FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Closing out play in the 2019 Shark Invitational II, the Nova Southeastern volleyball team defeated Grand Valley State in a marathon five-set match before handling Belmont Abbey in straight-sets. From their performance over the weekend, Sami Spadaro and Brittany Landrum were named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE):
FINAL: W, 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 29-27, 22-25, 17-15)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (6-1), Grand Valley State Lakers (3-4)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Down 4-1, a kill by Amanda Hall and back-to-back errors by the Lakers tied the game at 4-4. After two more ties, the Sharks grabbed a two-point edge at 10-8 before GVSU used a 5-0 run to steal back the lead, one they would never relinquish. The Sharks were able to make it a three-point game at 21-18 with a kill by Brittany Landrum, but that would be the closest they would get as the Lakers went on to take set one 25-19.
 
SET 2 | Tied at 7-7, three-straight points put the advantage on NSU's side, 10-7. The Sharks grabbed their largest lead of the set thus far at 15-11 with an ace by Ally Ford, tying it again at 17-13 with a kill by Alex Boone. At 19-16 in favor of Nova Southeaster, the Lakers were able to string together three-straight points to tie things up 19-19. After an NSU timeout, the game saw two more ties before at 24-23, the Sharks capitalized on a kill by Madison Cook to even things up 1-1.
 
SET 3 | Trailing the Lakers 9-2 in the early stages of the set, the Sharks seemed to have lost the momentum from the game prior, allowing the visitors to use another run to go up by as many as 10 at 16-6. This wasn't the case, however, as NSU fought back, taking off on a 9-1 run to come within two, 17-15. At set point in favor of the Lakers, a kill by Ford sparked a 4-0 run to tie the game 24-24, forcing extra points. After a multiple point battle, the Sharks came from behind with three-straight, capped with a block by Landrum and Emily Sippel to steal set three, 27-25, and take a 2-1 edge overall.
 
SET 4 | Similar to the third set, the Lakers took off on an early run, going up 8-1 on the Sharks. NSU was able to fight back sooner, however, responding with a 6-0 run of their own to come within two, 8-6. GVSU was able to stay out in front up until an ace by Sippel gave NSU their first lead of the set, 19-18. The Lakers wouldn't let the Sharks run away with the set, going on a 6-1 run to make it set point. NSU was able to tally two more on a missed serve and a block by Landrum and Hall, but the fifth set was forced as GVSU tallied the final point to earn the 25-2 win.
 
SET 5 | The Sharks were the first to grab a 3-0 lead with back-to-back kills by Ford and a Laker error, continuing to hold the lead until an error by Sippel gave GVSU the lead at 6-5. After a couple of ties, GVSU was able to stay out by two until a four-point run capped with a kill by Spadaro put NSU back on top at 13-11. Grand Valley State fought back to put the advantage back on their side of the court at 15-14, but a kill by Spadaro and a Laker error set Caylee Cox up for her game-winning ace.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Spadaro led the Sharks with 14 kills, adding two blocks. Ford was next with her 12 kills, making it a double-double with 10 digs.
• Landrum also recorded 12 kills to go along with a game-high eight blocks.
• Alex Boone had 11 kills and Sippel had six while picking up 14 digs.
• Jess Barrett tallied a game-high 20 digs.
• Cook and Cox once again split setting duties, logging 28 and 25 assists, respectively. They both also had seven digs.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Landrum's 12 kills and eight blocks were both career-highs.
• Barrett's 20 digs were also a season-high.
• Today's win was NSU's third five-set win of the season.

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO):
FINAL: W, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-21)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (7-1), Belmont Abbey Crusaders (0-7)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | The Crusaders grabbed an early 7-4 lead before the Sharks turned on the heat, as a kill by Spadaro started a 4-0 run for the Sharks to regain the lead at 8-7. The Crusaders tallied a pair of points to steal the advantage before another 4-0 run made it 12-9 in NSU's favor. At 20-15, Nova Southeastern finished the set with a 6-2 run, capped with a kill by Landrum to take set one, 25-17.
 
SET 2 | After falling behind 4-0, NSU was able to fight back to tie things up at 7-7 with a kill by Boone. Staying within three of the Crusaders, a kill by Landrum gave the Sharks a 15-14 lead. After one final tie at 15-15, Nova Southeastern left Belmont Abbey in the dust, going off on a 10-1 run, finishing with a kill by Ford to take a 2-0 overall lead with a 25-16 dominating win.
 
SET 3 | Similar to the first two sets, BAC was ahead early on, and the Sharks had to play from behind to tie the set at 9-9. Down 15-11, NSU decided it was time for a timeout and returned to the court to take advantage of a 7-1 run, started with a kill by Ford, to get on top 18-16. The Crusaders were able to make it a one-point game late in the set at 21-20, but a 4-1 NSU run gave the Sharks just what they needed to earn the three-set win.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Landrum recorded her second double-digit outing of the day with 10 kills, finishing with a 500 hitting percentage. She also added three blocks and two solos.
• Ford led the way with her 13 kills, picking up eight digs and serving out three aces.
• Boone tallied eight kills to go along with three blocks while Spadaro also added three blocks and four kills.
• Barrett picked up 18 digs while also recording three service aces.
• Cook tallied a game-high 20 assists and Cox added 16.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• Tonight's win serves as Cook's third-straight game tallying 20+ assists, her fifth game of the season.
• With the win, the Sharks now have seven wins on the season, the most wins recorded by the program since 2016.
• This is the best start of the season for the Sharks since 2015, when NSU started out the season 10-1.

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will enter Sunshine State Conference play against No. 16 Palm Beach Atlantic on Friday, Sept. 20 in the Rick Case Arena. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
 
 
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