FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team is set to kick off its 2019 season this Friday as it hosts the Shark Invitational, a two-court, seven-team tournament that is set place in the Rick Case Arena Sept. 6-7. The Sharks will face off against Shaw, Millersville, Truman State and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez while also welcoming No. 7 Lewis and fellow Sunshine State Conference member No. 15 Palm Beach Atlantic to the Shark Tank to play in a few neutral-site games.
 
CHECK OUT THE SHARK INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT PAGE FOR THE COMPLETE SCHEDULE AND MORE
 
The Sharks will compete for the first time this season with their 16 player squad, including 12 newcomers. First-year head coach Brian Rosen will lean on the leadership of the team's four returners, as well as the six NCAA Division I transfers and six freshmen the 2019 recruiting class brought in. "In the newcomers, we have a great group of freshmen, juniors, seniors and grad-students. The diversity we have between the classes is amazing," boasted Rosen. "It's very unique this year, we get to host the first two preseason weekends right off the bat, including eight non-conference matches. I'm excited to see the level of competition in our gym, especially for all our newcomers to see what this level of volleyball looks like, which is really high."
 
Shaw enters the Shark Invitational with a 0-0 record, and will look towards All- Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Preseason Team and All-CIAA Second Team member, senior Karla Sosa and senior Tyler Hunter, respectively, for senior leadership. Last season, Sosa earned All-CIAA Second Team recognition after charting 149 kills, and collecting 147 digs (1.75 digs per set) and 23 blocks. Hunter registered 105 kills, 41 digs, 21 blocks and nine service aces during last year's campaign for an all-preseason honor this upcoming year. The Lady Bears, who are the defending CIAA Champions and won the two of the last four titles, finished last season with a 23-9 overall record and 17-2 mark in conference action and its second NCAA tournament appearance. They were picked third in the 2019 CIAA Preseason Poll.
 
Also coming to the Rick Case Arena to start their season are the Millersville Marauders, who finished with a 16-12 record and PSAC Tournament appearance in 2018 and returns its entire starting lineup and 10 players who played in 20-plus matches. Millersville will lean on the offensive strength of Jayci Suseland, Millersville's first all-region selection since 2005 and the program's first All-PSAC First Team pick since 2006, who led the PSAC in kills per set and ranked third in hitting percentage. Lindsey Blevins, a 2018 All-PSAC Second Team honoree, will also be a player to look out for as she averaged 3.55 kills per set and led the team with nine double-doubles last season. The Marauders were chosen third in the Southeast in the 2019 PSAC Southeast Preseason Poll.
 
Truman State will also being their 2019 season in the Rick Case Arena. The Bulldogs, picked to finish seventh in the 2019 Great Lakes Valley Conference 16-team preseason poll, finished 21-11 last season and qualified in the eight-team GLVC Postseason tournament, but were bounced in the opening match by Lewis in four sets. Head Coach Ben Briney returns 10 players off of last season's team including second team All-GLVC honoree Ellie Kaat. Kaat led the 2018 squad in points (410), points per set (4.18), kills (365), kills per set (3.72), and attempts (1,021) as a true sophomore.
 
The University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez will also take part in the Shark Invitational. The team roster holds 14 players, including six upper classmen.
 
The tournament will kick off at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 6 with a match between Palm Beach Atlantic and Truman-State. 
 
For updates throughout the tournament and the rest of the season, be sure to follow @NSUSharks and @NSU_VBALL on Twitter.