FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Returning to the Rick Case Arena after three road games, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell in four sets to the visiting Lynn Fighting Knights on Tuesday evening.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 1-3 (20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 14-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (2-10, 0-5 SSC), Lynn Fighting Knights (8-4, 2-3 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1 | The Sharks were the first to draw blood to begin the game, keeping the game close before Lynn took advantage of a 6-0 run to take a 10-5 edge. The Fighting Knights stayed out in front by at least five points before a kill by
Samantha Blasko brought the Sharks within four, 14-10. A kill by
Maddie Uilk cut the deficit to two at 17-15, but the Knights were the team to finish it out, outscoring the Sharks 8-5 for the remainder of the set.
SET 2 | It was all Lynn in the start of the second, as the visitors jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Sharks used back-to-back kills by
Denvyr Tyler-Palmer and an error by the Knights to come within one, 4-3, but LU cut off their rally with a 3-0 run of their own. At 13-9 in Lynn's favor, a kill by
Leslie Atherton sparked another 3-0 run to bring the score to 13-11 and force Lynn to use their first timeout. Heading back on to the court, the Knights jumped out to a 17-11 advantage, their largest lead of the set so far. A kill by Uilk and an ace by
Samantha Blasko narrowed the Knights' lead down to just four, 18-14, but that would be as close as the Sharks would get as the visitors eventually took the second set 25-17.
SET 3 | The Sharks fell behind early in the third, as the Knights raced out of the gates to a 7-1 lead. The visitors continued to hold a sizeable lead throughout the first half of the set before at 13-6, NSU exploded for a 7-1 run to come within one, 14-13. At 18-17 with Lynn ahead, NSU took advantage of five unanswered points to earn a 22-18 lead. The Fighting Knights attempted to steal away the lead, coming within two at 24-22, but an error by Lynn gave NSU the win to force the fourth set.
SET 4 | Errors plagued the Sharks in set four as NSU fell behind early. At 12-6, kills by
Kim Blasko and Tyler-Palmer pushed the Sharks within four points, but that was the closest they would be for the remainder of the set as Lynn took off on a 10-2 run for an overwhelming 22-10 lead. The Sharks strung together three points toward the end of the set, taking advantage of three consecutive Knight errors, before a kill by LU's Lauren Odom ended the match.
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Tyler-Palmer topped all Sharks with her 14 kills, while Atherton added six. Tyler-Palmer completed her double-double with 19 digs and Atherton registered four blocks.
- Gabby Bauch talled four kills while Amanda Pultorak had three blocks of her own.
- Samantha Blasko registered 18 assists and Caylee Cox contributed 10.
- Megan Burns picked up 25 digs while Bauch had nine.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- Both Atherton's four blocks and Burns' 25 digs were career highs.
- Tyler-Palmer's double-double was her fifth of the season.
- Tonight's loss puts the overall series at 25-19 in favor of the Knights.
UP NEXT
The Sharks will continue home play this weekend, hosting Rollins on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and No. 12 Tampa on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.
