FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Hosting their third game this week, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell in straight sets to the visiting No. 12 Tampa Spartans on Saturday afternoon in the Rick Case Arena.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 0-3 (19-25, 19-25, 17-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (3-11, 1-6 SSC), No. 12 Tampa Spartans (13-1, 6-0 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Back-to-back kills by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer kickstarted the match before Tampa used three consecutive points to steal the lead. The set saw three ties before at 9-8 in UT's favor, the Spartans took advantage of a 7-1 run to take a 16-9 lead and force NSU to use their first timeout. Later on, a kill by Gabby Bauch was the first of three consecutive points for the Sharks to bring them within three, 19-16, as UT called for a timeout of their own. The Spartans returned to the court to outscore the Sharks 6-3, taking the first set by a score of 25-19.
 
SET 2 | Down 7-4 in the second, the Sharks rallied with a kill by Kim Blasko, an error by the Spartans and a block by Amanda Pultorak and Maddie Uilk to knot the game, 7-7. NSU was able to stay within two points throughout the entirety of the set, before at 20-19, UT closed it out with a 5-0 run to grab an overall 2-0 lead.
 
SET 3 | Nova Southeastern wasted no time taking the lead in the third set, as a kill by Uilk gave the serve to Megan Burns, who rattled off five service aces in a row for a 6-0 lead and made Tampa use their first timeout early. A kill by Uilk pushed NSU's lead to 7-0 before the Spartans came back with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the deficit to two, 7-5. At 9-6 with NSU on top, Tampa exploded for a 14-2 run to take an overpowering 20-11 lead. After using a timeout, the Sharks put up three consecutive points to make it 20-14, but Tampa would not let up, going on to take the third set, 25-17.
 
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Tyler-Palmer led all Sharks with 11 kills, making it a double-double with her 13 digs.
• Kim Blasko added eight kills while Bauch had five.
• Splitting time directing the offense, Samantha Blasko registered 14 assists, while Caylee Cox contributed 10, each adding eight and 10 digs, respectively.
• Pultorak recorded three blocks and Uilk had two.
• Burns had seven digs to go along with six service aces and four assists.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Burns' six aces were a season high and just one short of her career high.
• Tonight's win puts the overall series at 32-1 in Tampa's favor.

 
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will hit the road next weekend, traveling to Saint Leo on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7:00 p.m. and Florida Southern on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
 
 
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Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.