FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team will host their first set of Sunshine State Conference matches over the weekend against the Rollins Tars, Friday at 7 p.m. and Eckerd Tritons, Saturday at 4 p.m. in the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center.

Also, between the second and third sets of the match, the 2013-14 NSU women's basketball team will be honored. Members of the team will be receiving rings commemorating their Sunshine State Conference Tournament Championship as well as their South Region Championship of a year ago. The NCAA national semifinalists finished last season 29-5 and were ranked No. 3 in the final USA Today Sports DII Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

The Sharks return to the court after falling to the Colorado Christian Cougars, 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-22), on Tuesday, Sept. 16. Sydney Cook (Jr., Miami, Fla.) tallied nine kills and 14 digs in the match, but was held to a .028 hitting percentage. Katie Pyles (So., Denver, Colo.) had 22 assists while Candice Johnson (Sr., Chuluota, Fla.) contributed a team high 19 digs. 

NSU is currently fourth in the SSC in digs with 422, averaging 15.63 per set, led by the Sharks' own Johnson with 131 (4.85 per set). Caitlin Donahue (Jr., Miami, Fla.) is also ranked in the SSC in attack percentages at .336. Pyles comes in sixth in SSC assists with 200 (avg 7.41 per set).

This also marks head coach Jennifer King's first SSC weekend in her current role at NSU. 

Rollins Tars

The Tars are continuing conference play after falling to No. 1 Tampa, 3-0, Wednesday, Sept. 13. Overall, the Tars hold a .202 hitting percentage, averaging 15.79 digs per set and 13.35 kills per set. Offensively, Shannon McDonough leads Rollins with 95 kills, while Collyn Welsch leads the Tars defensively with 152 digs in the season.

The Tars hold the all-time series record against the team, 11-22. NSU closed their 2013 season beating the Tars, 3-1. Cook led the Sharks on offense with 19 kills on 51 attacks. She also contributed seven digs and two aces. Pyles totalled 46 assists and 12 digs. Johnson had a team-best 23 digs.

Eckerd Tritons

The Tritons are returning to the court after going 4-0 in the Eckerd Classic tournament Sept. 12 and 13. Eckered is second in the SSC in hitting percentage with .297, led by Ali McAlvany who leads the team in kills with 88. Kaitlyon Sibson leads the team in digs with 114.

With NSU leading the all-time series, 24-23, the Sharks will look to prevent the Tritons from tying the head-to-head record. In their last match, the Sharks fell to Eckerd in a very close 3-0 match.

Live streaming video of both matches can be HERE, and live stats HERE

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