BOX SCORE

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women’s volleyball team played a tightly contested match Tuesday night against the Barry Buccaneers, but came out on the losing end, 3-0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-21).

The Sharks came out firing early and often against the Bucs, building a 5-2 lead thanks to three kills from Anabely Escarpita(Sr., Boca Raton, Fla.). The strong start was a welcomed change to a Sharks squad that has struggled in the early stages of matches this season.

NSU retained a three-point lead midway through the set, 11-8, after Kristina Eric (So., Sokolac, Bosnia) and Molly Sigerich (Sr., Downers Grove, Ill.) blocked a Taylor Zirwas attack and Sigerich followed by landing her first kill of the set. Barry would fight back though, winning four out of five points to knot the opening set at 14-14.

The Bucs built a small two-point lead before a Lauren Lewkowicz (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) service ace tied the set again, this time at 19-19. The Sharks fought from behind once more to tie the score, 24-24, but a setting error by NSU and a kill from Mariana Lisboa tilted the set in the Bucs favor.

The Sharks exhibited their resiliency in the opening portion of the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead on the Bucs. Sarah Shifflett(Boyton Beach, Fla.) and Escarpita each notched kills, while Lewkowicz scored another service ace for NSU.

Barry went on a streak of its own in response, building a 12-9 lead by taking nine of ten straight points. The Sharks recovered and fought to tie the set, 22-22, with Eric, Danielle Graham (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio) and Destiny Bannister (Fr., Homestead, Fla.) registered kills. The second set would need extra points to complete, as the Sharks tied the set, 24-24, but a Tania Torres and a NSU attack error gave the Bucs a 2-0 match lead.

In the third set, Barry took an early 3-0 lead, but NSU fought to close the gap to one, 4-3, as Graham and Sigerich each added to their kill totals. A bad set from Barry tied the set, 11-11, but multiple kills from Torres and a service ace from Zirwas, built a 15-11 advantage for the Bucs.

Two Escarpita service aces closed the Buccaneer lead to one, 16-15, just past the mid-point of the set. Trailing 18-16, the Sharks went on the offensive, scoring six of the following seven points to mount a 21-19 lead with Lewkowicz and Graham recording kills along the way. The Sharks were unable to maintain the momentum as the Bucs took the final six points of the set to win 25-21, and capture the match, 3-0.

Torres registered a match-high 13 kills for the Bucs as Escarpita paced the Sharks with 11. Escarpita and Lewkowicz each recorded a pair of service aces for the Sharks. NSU will next be in action on Friday at the Don Taft University Center when it hosts Lynn for a 7 p.m. match.

For the match results, be sure to check www.NSUSharks.com or sign up to have results sent directly to your cell phone by signing up for SMS text messages by clicking here. For the weekly NSU Shark Athletic news, please sign up for the Shark Alert E-Newsletter by clicking here.