Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (13-14, 6-9 SSC) thwarted the Barry Buccaneers (17-11, 7-8 SSC), 3-1 (25-23, 30-32, 25-22, 25-17), Tuesday, Nov. 11, in the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center.
Sydney Cook (Jr., Miami, Fla.) led the team on a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs, followed by
Dana Holger (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.), who also posted a double-double on 12 kills and 16 digs.
Katie Pyles (So., Denver, Colo.) led the team in assists with 44 while
Candice Johnson (Sr., Chuluota, Fla.) notched a team-high 22 digs.
The opening set saw eight ties before Barry went on an eight-point rally to for a 17-9 lead. The Sharks took their first major side out of the match to cut the deficit to five on a 5-1 run off kills by Cook, Melcher and Donahue and two Bucs errors. NSU crept on Barry, as a trio of three-point runs took points off the gap until back-to-back kills by Cook tied the set at 23. The tie seemed to stun the Bucs, as Barry posted consecutive errors to push NSU to a 25-23 win.
The second set was a battle, as NSU and Barry tied the match 17 times before the set closed in extra points. Barry took the first marginal lead of the set on a kill by Ivana Didanovic that put them up, 7-4. The Sharks quickly caught up on a block by Holger and a kill by Cook. The teams tied up again at 11, before the Bucs gained their second advantage on two NSU errors. Barry maintained the lead until back-to-back kills by Holger and Donahue tied the score for the seventh time at 17. The teams exchanged the lead over the next six points before Barry earned a two point advantage. With their highest hitting percentage of the match at 62 percent, the Sharks nearly pulled out a second set win. After a kill by Donahue tied the set at 24, the last six ties of the set happened in the next 12 points. Two kills by Holger, who ended with a .545 set hitting percentage, and one each by Pyles, Cook and Donahue kept the Sharks in the game. A Sharks error and kill by Jayla Trombley closed the war, 32-30, for a 1-1 match tie.
Just as the previous set, the third was a fight until the end. With the score tied at 12, NSU capitalized on a side out and scored four points in a row off a kill by Pyles, two errors and a service ace by Johnson. However, the Bucs retaliated and also scored three in a row to tie the score back. As in the second set, there were six ties in 12 points until a kill by Ivana Didanovica put the set at 21. A Bucs error, followed by a kill by Cook and another service ace by Johnson, pushed the Sharks up, 24-21.
Natalie Melcher (Fr., Rishon Letzion) closed the set on an emphatic kill for NSU to take a 2-1 match lead.
NSU's defense held Barry to only eight kills in the final set. Four consecutive kills by Melcher and Donahue gave the Sharks an early, 12-7 lead. Barry threated to take the lead after a four-point roll tied the score at 15. NSU woke up after the scare and took the side out on a Barry error that translated into a seven-point run for a 20-16 lead. Two kills by Cook and a kill by Donahue, alongside two Barry errors, put the Sharks at match point. An error by the Bucs closed the set and match, 25-17.
The Sharks will close out regular season play on the road Saturday, Nov. 15, to take on No. 1 Tampa at 7 p.m.
