FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Nova Southeastern women’s volleyball team (1-7) returns to South Florida to face local rivals Palm Beach Atlantic and Lynn on Wednesday and Friday respectively. The Sharks’ return comes after facing four tough regional opponents in a road tournament in South Carolina, including two teams ranked in the AVCA (American Volleyball Coaches Association) top-25 poll.
After coming off of a troublesome weekend at the USC-Aiken Volleyball Invitational, the Sharks are looking to regain their focus heading into the week’s matches after dropping four on the road last week.
Although NSU struggled through the weekend tournament, a few young Sharks started to emerge as key players.
Sydney Cook (Fr., Miami, Fla.) began her breakout season averaging 12 kills per match and collected a team-high 16 blocks which included six solo.
Dana Holger (Fr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) demonstrated her all-court skill while on the road as well taking in 45 digs and 32 kills respectively.
In addition to the newcomers, returning sophomore
Sarah Shifflett (Boynton Beach, Fla.) covered the floor defensively averaging 4.62 digs per set over the Sharks’ four matches and moved into a starting role at libero.
Kristina Eric (Jr., Sokolac, Bonsia) also emerged from the NSU bench and started three of the Sharks four matches. She guided the Sharks to their best offensive performance of the season with a .348 team hitting percentage in the first set against Augusta State and finished with 10 assists per set to close out the weekend tournament.
The Sharks start their local play against the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (7-2) on Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. The Sailfish are coming off of an undefeated weekend at the USC-Aiken Volleyball Invitational including a victory against No. 15 Flagler Saints. Key players for PBA are Mariela Quesada and Christina Alessi who are currently averaging just over 3.7 and 3.3 kills respectively. Alessi is also the Salifish’s leading efficiency hitter with a .364 season hitting percentage. Fans can watch
live video or follow
livestats provided by PBA.
After Wednesday’s match at PBA, the Sharks will return to the friendly confines of the NSU arena to open Sunshine State Conference play against the Lynn Fighting Knights (7-1) on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. Lynn is coming off of a solid tournament where they went 3-0 against several talented Division II schools. Some key contributors for the Fighting Knights are Brittany Brown who leads the team with 74 kills and a .373 hitting percentage along with Michelle Jordan who leads the team of the defensive side with 93 digs. NSU video stream can be view on
All-Access as well as
livestats.
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.
