BOX SCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team (3-13, 1-6 SSC) jumped out to an early two-set lead, but Florida Tech (5-11, 2-5 SSC) battled back and took the final three to win the match, 3-2 (20-25, 28-30, 25-22, 25-23, 15-8).

Danielle Graham (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) registered the Sharks first three kills of the match, allowing the Sharks to split the first ten points with the Panthers. Consecutive kills from Julia Lopez (So., El Paso, Texas), Anabely Escarpita (Sr., Boca Raton, Fla.) and Graham pushed the Sharks ahead by one, 12-11, and brought a timeout from the FIT bench.

Escarpita and Graham continued the offensive onslaught and pushed the NSU lead to 16-12 following the break. Molly Sigerich (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill.) got in on the action, recording two late kills, including the set-winning point to give the Sharks a 25-20 win.

The Sharks and Panthers opened the second by splitting the first ten points again, as Rachel Woodson (Jr., Rogers, Ark.) and Graham recorded kills. FIT opened up a five-point margin, 12-7, following a Janice Valies kill. Graham added two more kills to her total to momentarily close the gap, but the Panthers pulled back away with a Caitlyn Ballweber kill, putting FIT up by six, 18-12.

NSU used a timeout to recoup and begin to swing momentum in its favor. Jordan Pappas (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) tallied two straight service aces and got the Sharks within two, 20-18, forcing a FIT timeout. The Panthers had an opportunity to close out the set, up 24-23, but Graham once again slammed home a kill to tie the match. Pappas, Sigerich and Escarpita each notched kills to tie the match in extras. Samantha High (So., Naples, Fla.) put the Sharks on top, 29-28, and a Panthers attack error closed out the set in NSU’s favor.

The Sharks kept the third set close through the early stages, but multiple attack errors allowed the Panthers to build a 20-14 advantage. Following a NSU timeout, Graham and Escarpita tallied kills, while Escarpita paired with Sigerich to block a Panthers attack and bring the Sharks to within four, 22-18. Sigerich and Escarpita would each record another kill following a Panthers timeout, but FIT held on for a 25-22 set win.

In the fourth set, the Sharks seemed to swing things back into their favor, pushing out to a four-point lead, 11-7, with Sigerich racking up three early kills. Three more kills from Graham, along with Paige Boivin’s (Jr., Plainfield, Ill.) first of the match, extended the Sharks lead to six, 21-15.

A late kill from Pappas gave NSU a 23-19 lead, but the Panthers rattled off four straight kills, including three from Hayley Tignor, to give Florida Tech the set, 25-23, and force a decisive fifth.

In the fifth set, Woodson began with a kill for the Sharks. Graham would score her 22nd kill of the match to even the score, 2-2, but from that point the Panthers would begin to pull away. Kaitlin Brennan would record four of her 14 kills during the set and Ballweber capped the match for the Panthers with her team-high 18th kill.

Graham tallied a match- and season-high 23 kills, attacking at a .327 clip, to pace the Sharks. Escarpita and Sigerich also reached double-figures in kills with 14 and 13, respectively. Pappas recorded a season-high 48 assists and also tied her season-high with 14 digs. Boivin and Sarah Shifflett paced the Sharks with 20 digs apiece.

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