FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Despite a hard-fought and thrilling effort by the NSU volleyball team, No. 21 Florida Southern emerged victorious, 3-1, on Friday night at the NSU Arena (24-26, 17-25, 31-29, 23-25).
Despite the loss, there were a few exceptional performances and eye-popping numbers that stood out for NSU (6-5, 1-2 SSC) in their first conference match of the weekend.
Jessica Ronyak led the Sharks with 18 kills and posted a double-double, contributing 13 digs, while
Maddie Uilk recorded eight total blocks, one solo. As a team, the Sharks recorded 13 service aces, the highest amount since its 3-2 loss to Western State Colorado.
Megan Burns was fantastic defensively, tallying 31 digs, while
Samantha Blasko put up a career-high 35 assists.
Denvyr Tyler-Palmer was inches away from posting her fifth double-double of the season, chipping in 16 kills and nine digs.
The Sharks stayed ahead throughout the early stages of the first set, with its biggest lead over the 21
st-ranked Mocs (8-2, 2-1 SSC) at six points (18-12) before FSC went off on an 8-3 run to come within one point, 21-20. The Monarchs fought hard to preserve the lead, but fell short in extra points, 26-24.
Florida Southern's offense dominated the Sharks in set two, as the Mocs tallied 14 kills to NSU's five. The Mocs jumped out to an early 6-3 lead but errors by the visitors and a kill by Tyler-Palmer and service ace by Ronyak helped the Sharks grab the advantage, 7-6. After two more ties, the Mocs pulled away with the lead and never looked back, earning the 25-17 win.
Set three was a battle of the ages, seeing 15 total ties and ending with a final score of 31-29 in NSU's favor. Locked up at 10-10, the Sharks took off to grab a seven-point edge (17-10) founded on Burns' four aces and kills by Ronyak. After a timeout called by the Mocs, the visitors slowly crept back to come within four points (18-14) but three consecutive points gave NSU a 21-14 cushion. FSC responded with a 9-1 run, stealing the lead from NSU, 23-22. A kill by Ronyak knotted things once more, but FSC's Anna Tovo gave FSC the lead and a point away from a 3-0 win but a kill by
Tashalyn Begon and an error by the Mocs turned the tables and NSU went ahead, 25-24. After five consecutive ties, Nova Southeastern was able to capitalize on a kill by Tyler-Palmer and service ace by Elysaa Stimmell to end up on top.
Nova Southeastern held the advantage for most of the fourth set, staying ahead until the scoreboard read 20-17 and the Mocs went on a four-point run to steal the lead and causing the Sharks to ultimately fall short, 25-23, to fall 3-1 in all.
The Sharks continue in the friendly confines of the NSU Arena as they host Eckerd College on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
--