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CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team kicked off play at the South Region Crossover with a victory on Friday afternoon, surviving West Alabama in five sets, before being toppled by Palm Beach Atlantic in the nightcap.
In the opener, the Sharks (4-12) went out to a 2-0 set lead but eventually had to play out the string against the Tigers. It was a 25-21 first set score that saw the Sharks lead all throughout with the exception of trailing early 3-2.
Sydney Cook (So., Miami) had six kills in the opener, and NSU hit .345 as a team for a 1-0 lead.
The second set featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. UWA led 22-20, but the Sharks stormed back with four straight to set up set point. Two errors tied things up at 24-24, but a kill by
Caitlin Donahue (So., Miami) kill and a Katie Pyles (Fr., Denver) ace gave the Sharks the set at 26-24.
The Sharks' bid for a sweep was turned away by a 25-21 Tigers win in set three, and UWA extended it to the fifth with that same score.
In the final set, UWA took the early lead and didn't relinquish it until nearly the very end. In fact, NSU trailed 12-11 before scoring the final four points of the match. The Sharks tied it on a kill from Pyles, took the 13-12 lead on another ace by Pyles, and
Samantha High's (Sr., Naples, Fla.) third kill of the set and 10th of the night gave NSU match point. The final rally ended with a block by Cook, giving the Sharks the 15-12 and 3-2 win.
In the match, besides High's season-high 10 kills (against only one error, and a team-best .350 hitting percentage), Cook too set a season best with 19 and
Dana Holger (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) was one off hers with 16. Like High, Holger had three in the final set, with Cook and Pyles had two each.
Pyles had a career-best 49 assists, while tying her best with five kills.
Candice Johnson (Jr., Chuluota, Fla.) notched a new season high with 25 digs, with Holger adding 17 and Cook 15.
Sakkara Hart (Fr., Vero Beach, Fla.) had three solo blocks and assisted on five more among the 11 the team accrued for the contest.
In Friday's second match, the Sharks were turned away by PBA in straight sets, 25-16, 25-15, 25-11. Cook was the only player in double digits in kills with 11. Pyles assisted on 17 of the team's 20 kills, while she, Holger, Johnson, and
Maison Burr (Fr., St. Clair, Mich.) shared the team high in digs with six each.
The Sharks finish play at the Crossover on Saturday morning when they play Shorter at 11:30 a.m. The Hawks fell to Lynn in five sets on Friday, and defeated St. Leo 3-1. They are now 10-7 on the season. Follow along with live stats at
this link.
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