LAKELAND, Fla. -- The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team (10-2, 3-1 SSC) suffered their first Sunshine State Conference loss on Saturday afternoon falling 3-0 to the ninth-ranked and unbeaten Florida Southern Moccasins (12-0, 3-0 SSC). The Sharks fell in three straight sets 25-21, 25-21, 25-18.  

Coming off a five-set marathon less than 24 hours before where the Sharks pulled out a 3-2 win over Florida Tech (6-3, 1-1 SSC), NSU faced their first nationally-ranked team this season in the Mocs. Although the offense performed well, a consistent first contact prevented the team from getting into a competitive rhythm. 

"When you play at top-10 team, you need to be playing your best," head coach Jenn King said. "Today just wasn't that day for us. Offensively we were doing well hitting .215, but we couldn't get a consistent first contact and that kept us from getting into a rhythm. We will regroup and be ready for Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday."

In the first set, the Sharks trailed by no more than a single point to the Mocs through the few points and tied the frame eight times. However, with the score tied 8-8 FSC began to pull out in front taking the next four points and never relinquished the lead. NSU pulled to within one at 15-14, but the team was unable to grab the lead as the Mocs went on for the 25-21 win.

NSU took advantage of a Moccasin mistake early on in the second set and took a 7-6 lead. The Sharks fended off four more ties just over the set midpoint, but FSC took the 14-13 advantage and finished with a 25-20 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. 

After an extended break, NSU trailed by five early but then went on a 5-0 scoring run to narrow the gap to within one,10-9. After an FSC timeout, the Mocs regained their focus and outscored NSU 15-9 down the final stretch to win the third set 25-18 and the match 3-0. 

Dana Holger (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) led NSU with 10 kills and added three blocks on the day, while Katie Pyles (Jr., Denver, Colo.) finished with 21 assists. Denvyr Tyler-Palmer led the team defensively recording a team-high 10 digs in the match. 

The Sharks will return to the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University center for a home match against SSC provisional member Palm Beach Atlantic on Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. The Sailfish will come into Tuesday's match with a 9-2 overall record after a 3-0 win over Saint Leo on Saturday.