FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern volleyball team is off to its best start in three years as the host team of the 12th-Annual Shark Invitational earned wins over Truman State and Puerto Rico-Mayaguez to finish 4-0 on the weekend. The Sharks battled back from a two-set deficit to top TSU 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-12) before dismantling UPR in straight sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-14). Following the conclusion of the tournament, Ally Ford, Alex Boone and Emily Sippel were named to the 2019 Shark Invitational All-Tournament team, while Ford was named Co-MVP with Lewis' Ava Venema. 
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME ONE):
FINAL: W, 3-2 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-12)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (3-0), Truman State Bulldogs (1-2)
LOCATION: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | Down 5-1 in the first, the Sharks used kills by Alex Boone, Ally Ford and Sami Spadaro to come within one, 5-4. The Bulldogs were able to stay out by at least one point until back-to-back kills by Boone and Spadaro knotted the game, 11-11. The game saw another tie at 12-12 before TSU rattled off four unanswered points for a 16-12 lead. NSU responded with a 4-0 run of their own, capped with a kill by Gabby Bauch, to tie things back up 16-16. The Sharks earned their first lead of the game at 19-18 thanks to a block by Boone and Bauch, before Truman State Stole it back with a 3-1 run. NSU went back up at 22-21, but a four-point run by the Bulldogs closed out the first game with TSU on top, 25-22.
 
SET 2 | The Sharks were the team to grab an early lead in the second, using an attack error by TSU to go up 4-1. Nova Southeastern was able to keep the advantage on their side until at 16-16, a bad set by Madison Cook gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match. The two teams stayed within two points of each other down the stretch, until a Truman State ace gave the visitors a 24-21 edge. After a kill by Spadaro, the Bulldogs put it away with a kill of their own to take a two-set lead.
 
SET 3 | Nova Southeastern had to fight back again in the third, using a 3-0 run ignited by a kill by Boone to knot the game at 7-7. The game was back and forth, with each team once again staying within two points of each other before three unanswered points recorded by NSU made it 23-20 in the Sharks' favor. After a short battle, the Sharks were able to hold off the sweep with a kill by Spadaro, finishing on top 25-22.
 
SET 4 | Trailing 10-7 in the fourth, a kill by Ford sparked an 8-0 run, putting the Sharks ahead 15-10. Truman State was able to come within three at 20-17, but another impressive 5-1 run, capped with a kill by Ford, made it an even 2-2 match as the Sharks earned a 25-18 win and force a decision set.
 
SET 5 | The Sharks exploded on an 8-1 run to begin the fifth set, taking the lead and never looking back. Back-to-back kills by TSU's Sam Yancy and Jocelynn Livingston made it a two-point game at 9-7, but three straight points by NSU put the Sharks back on track as they went on to take the game 15-12 and earn the overall victory.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Five Sharks recorded double-doubles in the match, including Caylee Cox (31 assists, 14 digs), Aleyna Kennel (10 assists, 29 digs), Ford (20 kills, 12 digs), Madison Cook (24 assists, 14 digs) and Emily Sippel (15 kills, 26 digs).
• Spadaro also added 13 kills while Boone had 10 of her own. Boone also added four blocks.
• Bauch had eight kills and three blocks.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• This was the fifth time the two teams have squared off in program history, marking the first win over the Bulldogs for the Sharks.  

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP (GAME TWO):
FINAL: W, 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-14)
RECORDS: Nova Southeastern Sharks (4-0), Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (0-4)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
SET 1 | The beginning of the game was fairly even, as the Tarzans and the Sharks kept within two points of each other before a kill by Boone detonated a 7-0 run for a 13-7 advantage. UPR was able to cut it back down to one at 14-13 and again at 16-15, but five unanswered points by NSU pushed the home team to a 20-15 lead, while forcing the Tarzans to use their final timeout. At 24-18, UPR strung together four-straight points to hint at a comeback, but a kill by Boone extinguished their flame to give NSU the 25-22 win.
 
SET 2 | NSU wasted no time taking a 12-5 lead, and continued to stay ahead of UPR, grabbing their largest lead of the match thus far at 18-10 thanks to back-to-back Tarzan errors. At 19-13 and Sippel at the service line, the Sharks rattled off five unanswered points to make it game-point, 24-13, and after a kill by UPR's Natasha Roman, took advantage of a service error to win game two 25-14.
 
SET 3 | The Sharks were the first to score in set three, and besides the tie at 1-1, held their lead throughout the entirety of the set. A kill by Amanda Hall gave NSU its first double-digit lead at 20-10, as the Sharks outscored the Tarzans 5-4 to close out the remainder of the set and complete the 3-0 sweep.
 
INSIDE THE STATS:
 

• Ford led all Sharks with 9 kills, adding six digs and two service aces.
• Boone and Spadaro each tallied five kills, while Boone had five blocks and Spadaro had two of her own.
• Sippel picked up a team-high 11 digs and three aces, while Kennel recorded three aces as well as eight digs.
• Cox handed out 15 assists and Cook had 10 of her own.

 
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
 

• The Sharks were able to utilize all healthy players on the roster during the three set match, showing their depth.
• NSU held UPR to a .196 team hitting percentage, the lowest of all teams the Sharks faced off against.  

 
UP NEXT
 
The Sharks will host the second Shark Invitational next weekend, taking on Valdosta State, Southern New Hampshire, Grand Valley State and Belmont Abbey before kicking off Sunshine State Conference play the next weekend.  
 
 
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