Box Score
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team (5-21, 1-14 SSC) took the No. 1 Tampa Spartans (28-1, 15-0 SSC) to five sets Friday in a home loss, 3-2 (25-13, 20-25, 25-15, 29-31, 15-12).
Sydney Cook (So., Miami) led the way with 16 kills and added 17 digs. She also had a team-best four service aces.
Katie Pyles (Fr., Highlands, Colo.) recorded 41 assists in the match with 20 digs.
Candice Johnson (Jr., Chuluota, Fla.) led defensively, with 25 digs over five sets.
The Spartans entered the match with a 20-match win streak, in which they had only given up seven sets. The Sharks were unfazed, staying on point with Tampa through the first 17 points of the opening frame. With Tampa up 9-8, the visiting team went on a 10-2 run that all but sealed the set, running away with the opener, 25-13. Cook and
Caitlin Donahue (So., Miami) each had three kills in the set. Donahue finished the night with an efficient nine kills on 14 attacks.
The second set did not go as scripted, with NSU jumping out to a 9-3 lead early. Tampa cut the deficit down to three points, but NSU jumped back up six at 15-9, forcing Tampa to take its first timeout. From there, Tampa would come within two points of NSU at 19-17, but never regained the lead.
Destiny Bannister (Jr., Kendall, Fla.) earned her second kill of the set to win the game, 25-20. Bannister would go on to total 10 kills on 36 attacks.
Tampa answered like the nation's top team should in the third, with a double-digit set win. They established an early 7-3 lead over NSU and quickly went up 15-8. Tampa cruised from there, winning the set, 25-15. Johnson had seven digs in the frame, her highest total of the first three sets.
In the fourth set, NSU and Tampa put on a show for the fans in attendance. Tampa seemed to be in control early and took a 10-5 lead. NSU would not go out quietly and tied it up at 12 apiece. Tampa led for the majority of the set, but from then on, were never more than three points ahead.
Down 23-20 with the match on the line, NSU rattled off three straight kills to tie the fourth. From there, the two teams brought every fan to their feet with back-and-forth volleying. Tampa had three match points, but NSU survived them all. Finally up 30-29, NSU's leading scorer, Cook, earned one of the biggest kills of her career to win, 31-29.
The action carried into the fifth set, with both teams playing even volleyball. Neither side led by more than three points, but NSU was forced to play from a short distance behind for most of the frame. The set would go down to the wire at 12-12, but Tampa's potential All-American Berkley Whaley earned three straight kills to extend her team's winning streak to 21 matches.
NSU was much improved defensively on the night, holding the nation's premier team to a .202 attacking percentage. Tampa entered the match with a percentage of .301. NSU gave up very few easy points, with only eight receiving errors to Tampa's 10.
The Sharks will finish the season Saturday at home against Rollins at 4 p.m.
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