Box Score
WINTER PARK, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team overcame an early hole to extend Friday night's match with Rollins before falling 3-1 (25-11, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18).
The Sharks (3-10, 0-5 SSC) trailed the Tars (13-4, 3-2 SSC) 8-0 out of the gates in the first set before
Sydney Cook's (So., Miami) first kill. Cook had four of the team's seven kills in the opener, with Rollins winning it by 13.
The second set was a much closer affair. Though the Tars started out ahead 9-5, the Sharks pulled even at 9-9 and 11-11. Later in the set, it was still only a two-point spread in favor of Rollins at both 17-15 and 19-17, but the Tars ended the set scoring the last three to win 25-19.
NSU had one of their best all-around sets over the last month in the third, going ahead at 10-9 and never relinquishing the lead. The Sharks hit .270 as a team, only committed seven errors and had 13 kills.
Dana Holger (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) had five kills, with Cook and
Sakkara Hart (Fr., Vero Beach, Fla.) adding three apiece.
In the frame, the Sharks led by as many as five points (on four separate occasions), and though the Tars cut it to two late (23-21), Holger's kill and a Rollins attack error gave NSU the set at 25-21.
Though the Tars led wire-to-wire in the final set, it wasn't without drama. The Sharks at one point trailed by as many as seven, but cut it to two at 14-12. Again, Rollins pushed back out ahead at 19-13, but Cook drilled three kills among the Sharks' next five points and quickly, it was 21-18. However, the Tars would score the final four points of the match and win by the 3-1 margin.
Cook and Holger combined for 28 kills in the loss, with Cook's 15 one off her season high of 16 (Bentley, Sept. 14). Hart's five is a new career high, and her .267 hitting percentage led the squad. She also had two aces and two blocks.
Katie Pyles (Fr., Denver) had her second straight match of 30 or more assists with 35 on Friday, while
Candice Johnson (Jr., Chuluota, Fla.) set a new high at NSU with 20 digs. She was one of four in double digits in the category, followed by Pyles and
Maison Burr (Fr., St. Clair, Mich.) each with 11 (Burr's setting a career high as well), and Holger with 10. Cook added seven.
The Sharks next face No. 3 Tampa on Saturday afternoon, with first serve scheduled for 4 p.m.
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