BOX SCORE

MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team (7-18, 3-10 SSC), in a showing of great resiliency, came back after dropping the second and third sets to knock off Florida Tech (6-21, 2-11 SSC) (25-23, 18-25, 10-25, 27-25, 15-9) on homecoming night in the Clemente Center.
 
It was a slow start for the Sharks, as Molly Sigerich (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill.) recorded NSU’s only kill through the first 15 points, but some well placed attacks and many hands at the net forced the Panthers to commit enough errors to keep the FIT lead to three, 9-6. Samantha High (So., Naples, Fla.) helped the Sharks close the gap to one, 10-9, with back-to-back kills.
 
Kaitlin Brennan used a trio of kills though to move the advantage back to four, 16-12, and force a Sharks timeout. With the score 18-14, Sigerich, NSU’s top blocker this season, rose up and sent back a Janice Valies attack. That point was followed by two from Rachel Woodson (Jr., Rogers, Ark.) in the form of a kill and a solo block to get the Sharks back within one, 18-17.
 
The Panthers then used one of their timeouts, which did little to stop the Sharks momentum as Paige Boivin (Jr., Plainfield, Ill.) and High notched consecutive kills to put NSU ahead, 19-18. Woodson and High kills preceded a Danielle Graham (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Jordan Pappas (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) block to put the Sharks ahead by three, 22-19, and force FIT to use its second timeout.
 
A pair of FIT errors and a Graham kill secured the opener for the Sharks, 25-23. Despite the slow offensive start, NSU finished the set with 12 kills, highlighted by four from High.
 
The two teams traded points early in the second set with Lauren Lewkowicz (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) registering a service ace and Graham a pair of kills for NSU. With the Sharks up 8-6, FIT would capture the next five points, and bring a timeout from the NSU bench.
 
Woodson and Sigerich stopped the bleeding with a definitive block and Sigerich then followed with a kill to close the gap to 13-11. Three straight NSU points, including a Sarah Shifflett (Fr., Boyton Beach, Fla.) and Woodson and Graham block, knotted the match at 14 apiece.
 
The squads traded points through the middle of the set before FIT was able to open up a three-point margin, 21-18, following an Ali Boggs service ace. Boggs would score another before Caitlyn Ballweber secured the set for the Panthers, 25-18, with a kill down the left line.
 
The Panthers continued their offensive prowess after the intermission, opening up an 11-2 lead in the third set, as four FIT student-athletes tallied kills. Woodson and Sigerich would provide a positive for the Sharks in the form of back-to-back blocks, but the Panthers cruised to a 25-10 set victory to go up 2-1 in sets heading to the fourth.
 
The Sharks offense found its groove again in the fourth set as Graham, High, Escarpita and Pappas all recorded kills to even the match, 5-5, through the first 10 points. High gave NSU the lead, 8-7, with yet another kill, and assisted by two Panther errors, the Sharks gained a three-point advantage.
 
FIT would battle back though, reeling off three straight kills to go up 16-14 and force the Sharks to use a timeout. The Sharks themselves would rally with Escarpita evening the set at 17-17 with a service ace in the back right corner.
 
Two points away from defeat, 23-21, the Sharks responded by winning the next three, capped by an Escarpita slam. With the match tied, 25-25, Escarpita came through again, driving home another kill and pairing with fellow senior Sigerich to block an FIT attack and force a decisive fifth set.
 
In the fifth set, Graham led the charge early for the Sharks, tallying three kills and giving NSU a 4-1 advantage. The lead extended to four, 7-3, in the Sharks favor with a pair of attack errors from FIT that brought a timeout from its bench. The Sharks lead remained at four, 10-6, with Woodson earning a well-placed kill and Sigerich notching a service ace.
 
The Panthers trimmed the deficit to one, 10-9, but Graham ripped a pair of kills and the Sharks went back ahead by three. High finished the match off with a pair of kills and the Sharks defeated the Panthers 15-9 in the fifth and 3-2 in the match.
 
High finished with a season-high 15 kills to pace the Sharks attack. Graham also reached double-digit kills, recording 12 in the winning effort. Valies led all attackers with 24 kills. In proper NSU fashion, the Sharks out-blocked the Panthers 10-9, getting two solo blocks and four blocking assists from Sigerich. 

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.