FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern's volleyball team concluded its 2016 season with a 3-1 loss to the University of Tampa on Saturday afternoon at the NSU Arena. The Sharks end at 12-19 overall and 4-12 in conference play while Tampa finishes their regular season at 22-8 and 12-4 in the SSC.
 
Denvyr Tyler-Palmer notched her 15^th double-double of the season with a team-high 18 kills and 15 digs. Celebrating her senior day, Katie Pyles also registered a double-double of her own, her 19^th, with 40 assists and 14 digs. Also celebrating were Tashalyn Begon (11 kills), Jessica Ronyak (eight kills, eight digs) and Natalie Melcher (four kills, four blocks). Megan Burns added 21 digs.
 
Pyles' 1,108 assists in 2016 put her career total at 3,740 assists, good enough for second-best in program history. Also inking their name in the record books is Megan Burns, who's single-season 691 digs now stands as a program best, as does her 5.27 digs per set.
 
Down 17-13 in the first, the Sharks used two multiple-point runs, capped with a kill by Tyler-Palmer, to knot the game at 19-19. The two teams battled back and forth until at 25-25, a service error by the Spartans and another kill by Tyler-Palmer gave NSU its lone win of the day, 27-25.
 
Once again, the early stages of set two were in Tampa's favor until a 6-1 run by the Sharks pushed the home team ahead, 10-9, its first lead of the set. Kills by Pyles and Tyler-Palmer gave NSU its biggest lead of the set, 18-14, before UT exploded for six straight points to take the lead, 20-18. After exchanging a pair of points, the Sharks utilized errors by the Spartans and a kill by Melcher to go ahead, 22-21. Kills by Begon and Tyler-Palmer put the Sharks in winning position, 24-23, but the Spartans were able to stop NSU, tallying three consecutive points to tie the match at a set apiece.
 
It was all Tampa in the third set as the visitors held the Sharks to a mere .048 hitting percentage en route to a 25-12 blowout win to grab the overall advantage, 2-1.
 
Tied at 13 apiece in the fourth, the Spartans tallied four points in a row to take a 17-13 lead, a lead they would not release for the rest of the set. NSU was able to get within two (23-21), forcing Tampa to call timeout, but kills by Katie McKiel and Gen Beaumier finished the match with the Spartans on top.
 
Be on the lookout at NSUSharks.com for the announcement of the Sunshine State Conference All-Conference teams, which will be released on Monday.