Box Score LAKELAND, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team fell to the Flagler Saints, 3-0, in the first match of the 2014 season with all sets decided by four points or less (25-23, 25-21, 25-22).

The opening set saw eight ties and five lead changes before the Saints' Genel Sturgeon earned three kills in four points to push the Saints to 20-17. Caitlin Donahue (Jr., Miami, Fla.) hit the ball down the middle, as an attack error by the Saints closed the gap to one at 20-19. Three service errors and two kills closed the game for the Saints at 25-23.

In set No. 2, NSU threatened to take the lead 10 times before Flagler pulled away in the end of the stanza. With the score 15-13, three errors by the Sharks pushed the Saints to a 17-14 lead. Sydney Cook (Jr., Miami, Fla.), hit two straight kills to bring the Sharks within one, 17-16, but that was as close as the Sharks would get.

NSU had a strong showing in the third set, holding the Saints to 10-5 early in the game. Seven of the ten points came on kills from Donahue, Cook and Katie Pyles (So., Denver, Colo.). Flagler then caught up in the middle of the set and took the lead at 17-16 with a kill by Sara Davis. As in the previous sets, the score was tied three more times. Donahue, Dana Holger (Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn.), and Cook attacked five more times before the Saints closed out the game on an attack error by the Sharks.

Overall, the Sharks had 37 kills, one more than the Saints, who had 36.

Donahue and Cook led the team with nine kills each, while Holger and Natalie Melcher (Fr., Rishon Letzion, Israel) had eight, followed by Pyles with two and Devyn Main (Fr., Port Charlotte, Fla.) at one.

The Sharks will play a doubleheader in the Florida Southern Terrace Classic tomorrow, with a 10 a.m. match against Lewis and a 5 p.m. match versus New Haven.

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.