FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Opening Sunshine State Conference play, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team dropped three straight sets to the visiting Barry Buccaneers on Friday evening in the Rick Case Arena.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 0-3 (17-25, 23-25,18-25)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (2-6, 0-1 SSC), Barry Buccaneers (9-0, 1-0 SSC)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Despite starting the match with a kill by Denvyr Tyler-Palmer, the Sharks were unable to hold the lead again in the game as the Bucs quickly stole two points from the Sharks to put the advantage on their side. At 7-5 in BU's favor, a kill by Maddie Uilk brought NSU within one, before Barry used a 6-1 run to grab a padded lead, 13-7. At 23-15, the Sharks attempted to use a kill by Tyler-Palmer and an ace by Megan Burns to spark a rally, but fell short as back-to-back errors gave the Bucs the first set 25-17.
 
SET 2 | The closest game by far of the night, the second set started off with an ace by Caylee Cox and a kill by Maya Patterson to put the edge on the home team's side. Barry turned up the heat, taking as much as a three-point lead (7-4) before NSU used a 5-1 run to steal back the lead, 9-8. The game saw four ties before a three-point run by the Bucs at 13-12 gave Barry a 15-13 lead. A couple points later, NSU took advantage of a 6-2 run to take a late 20-18 lead, and continued to compete, holding the lead at 23-22. NSU wasn't able to hold on an finish, however, as Barry strung together three points to steal the set from the Sharks, 25-23.
 
SET 3 | Down 11-5 in the third, back-to-back blocks by Uilk and Leslie Atherton and Uilk and Sydney Lemon, along with a kill by Patterson cut the deficit to three points, 11-8. The two teams exchanged two-point rallies before at 13-10, the Bucs used a 7-3 run to take a 20-13 lead. Three consecutive errors by Barry put Nova Southeastern in a comeback position, but it wasn't enough as BU went on to outscore NSU 5-2 to finish the game on top, 25-18.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Patterson tallied a team-high 12 kills and completed the double-double with 14 digs.
• Kim Blasko recorded seven kills, while Tyler-Palmer added six.
• Atherton put up a team-high three blocks while Uilk and Lemon added two.
• Samantha Blasko tallied 16 assists while Cox added 10.
• Burns added nine digs and two aces.

 
 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• This was Patterson's second double-double in as many games. She has also tallied double-digit digs in three-consecutive games.  
• Patterson's digs were not only a season high, but a career-high as well.
• Tonight's loss puts the overall series at 37-8 in Barry's favor.

 
 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will hit the road to take on their first ranked opponent of the 2018 season, No. 4 Palm Beach Atlantic at 4:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach.
 
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.