FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Opening up play in the 11th-Annual Shark Invitational, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell to the hands of Missouri S&T, 3-1.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 1-3 (25-15, 20-25, 14-25, 19-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (0-5), Missouri S&T Miners (5-1)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Playing one of their best sets as a collective squad, the momentum was all on NSU's side early on in the game. Committing not one error throughout the entire set, the Sharks earned an overwhelming 25-15 win to grab a 1-0 overall lead. At 10-7 in NSU's favor, the Sharks started one of their many multiple-point rallies to take a 14-7 lead and never look back. Errors by the Miners and a kill by Sydney Lemon gave NSU it's largest lead of the match, 22-12, before kills by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer and Kim Blasko, along with another MS&T error, sealed NSU's lone win of the match.
 
SET 2 | Similar to the first set, Nova Southeastern jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, before the Miners slowly chipped away at their lead, eventually tying it up at 6-6. The set saw five more ties before at 11-11, Missouri S&T used a 4-0 run to take the lead and not let go. A kill by Tyler-Palmer brought the deficit to just two points late in the set, 21-19, but it wasn't enough as the Miners used another rally to end up on top, 25-20.
 
SET 3 | The Sharks struggled in the third set to spark their offense, falling behind early and not getting a chance to close the gap. At 24-12, three consecutive points tallied by the Sharks forced the Miners to use one of their timeouts, which cooled off the Sharks and gave the visiting team a 25-14 win and overall 2-0 edge.
 
SET 4 | Throughout the majority of the fourth set, the Sharks had the advantage on their side, holding at least a two-point edge until at 14-11, the Miners used a 5-0 run to steal the lead, one they would not relinquish. NSU attempted to spark a comeback as a kill by Maya Patterson and an ace by Megan Burns brought the Sharks within three, 22-19, but errors and an ace by MS&T sealed their fate.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Tyler-Palmer and Patterson led the way for the Sharks, tallying 11 kills each. Tyler-Palmer notched a double-double, picking up 13 digs to go along with two aces and three blocks.
• Kim Blasko recorded seven kills, while Maddie Uilk has six of her own to go along with a team-high four blocks.
• Caylee Cox tallied 21 assists while also adding four digs and an ace.
• Megan Burns led the team with 15 digs, while Samantha Blasko registered 13 assists.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Cox's 21 assists and Kim Blasko's seven kills were season highs.
• This was the first time the Miners and the Sharks faced off against each other. 

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will continue competition in the Shark Invitational on Saturday, playing in their final two games against Babson at 3:00 p.m. and Texas A&M International at 8:00 p.m.
 
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.