Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – At their final match of the Eckerd College Classic, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell in a see-saw affair on Saturday to Bentley, 3-1, with all sets decided by five points or less: 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 25-22.
The opening set had no more than a four-point margin until two straight kills by Bentley's Savannah Dominguez (among her match-high 18) put the Falcons (4-4) up 23-17.
Sydney Cook (So., Miami) had two kills to draw the Sharks (3-4) within four, and after a Bentley point,
Dana Holger (So., Lino Lakes, Minn.) had two of her own to make it 24-21. But Dominguez closed out the set to put Bentley up 1-0.
In set No. 2, Bentley took early leads of 7-3 (after six straight points) and 10-5. But, midway through the frame, trailing 17-12, the Sharks closed out with a 13-3 run to even the match at 1-1. Cook had seven kills in the set, and freshman
Laurel Weaver (Woodland Hills, Calif.) had two of the last three points, including the set-winner.
The Sharks continued their momentum and started out hot in the third, turning a 6-5 deficit into a 13-8 lead. They were ahead 19-16, but were outscored by Bentley 9-2 to end the set, and the Falcons regained the set lead at 2-1.
The fourth and final set continued to be back-and-forth just as the previous three. The biggest lead early was Bentley 12, NSU 8, and the Sharks scored five straight to take the lead at that point (13-12). Later, the Falcons took a 22-18 lead, and NSU cut it to one at 23-22 with kills from
Tory Njardvik (So., Livingston, Mont.),
Katie Pyles (Fr., Denver) and Cook. But Bentley closed out the set and match with the final two points.
Holger led the Sharks with 17 kills and had a .297 hitting percentage, while Cook added 16. The Sharks had a ton of balance after their top two: Njardvik and Weaver each had seven kills, while
Samantha High (Sr., Naples, Fla.) and Pyles each had five (Pyles' was a new career high).
Pyles had 38 assists, while Holger was also the team's leader in digs, with 19.
Candice Johnson (Jr., Chuluota, Fla.) added 13, giving her double digits every match in the classic.
Cook was named to the All-Tournament team, as she totalled a team-high 40 kills in the three matches in St. Petersburg.
The Sharks return to the NSU Arena for their next match, this Tuesday, Sept. 17, against Palm Beach Atlantic. First serve is at 7 p.m., and the game's video and audio will be streamed live
HERE.
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.
