FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a one-year hiatus, the Shark Invitational returns to the NSU Arena for the 2015 season. Hosted by the Nova Southeastern University volleyball team, the tournament will feature seven teams and 13 matches over a two day span Sept. 4-5.
Three of the participating teams hail from the Sunshine State Conference including NSU, Eckerd and newcomer to the league Embry Riddle. Oklahoma Baptist and East Central will join from the Sooner state as well as Westminster (Utah) and Virginia State. With a full schedule slated to start the season, matches will begin at 11:30 a.m. both days with the last match schedule to start at 7:00 p.m.
Coming off a 13-15 season, second-year head coach Jenn King returns nine players, six of which were starters. Headlining the host of returners is 2014 second-team All-SSC selection
Sydney Cook (Sr., Miami, Fla.) who led the team in kills (3.02) and blocks (.94) per set. Fellow senior and outside hitter
Dana Holger (Lino Lakes, Minn.) also returns for her final season after recording 2.60 kills per set just a year ago.
The Sharks will also be looking for strong production in the middle out of
Devyn Main (So., Port Charlotte, Fla.) and
Caitlin Donahue (Sr., Miami, Fla.) both of which were second and third respectively on the team in blocks. Of course driving the Sharks' offense will be returning junior setter
Katie Pyles (Jr., Denver, Colo.). Last season she averaged 7.72 assists and will be expected to lead a much improved Sharks team.
Joining the host of returning players will be six newcomers to the Sharks squad who are expected to make an immediate impact.
Megan Burns (Fr., Sylania, Ohio) will be vying for a starting role in the Sharks' libero spot to help fill the void of departing senior Candice Johnson.
Maddie Uilk (Fr., Longmont, Colo.) will be looking to add some much needed depth in the middle, while
Denvyr Tyler-Palmer (Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.) is expected to make contributions on the outside.
After a full day of volleyball, NSU will get their first sniff at competition on Friday at 7 p.m. facing off with East Central to close out the first day of the tournament. Last season, the Tigers finished 6-24. On Saturday, the Sharks will face two opponents, the first of which is Virginia State at 2 p.m. In 2014, the Trojans finished second in the CIAA with an 8-2 conference record. Their second match against Westminster will close out the Shark Invitational at 7 p.m. The Griffins are coming off a 10-18 mark in 2014.
To view the full tournament schedule, please visit the Shark Invitational Tournament website at the top of this release. Live video will be provided for selected matches played on the main court and live stats will be available for all matches and links to each will be made available on the tournament webpage.
