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FORT LAUDERDALE – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team is looking to get the 2016 season off to a solid start by hosting the Ninth Annual Sharks Volleyball Invitational Sept. 2-3 at the NSU Arena at the Don Taft University Center.
In the Shark Tank for the ninth time since the NSU Arena opened in 2006, the 2016 Shark Invitational will feature three teams from the Sunshine State Conference in Lynn, Saint Leo and of course the host Nova Southeastern. Both Adelphi and Bentley are traveling down from the Northeast-10 Conference, while Arkansas Monticello hails from the Great American Conference and Rockhurst from the GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference).
CHECK OUT THE SHARK INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE FOR COMPLETE SCHEDULE.
The Rockhurst Hawks come into the invitational as the only ranked team in the AVCA preseason top-25 at No. 11. In 2015, the Hawks ran through their competition posting a 34-4 overall record and 18-0 mark in the GLVC. The team cruised through the Midwest Regional, but their season ended in the first round of the NCAA DII Championships. Senior Morgan Rietzke is one of the team's top returning players after leading the Hawks in kills, points and kills/set in 2015.
In the Tank for the first time, Arkansas Monticello will kick off their season in Fort Lauderdale. Last season the Blossoms finished the season at 12-17 playing in the touch GAC. UAM will be led by Brazilian native Carolina Gasparini. The 5-8 senior outside hitter was among the team leaders in kills, kills/set and hitting percentage.
Bentley is coming off an 18-10 season in 2015 and an 11-3 mark in the NE-10. After losing last year's top offensive producer in Jaci Buscher who led the team in kills, the Falcons will be looking toward some of the underclassmen to produce. Lauren Van Buren could be one to watch out for as she returns for her senior season after averaging 2.35 kills/set during her junior season.
Fellow NE-10 member Adelphi will join the mix of competitive teams at this year's tournament. In 2015, the Panthers were the conference champs finishing with an unblemished 14-0 record and an impressive 27-5 overall record. Unfortunately, a great season was cut short in the East Regional when they fell to NYIT who went on to play in the Elite Eight later that year. Returning this year as a senior Mandy Stanislovaitis led the Panthers in 2015 in total kills and kills/set.
Of the three SSC schools, Saint Leo finished second in the league with a 21-11 overall record a 10-6 conference mark and advanced to the South Regional semifinals where they fell 3-2 to Palm Beach Atlantic, the national runners-up in 2015. The Lions' top offensive threat, Hope Lemon returns for her senior season after leading the team in kills/set last year.
Playing in one of the toughest conferences in Division II, Lynn finished tied for eight in the SSC last year with a 14-15 overall record and a 4-12 conference record. The Fighting Knights had a well-balanced offensive attack in 2015 that was led by returning senior and setter Marissa Tandron. As one of the top setters in the league, she averaged just under 10 assists per set last season.
Coming off their best season since 2009, the host NSU Sharks volleyball team is looking to building upon last season's success. NSU finished with a 19-12 overall record and 9-7 in the SSC finishing tied for third overall in the final conference standings. The season started with the best record in school history at 10-1, while two departed seniors (
Dana Holger and
Sydney Cook) both reached 1,000 career kills. With a lot of new faces as well as returning talent, the Sharks will be looking to senior setter
Katie Pyles to help guide the team again this year.
The tournament will begin on Sept. 2 at 11:30 am EST with seven matches being played on two courts. NSU will face Adelphi at 2 pm and Arkansas Monticello at 7 pm.
