Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (10-11, 3-6 SSC) took a tough, 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-13, 27-25) loss against the Eckerd Tritons (12-10, 3-6 SSC) Friday night.
Dana Holger (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) led the team with a double-double on 14 kills and 13 digs, followed by
Katie Pyles (So., Denver, Colo.), who was one short with nine kills and a team-high 24 assists.
Candice Johnson (Sr., Chuluota, Fla.) and
Kaelyn Brock (La Quinta, Calif.) also posted double-digit digs with 14 each.
The first points of the match bounced in between the teams before the Sharks took an early side-out and advanced, 12-5, on an eight-point rally on kills by Pyles,
Caitlin Donahue (Jr., Miami, Fla.) and Holger. NSU was able to stay atop before Eckerd fought back and stole the lead on an 8-1 run for a 16-15 advantage. The score tied two more times before the Tritons advanced on three consecutive kills for a two point, 22-20, margin that carried them until the 25-22 end.
NSU bounced back in the second set, starting with an early 4-0 lead. As in the opening set, Eckerd managed to come within one point, but this time NSU did not let them take the lead. With the score tied at 12, NSU went on a five-point break-away to go up, 17-12. NSU kept the lead for the remainder of the set, pushing their lead on a late four-point rally on a kill, ace and two errors by Eckerd. The Sharks were able to keep the Tritons away for the remainder of the set to tie the match at one, 25-19.
The tie-breaking set saw an early 7-2 lead by the Tritons before Eckerd increased the margin to ten points at 16-6. The Sharks managed to close the gap to six on a 6-1 run off three kills by Cook and Holger and three errors by Eckerd. The rally was the closest the Sharks would come in the game, as the Tritons allowed one more Shark point in the set before Tjasa Kotnik closed it, 25-13, on a kill.
The final set of the match was a battle in which the Sharks forced overtime points. NSU took the first lead in the game on three kills and an ace before Eckerd took a side out and scored four consecutive points to tie the set at six. With NSU up, 9-8, the Tritons tied the score on a kill and stole the lead at 12-9 on two kills and two errors. Eckerd fed of its momentum for the remainder of the set until the Sharks threatened to take the win on a late 6-1 run that forced extra points. With Eckerd up, 23-19, Holger made a kill for the Sharks, then served an ace on the next point. The Tritons then scored one point to regain a three-point margin, but played two errors to bring the Sharks within one, 24-22. Donahue tied the game at 24 on a service ace, and a bad set by the Tritons gave the Sharks the lead before a NSU error tying the game at 25. The Tritons ended the set and match, 27-25, on clutch back-to-back kills.
The Sharks continue SSC road play against Rollins Saturday at 4 p.m. in Winter Park, Florida.
