ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Closing out its 2018 season, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell in straight sets to the host Eckerd Tritons on Thursday evening.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 0-3 (15-25, 13-25, 20-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (6-24, 4-16 SSC), Eckerd Tritons (15-14, 7-12 SSC)
LOCATION: McArthur Center | St. Petersburg, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | With the Sharks ahead 3-2, the Tritons took off on a 9-1 run to take an 11-4 advantage and force the Sharks to call for a timeout. At 18-9 in EC's favor, a kill by Leslie Atherton sparked a 4-0 run by NSU to come within five, as Eckerd used their first timeout. Returning to the floor, the Tritons outscored Nova Southeastern 7-2 to take the first set, 25-15.
 
SET 2 | Down 6-4, a block by Atherton and Maddie Uilk started a string of three unanswered points, giving the Sharks the lead at 7-6. The Tritons were able to get the advantage back on their side with back-to-back kills before a kill by Samantha Blasko knotted the match for the final time. A bad set by Eckerd allowed NSU to come within three at 13-10 before the Tritons went on to outscore the Sharks 12-3 to close out the set and take an overall 2-0 lead.
 
SET 3 | Tied at 7-7, the Tritons used a 7-2 run to grab a 14-9 lead as the Sharks used their first break. A 5-1 run, capped with a kill by Kim Blasko, brought the Sharks back within one point. That would be as close as NSU would get, however, as the Tritons were able to extend their lead out to six points at 22-17. Another short burst of points, including two kills by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer, cut the deficit to three at 22-19 to hint at a rally, but it was Eckerd who took the final game 25-20.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Atherton led the Sharks with seven kills, adding two blocks.
• Tyler-Palmer and Kim Blasko each tallied five kills, while Tyler-Palmer picked up seven digs.
• Samantha Blasko recorded 12 assists and Caylee Cox added eight. Cox also registered six digs.
• Megan Burns led all players with 18 digs.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Tonight's loss brings the overall series between the Sharks and the Tritons to 26-31 in favor of Eckerd.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will wait to hear about post season awards after the conclusion of SSC play this weekend.
 
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.