Box Score FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell in straight sets to the 22^nd-ranked Florida Southern College Moccasins on Friday evening in the Rick Case Arena. With the victory, the Mocs were crowned the 2017 SSC Champions.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 0-3 (13-25, 22-25, 18-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (6-20, 4-15 SSC), Florida Southern Mocs (24-6, 18-1 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | The Mocs had all the momentum on their side early in the first set, using multiple-point runs to grab a 10-3 advantage over the Sharks, forcing NSU to call for a timeout. FSC did not falter, however, and went on to take the first set, 25-13.
 
SET 2 | The beginning of the set saw NSU hold the lead for the majority, taking a 16-11 lead with an ace by Samantha Blasko to force the Mocs to use their first timeout. After a kill by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer, FSC rallied with a 5-0 run to come within one, 17-16, and force NSU to use a timeout of their own. Back-to-back kills by Tyler-Palmer and Kaelyn Brock gave the home team a three-point advantage, 19-16, but a 4-1 run by Florida Southern knotted the game at 20-20. Brock put the Sharks back on top, 21-20, but that would be the last time as a 5-0 run by the Mocs closed out the second set, 25-22, and Florida Southern took an overall 2-0 lead.
 
SET 3 | The final set was neck-and-neck to start, seeing six lead changes and five ties, until at 7-7 the Mocs were able to string together four points in a row for a 10-7 lead. A kill by Nicole Rivera and an ace by Rachael Nelson cut the deficit to one, 10-9, but a 3-0 run put FSC back out in front, 13-9, and the Sharks used their first timeout. Florida Southern continued to put on the pressure, taking its largest lead of the set at 20-12. The Sharks took advantage of a kill by Tyler-Palmer and back-to-back FSC errors to bring the score to 20-15, but Florida Southern only had the championship on their mind as they used a 5-3 run to top NSU 25-18 for the victory.
 
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Tyler-Palmer led Nova Southeastern with 19 kills, while adding six digs.
• Rivera was next with five kills, while Maddie Uilk had four.
• Samantha Blasko recorded 26 assists while Brock chipped in six digs.
• Megan Burns led the Shark defense with 15 digs, adding three assists.
• Nelson registered two of NSU's three aces.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tyler-Palmer now has 465 total kills on the year, eight behind Michelle Mertens, who sits in second place all-time in the NSU record books for single season number of kills (473).
• For her career, Tyler-Palmer has now tallied 1,229 kills, passing Dana Holger for third place all-time.  

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will conclude their 2017 season tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 18, at 2:00 p.m. against Tampa. Prior to the match, the NSU athletics department and the volleyball team will celebrate its three seniors, Kaelyn Brock, Jane Early and Ashlyn Hill, and their careers as Sharks.
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.