through the first set behind four kills from Mariela Quesada. The Sharks battled back though, as Molly Sigerich (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill.) would record two kills, to go along with a block with teammate Rachel Woodson (Jr., Rogers, Ark.). NSU would get within five, 24-19, before a Lisa Jedlicka kill clinched the set for the Sailfish.

In the second set, the Sailfish jumped out to a 5-1 lead, but the Sharks once again fought back. Jordan Pappas (Jr., Naperville, Ill.), Graham and Escarpita tallied consecutive kills, and then three points later Graham added a service ace to tie things up at 6-6. 

NSU stayed within one, 11-10, following back-to-back kills from Pappas and Graham, but the Sailfish would grab the next five points to force a Sharks timeout. Despite the Sailfish taking the first two points after the break, NSU would reel off four straight points with Escarpita registering two kills, Sigerich and Pappas combining for a block and Graham nailing another service ace. Unfortunately, the Sharks would lose their offensive touch at the end of the set, as PBA closed the frame with the next six points to take it, 25-15.

The Sailfish again built a lead early, 3-0, in the opening stages of the third set. The Sharks again battled their way back into the set with two kills from Samantha High (So., Naples, Fla.) and a solo block from Graham to even the score at 4-4.

PBA would not let the Sharks shift the momentum of the match though, allowing NSU only three more points the remainder of the set in the form of kills by Graham, High and Kristina Eric (So., Bosnia).

The Sailfish attacked at a .397 clip as a team, with Quesada notching 11 kills with a personal hitting percentage of .364. Graham led the Sharks offense with six kills, while High and Escarpita added five. Graham and Sigerich each recorded solo blocks for NSU at the net.

For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by clicking here.