FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – On the last day of the 2018 Shark Invitational, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team earned its first two wins of the season over Babson and Texas A&M International. The Sharks swept the Beavers in straight sets to tally its first win and then topped the Dustdevils in four to complete the two-victory day.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE):
FINAL: W, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-17)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (1-5), Babson Beavers (1-3)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | The Sharks quickly jumped ahead in the first set, 12-4, thanks to nine errors committed by the Beavers and kills by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer and Samantha Blasko. NSU continued to stay out in front by at least seven points, until at 19-10, Babson strung together three consecutive points to bring the deficit to six, 19-13. The Sharks weren't phased, however, as the home team used three consecutive points of their own to push their lead back out to nine. The Beavers attempted to rally a couple plays later, cutting NSU's to six once again at 24-17, but a kill by Samantha Blasko put an end to it and gave the Sharks the 25-17 win.
 
SET 2 | The second set was by far the strongest offensive effort for the Sharks of the match, as NSU tallied a game-high collective 21 kills. The Sharks showed no mercy right out of the gates, quickly taking a 7-0 lead and forcing Babson to use their first timeout. NSU continued to put on the offensive pressure, taking an eight-point lead, 13-5, with kills by Tyler-Palmer and Kim Blasko, keeping a healthy lead until at 17-9, BC used a 7-1 run to come within two of the Sharks, 18-16. The two teams exchanged points eight times until at 22-20, NSU used three consecutive kills by Tyler-Palmer, Samantha Blasko and Leslie Atherton to take set two, 25-20, and earn an overall 2-0 edge.
 
SET 3 | Similar to the first two sets, NSU grabbed an early 6-1 lead, but a 4-0 run by the Beavers cut the home team's lead to just one at 6-5. Babson was able to stay within two for the next couple plays, before at 9-8 in NSU's favor the Sharks used a 6-0 run to extend their lead out to seven. Nova Southeastern grabbed its largest lead of the set at nine points (20-11) with a block by Samantha Blasko and Maddie Uilk, and went on to take the third set 25-17 and ultimately the win.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Tyler-Palmer tallied a team-high 15 kills and completed the double-double with 11 digs. She also added two blocks.
• Kim Blasko recorded seven kills for the second-straight game, while Uilk, Patterson and Atherton each had six kills.
• Uilk tallied a game-high four blocks while Patterson picked up 11 digs.
• Samantha Blasko tallied 33 assists while also adding five kills, both season highs. The senior setter also recorded six digs.
• Megan Burns led the team with 23 digs, and posted a season-high two service aces.

 
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• As a team, the Sharks complied 45 kills compared to Babson's 19.
• Tyler-Palmer's double-double was her second of the season.

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO):
FINAL: W, 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 25-22, 25-12)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (2-5), Texas A&M International Dustdevils (1-8)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | The Sharks and the Dustdevils stayed neck-and-neck in the early parts of set one until a kill by Kim Blasko sparked a 7-2 run to give NSU a 12-7 edge. The two teams exchanged a couple rallies before at 15-11 NSU took off on an 10-2 rally, capped with a kill by Patterson, to end up on top 25-13.
 
SET 2 | With a 9-5 advantage in the second, the Dustdevils used a 9-1 run to take the lead from the Sharks at 14-10. TAMIU didn't hold onto the lead long, however, as a kill by Tyler-Palmer and four consecutive errors by the Dustdevils put NSU back on top, 15-14. At 16-15, TAMIU exploded on a 7-0 run to steal back the lead and not look back, eventually taking the set, 25-19.
 
SET 3 | The beginning of the third set was very back-and-forth as the set saw seven ties, until at 12-11 in TAMIU's favor, kills by Tyler-Palmer, Patterson and Kim Blasko, along with an error by the visitors gave the Sharks a 15-12 edge. The set saw five more ties before at 22-21, Nova Southeastern put together four straight points to put the overall advantage back on their side, 2-0, with a 25-22 win.
 
SET 4 | The Sharks grabbed an early 10-5 lead in the final set, coming back from down 4-1 with a 9-1 run. A service error by NSU allowed TAMIU to get within four, 11-7, but that would be as close as they would get for the rest of the set as Nova Southeastern went on to outscore them 14-5 for the remainder of the set, ultimately giving them a 25-12 win.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Once again, Tyler-Palmer tallied a team-high 18 kills and completed her second double-double of the day with 12 digs. She also once again added two blocks.
• Patterson added 16 kills and also tallied a double-double with 10 digs.
• Kim Blasko recorded eight kills while Uilk had six.
• Samantha Blasko tallied 42 assists while also adding four kills and nine digs.
• Megan Burns led the team with 13 digs, and posted a season-high four service aces.

 
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• With tonight's 18 kills, Tyler-Palmer now sits at 1,338 career kills, putting her second in NSU program history. She is 86 kills away from tying the 15-year old record of 1,424 kills set by Natalie Kramer from 1990-93.
• Tyler-Palmer's double-double was her third of the season.
• Patterson's 16 kills represented a career-high.
• Samantha Blasko's 42 assists ties her career-high in a single match.

 
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will continue home play and kick off Sunshine State Conference action this upcoming Friday, Sept. 7 against Barry at 7:00 p.m.
 
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.