Box Score 1 WINTER PARK, Fla – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (10-9, 3-5 SSC) went undefeated in their first day of the Regional Crossover Tournament against Union University (3-0, 25-17, 25-17, 25-22) and University of West Georgia (3-1, 14-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-19).

The two wins mark a 10-9 overall record, the first time the program has seen double-digit wins since the 2010 season.

Sydney Cook (Jr., Miami, Fla.) earned double-digit kills in both matches for a combined 25 (12 against Union and 13 versus West Georgia), followed by Dana Holger (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) who posted 18 (11 against Union and seven against West Georgia). Katie Pyles (So., Denver, Colo.) led the team with a combined 45 assists. Notably, Brandi Marquis (Fr., Lynn, Ind.) had her first NSU career start against Union on Friday and tallied four digs.

Union
Union was able to get an early 4-1 lead before the Sharks took the side-out and went on their longest scoring rally of the season. Kills by Cook and Donahue and three serving aces by Kaelyn Brock (Fr., La Quinta, Calif.) were part of a nine-point rally to create a 10-4 lead. Union would play catch up for the rest of the set as the Sharks had two more three-point rallies before a kill by Melcher ended the set at  25-17.

NSU fought to stay atop early in the second set as Union tied the score three times. Holger helped create a three-point margin on back-to-back hits along with a Union error to give the Sharks a 7-4 lead. Union stayed within one point for the majority of the game but four consecutive kills, including three from Cook, pushed the Sharks up by five, 15-10. NSU ran with the lead and never looked back, allowing only seven more points from Union and taking a 25-17, 2-0 match lead.

NSU started the third set with a bang on four straight kills by Cook and Holger for an early 4-0 lead. Union rallied for three points on two kills and a service ace to come within one.  With just a one-point lead, Brock hit two more service aces to push the Sharks back up by four points at 7-4. Union provided their second threat of the match at 13-12, as Mallory Backer hit back-to-back kills to bring the team within one. However, the Sharks capitalized on a side-out to draw in two points to regain a 15-13 lead. Union made a late, 23-22 comeback off a kill and service ace but back-to-back kills by Pyles and Melcher would close the match, 25-22.

West Georgia
The Sharks had a tough time getting into a rhythm in the first set as the Wolves pulled three rallies to push ahead, 19-13. The six point difference was the closest the Sharks would be in the set, as the Wolves closed, 25-14.

The Wolves carried their momentum into the second set to take an early 10-5 lead. It wasn't until a Sharks five-point rally on four kills and a service ace created the energy needed to continue and finish the match. The Wolves came back on five points, 19-17, but on two kills and an attack error, the NSU stole the lead and never looked back. The Sharks allowed three more WGU points before closing the hard-fought set, 25-22.

Opposed to the close bouts in the previous sets, in the third, the Sharks took an early 5-2 advantage. With a .427 team attack percentage, the Sharks scored 11 straight points for an 18-5 lead, the biggest margin thus far in the tournament. The rally featured two service aces from Pyles, who also added two points through kills, alongside Melcher and Cook. NSU's defense held the Wolves to 14 points in the set as a service ace from Donahue closed the set for the Sharks to take a 2-1 match lead.

NSU's momentum went straight into the fourth set as they had an early 7-2 lead. The Wolves cut their deficit to two at 7-5 on a three-point rally, but NSU capitalized on a side-out with two kills and two errors to push ahead, 11-5. West Georgia managed one more threat before the match ended. With the score at 18-12, the Wolves created a four-point streak to come within two. Back-to-back kills by the Sharks put the team up by four before Cook closed the match on a kill, 25-19.

The Sharks return to the court on Saturday for their final match in the tournament againt West Alabama at 3 p.m.