FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team (11-8, 3-3 SSC) is gearing up for a big Sunshine State Conference weekend on the road. The Sharks will be facing No. 20 Tampa on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. and then heading to take on Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
 
After a 3-1 win over Barry, NSU moved up to fifth in the conference standings with an even 3-3 SSC record. Katie Pyles recorded 31 assists in the Tuesday night match and became the new No. 2 in career assists with a total of 3,307, passing the 13-year-old record of 3,302 set by Lyndsey Metts. Pyles also recorded her second triple-double in three matches, with 13 kills and 11 digs. Jessica Ronyak registered a double-double with her 15 kills and 10 digs and Natalie Melcher added six blocks, five of which were solo, a career high.
 
On Friday, Oct. 21, NSU will be facing the 20th nationally-ranked Tampa Spartans, a team that is ranked just one spot ahead of the Sharks in the league standings. Tampa enters the match with an overall record of 13-5 and 4-3 in conference. As a team, the Spartans are hitting a .263, a conference-high, and are holding their opponents to a mere .164 hitting percentage. They are also holding their opponents to the second-fewest assists and kills per set in the league. The SSC and the Spartans are led offensively by Allee Stelogeannis, who averages 4.36 kills per set with 288 total kills.  The senior is converting at a respectable .280 attack clip over 18 matches.  
 
Tampa owns the all-time series record against Nova Southeastern with an impressive 27-1 overall record. The lone win for the Sharks came in 2008 when NSU bested the Spartans in five sets.
 
The Sharks will conclude the weekend with a matchup against the Saint Leo Lions who come into the match with a 12-7 overall record and a 5-2 mark in the SSC. On Tuesday, the Lions made history as they took down Tampa, 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 25-21), to seal a season sweep over the Spartans for the first time in school history. SLU is ranked in the top half of the league team leaders in offense and defense as a whole, but are allowing opponents to tally a league-high 12.64 kills per set. The Lions will look toward Hope Lemon, who is averaging 3.67 kills per set from a team-high 220 kills. Defensively, Jamee Townsend continues to be a rock for Saint Leo, scooping up a whopping 5.29 digs per set, a conference-high.  
 
Overall, the Lions hold the slight edge over NSU in the all-time series, 23-19. The Sharks' last win over SLU came in a five-set thriller on Senior Day in 2015.
 
Throughout the weekend the Sharks will look to outside hitters Denvyr Tyler-Palmer and Ronyak, who are averaging 3.76 and 3.18 kills per set, respectively. On the defensive side, Megan Burns will continue to lead, as she is averaging 5.11 digs per set, third best in the league.
 
Multimedia services will be available for both matches by visiting the links below:
 
TAMPA – Stats | Video
SAINT LEO - Stats