HOOVER, Ala. – Battling back to grab a 2-1 overall lead, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team fell at the hands of the Montevallo Falcons in a five-set thriller to conclude play in the 2019 South Region Crossover  
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
FINAL: L, 2-3 (25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-17)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (11-8), Montevallo Falcons (11-11)
LOCATION: Finley Center | Hoover, Ala.
FOLLOW US: @NSUSHARKS on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Tied at 6-6, the Sharks used a 6-1 run bookended by kills by Emily Sippel to take a 12-7 edge and force the Falcons to call for a timeout. NSU continued to stay out in front for the remainder of the set, with the Falcons coming within two points several times, unable to overtake the Sharks' lead. The last chance Montevallo had came at 24-22, before a kill by Amanda Hall finished the set with NSU on top 25-22.
 
SET 2 | The beginning of the set was very close, seeing nine ties. At 9-9, the Falcons grabbed a two-point lead to force NSU to call for a timeout, continuing to build upon that lead to go up 20-15 as NUS used their final timeout. Returning to the floor, the Sharks rattled off three-straight points to come within two points, as it became Montevallo's turn to call timeout. NSU was able to cut the deficit to two points once again at 23-21, before a Shark error and a kill by the Falcons evened the match with a 25-21 UM win.
 
SET 3 | With the Sharks trailing 13-12, back-to-back Falcon errors, back-to-back aces by Sippel and a kill by McKenna Tucek pushed the Sharks ahead 17-13, forcing UM to call timeout. NSU continued to hold control of the set, including the final plays as a 3-0 run capped with an ace by Jess Barrett allowed the Sharks to win, 25-20, and once again grab the overall edge, 2-1.
 
SET 4 | UM wasted no time grabbing a 6-1 lead, forcing NSU to take an early timeout. The Sharks fought back to cut the deficit to two at 14-12, taking advantage of back-to-back errors by the Falcons, before UM used their own timeout to slow the Sharks' momentum. A couple plays later, NSU was able to come within one at 19-18 thanks to back-to-back kills by Gabby Bauch, and Montevallo used their final timeout. From there, UM pulled away, going up by four at 23-19 to make NSU call timeout, before forcing a fifth set with a 25-21 win.
 
SET 5 | Down 6-1, the Sharks bounced back as a kill by Sami Spadaro sparked a 4-0 run to bring NSU within one, 6-5, and force Montevallo to use their first timeout. Nova Southeastern was able to earn its first lead of the set at 10-9 with a kill by Tucek, before taking advantage of back-to-back errors by UM to take a 12-9 lead and make the Falcons use their last timeout. Montevallo responded with a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game, 12-12, and after an NSU timeout, the real nail biter began. Tied at 14-14, an ace by Madison Cook made it game point in NSU's favor, but a 3-0 run by the Falcons took away the win from the Sharks as Montevallo earned a 17-15 extra point win to earn the victory.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Tucek notched a team-high 17 kills for the second-straight game, adding six digs.
• Landrum and Sippel each recorded 11 kills, as Landrum made five blocks along with two solo and Sippel made it a double-double with 19 digs and recorded four aces.
• Cook also had a double-double with her 24 assists and 15 digs, while Caylee Cox added 17 assists and eight digs.
• Aleyna Kennel picked up 20 digs.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Sippel's four aces were a season-high. This was also her second-straight game recording a double-double.
• The loss brings the overall series to 6-2 in Montevallo's favor.

 
UP NEXT
 
Nova Southeastern will return to the Shark Tank on Tuesday, Oct. 22 for the first time since Sept. 27 to host the Barry Bucs at 7:00 p.m.
 
SHARKS ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
 
Follow along with live updates on Twitter by following @NSU_VBALL.