FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team will have their first Sunshine State Conference matches on the road this weekend, traveling to Barry and Florida Tech, beginning with the Buccaneers this Friday, Oct. 4.
The Sharks (3-7, 0-2 SSC) are looking to end a six-match losing streak when they face the Bucs (4-5, 0-2 SSC) in Miami Shores, Fla., Friday at 7 p.m. One of the two squads will earn their first conference victory of 2013. The Bucs were swept in straight sets on the road against Rollins and Tampa last weekend, and have lost five of their last six.
Barry features the SSC's top individual server statistically, Jenny Trinidad, who averages 0.61 aces per set. As a team, the Bucs rank second in the conference in this category at 2.0 per.
The following day, at 4 p.m., the Sharks will travel to Melbourne, Fla. to face Florida Tech (10-2, 1-1 SSC). The Panthers have won 10 of their last 11 matches, with the lone loss coming to Tampa last weekend, but they followed that up with a 3-1 win at Rollins the next day. The team earned 41 points in the latest AVCA DII Coaches poll, ranking them two slots out of the top 25.
Florida Tech comes into this weekend as the one of the top defensive teams in the conference, ranking first in hitting percentage against (.109) and third in both blocks (2.31) and digs (16.21). The Panthers' Angie Lassman is top among individuals in digs (4.98), while Alea Hamm ranks second in blocks (1.17).
NSU is coming off of two losses, to Eckerd and Florida Southern at the NSU Arena, to begin the SSC slate. This weekend will be the middle two matches in a midst of six straight in-conference, before a trip to Carrollton, Ga., to participate in the South Region Crossover.
The team's two top outside hitters,
Dana Holger (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) and
Sydney Cook (So., Miami) still rank among the conference's top 10 in kills. Holger is seventh (3.06) and Cook is 10th (2.88). Setter
Katie Pyles (Fr., Denver) is the squad's other ranked individual, as she is seventh in assists (6.90).
Both matches will feature live video, as the Barry match
can be viewed here and the Florida Tech match
at this link.
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.
