ORLANDO, Fla. – Opening play in the 2018 South Region Crossover, the Nova Southeastern Sharks fell twice to Gulf South Conference opponent. In the first game at the Orlando Sports Center, NSU dropped a four-set match to the University of West Georgia (23-25, 25-23, 11-25, 25-27) before falling in straight sets by the hands of Lee University (23-25, 23-25, 20-25).
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE):
FINAL: L, 1-3 (23-25, 25-23, 11-25, 25-27)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (5-17), West Georgia Wolves (11-8)
LOCATION: Orlando Sports Center | Orlando, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1 | Down 11-10, a 4-0 run sparked by a kill by
Maddie Uilk pushed the Sharks to a 14-11 edge and forced UWG to use their first timeout. The Sharks were able to hold onto their lead, or stay within one point, until at 20-20, errors by NSU allowed the Wolves to grab a 23-20 advantage. An error by the Wolves and back-to-back blocks by Uilk and
Amanda Pultorak and Denvry Tyler-Palmer and Pultorak knotted the game once more at 23 all. After using their final timeout, UWG returned to the court to put up the two points needed to steal the game, 25-23.
SET 2 | Much of the second set involved two or three-point rallies by either team and the Sharks and the Wolves managed to stay within three points of each other throughout the entire set. At 20-19 with UWG in the lead, a block by
Kim Blasko and Pultorak and kills by Tyler-Palmer and
Kim Blasko allowed the Sharks to take a 22-20 lead. The two teams went back-and-forth scoring points before a kill by
Gabby Bauch gave NSU the 25-23 victory and evened the match, 1-1.
SET 3 | Down 7-4, the Sharks rattled off four unanswered points, sparked by a kill by Pultorak to go ahead, 8-7. That would be their last lead of the set, however, as the Wolves exploded for an 18-3 run to take the third set, 25-11.
SET 4 | With the Wolves holding a four-point lead early on at 7-3, the Sharks took advantage of a 7-1 run to steal the lead, 10-8. At 12-10 with NSU on top, a 4-0 run by UWG gave the Wolves a 14-12 edge. Despite the Sharks knotting the match at 14-14, the Wolves held the lead on their side throughout the majority of the of the rest of the set. At 24-20, the Sharks used four unanswered to tie it up at 24-24. The game saw match point two more times before UWG strung together a pair of points to take the final set 27-25 and the overall match, 3-1.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Tyler-Palmer led the Sharks with her 11 kills and Uilk followed closely behind with 10 kills. Tyler-Palmer also completed her double-double with 11 digs.
- Kim Blakso had seven kills while Bauch and Leslie Atherton each had six.
- Pultorak had a game-high seven blocks and Kim Blasko added five.
- Samantha Blasko contributed 21 assists while Caylee Cox had 18. Cox also had 11 digs.
- Megan Burns led all players with 32 digs while Rachael Nelson picked up 10.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- With her 11 kills, Tyler-Palmer eclipsed the 1,500 kill mark at now sits at 1,505 career kills.
- This was Burns' second straight game with 30+ digs.
- Today's loss brings the overall series to 5-2 in the Sharks' favor.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO):
FINAL: L, 0-3 (23-25, 23-25, 20-25).
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (5-18), Lee Flames (12-12)
LOCATION: Orlando Sports Center | Orlando, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1 | Down 7-3 in the first set, the Sharks put together three consecutive points starting with a kill by
Maddie Uilk to cut the deficit to one point at 7-6. That would be the closest they would get throughout the remainder of the set, however, as Lee used a 5-1 run to jump back out in front. NSU hinted at a rally late in the set, coming within one at 23-22 with a block by
Leslie Atherton and
Gabby Bauch and again at 24-23 with a kill by Atherton, but ultimately fell short, 25-23.
SET 2 | Similar to the first set, the second was fairly close in the early stages until at 9-9, the Flames took advantage of a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. NSU fought back and at 20-17 in Lee's favor, a kill by
Kim Blasko and back-to-back errors by the Flames knotted the game at 20-all. A point later, another kill by Atherton and a Lee error gave NSU the edge, 22-21. The game saw one more tie at 23-23, as Atherton recorded another kill, before Lee put up back-to-back points for a 25-23 set two win and overall 2-0 lead.
SET 3 | The Sharks' offense struggled to gain momentum in the third set as the Flames jumped out to an overwhelming 20-10 lead. NSU didn't give up, however, and utilized a 9-3 run to cut the deficit to four at 23-19. The Sharks were unable to overcome the deficit, as Lee finished the set 25-20, taking the match in straight sets.
INSIDE THE STATS:
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- With her 26 digs, Burns has accumulated exactly 2,000 digs over her career. She is the only Shark in program history to hit this milestone.
- This was the first time the Flames and the Sharks squared off.
UP NEXT
The Sharks will close out play at the South Region Crossover against Valdosta State on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.
