Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
HOOVER, Ala. – Despite dropping two on the final day of the GSC/SSC Crossover, Denvyr Tyler-Palmer became the highlight of the weekend, becoming just the 11^th player in NSU history to earn access into the 1,00 kill club.
 
The Sharks fell in a five-set heartbreaker to Mississippi College earlier this morning, before dropping a four-set match to Montevallo later in the evening.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS:
GAME ONE FINAL: L, 2-3 (18-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 11-15)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (4-10), Mississippi College (10-12)
GAME TWO FINAL: L, 1-3 (20-25, 25-20, 17-25, 23-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern (4-11), Montevallo (8-10)
LOCATION: Finley Center | Hoover, Ala.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nova Southeastern vs. Mississippi College

SET 1 | The match started as a back-and-forth affair, with the teams being tied five times from 5-5 to 11-11. The Choctaws began to run away with it from there, as the Sharks were unable to get closer than two points behind before Mississippi College used a 9-4 run to take the set, 25-18.

SET 2 | The second set was much like the first, only in reverse. The teams were tied as late as 10-10, but the Sharks took control quickly, with kills by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer responsible for six of the next seven points. They matched their biggest lead of the set when they won it, also by a 25-18 score.

SET 3 | Sensing a theme, the teams opened the third set in close proximity to each other, as well. Five straight Choctaw points gave them a 14-8 lead, but the Sharks didn't go down quietly. Just as quickly as Mississippi College took the lead, the Sharks scored six in a row to tie the set at 14. The Sharks faced a pair of three-point deficits later in the set, at 18-15 and 23-20 but overcame both of them, as they had with the earlier six-point margin. A pair of Choctaw kills from Krista Zieschang, however, gave them a 25-23 victory for the 2-1 set lead.

SET 4 | This time, the Sharks ran away for a big lead early, scoring an impressive nine consecutive points for a 12-4 lead. They never let Mississippi College get closer than within three for the rest of the set, en route to a 25-21 set win to force a decisive fifth set.

SET 5 | The Sharks scored five in a row early on, punctuated by back-to-back service aces by Tyler-Palmer to force a Choctaw timeout. Their pep talk worked, because they rallied back with five in a row of their own for an 8-7 lead at the switch. The Sharks got the tie on an attack error, but Mississippi College used another run, this time 5-1, to bring it to match point at 14-9. The Sharks got a couple back, but it would not be enough, and the do-or-die fifth set ended in favor of the Choctaws, 15-11, for the 3-2 match victory.

INSIDE THE STATS:

• Tyler-Palmer led the team with 31 kills and five aces, while also contributing 16 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
• Tyler-Palmer's 31 kills were 20 more than the Choctaw's team leader and 24 more than any other Shark.
• Sam Blasko also posted her second double-double in a row and fifth of the season, with career highs in assists (40), digs (16) and kills (7). Over her last three matches, she has a .389 attack percentage on 17 kills to just three errors with an average of 7.67 assists per set.
• Megan Burns had a season-high 34 digs, her first match in 2017 with more than 30.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Denvyr Tyler-Palmer became the 11^th player in NSU history to reach the 1,000 kill club.
• Samantha Blasko set a new career high of kills with seven.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Nova Southeastern vs. Montevallo
 
SET 1 | Up 13-11 in the first set, the Falcons used a six-point run to steal the lead, 17-13. The Sharks responded with a three-point run of their own to come within one, 17-16, and the two teams continued to exchange points until at 19-18 in UM's favor, Montevallo used a kill and an ace to take a 21-18 lead and never look back. The Falcons went on to take the set, 25-20.
 
SET 2 | Tied 3-3, the Sharks took advantage of errors by the Falcons and a kill by Kim Blasko to take a 7-3 lead. The Sharks continued to put on the pressure until at 10-5, Montevallo was forced to take a timeout. The break did not phase the Sharks, however, as NSU kept their momentum on their side, grabbing the largest lead of the match, 21-12. Montevallo would not surrender, rallying to put up seven straight points to come within two, 21-19. Errors by the Falcons sealed their fate, and a service ace by Megan Burns and a kill by Nicole Rivera gave the Sharks the 25-20 win.
 
SET 3 | The momentum switched sides in the third set, as Montevallo jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Sharks were unable to recover, and fell 25-17, as UM took a 2-1 overall advantage.
 
SET 4 | Much like the third set, the Falcons had all the momentum on their side early on. At 11-5 in UM's favor, the Sharks took advantage of a 10-1 run to earn a 15-12 lead. NSU used errors by Montevallo and a kill by Samantha Blasko to grab their largest lead of the game, 18-14, until the Falcons used a 5-1 run to knot the game, 19-19. Both teams used two-point runs to keep the game tied, 21-21, before NSU used an error by UM and a kill by Rachael Nelson to grab a 23-21 edge, forcing the Falcons to call for a timeout. The timeout was all UM needed, as they returned to the court to record four consecutive points and grab a 25-23 win.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Denvyr Tyler-Palmer recorded yet another double-double with 18 kills and 16 digs.
• Megan Burns led the Shark defense with 24 digs, while Nelson added 16.
• Samantha Blasko helped steer the offense, tallying 36 assists, and added a team-high three aces.
• Amanda Pultorak registered seven total blocks.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tyler-Palmer's double-double was her seventh of the season.
• Pultorak's seven blocks were a career-high.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will continue on the road next weekend, traveling north to take on Tampa and Florida Southern.
 
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