FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University Sharks Volleyball won its third match in its last four with a four set victory over Rollins on Friday night.
The Sharks took a season where they fell in seven straight matches to winning three of its last four heading into a Halloween showdown with an Embry-Riddle team that swept the Sharks at the beginning of the month.
Records: Nova Southeastern 11-14 (4-10 SSC) | Rollins 10-16 (3-12 SSC)
Location: Rick Case Arena | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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First Set (25-20, NSU) – The opening set went back-and-forth until the Sharks used a 7-1 run helped by two kills each from
Caiden Largent and
Hadley Dantzler to put themselves in control of the set.
Natalya Bergant and Dantzler combined for three of the last four points of the set to clinch the opening frame for the Sharks in front of their home crowd. The Sharks hit a match-best .368 in the set with 17 kills to just three attacking errors.
Second Set (25-14, RC) – Rollins bounced back with a dominant second set victory where the Tars hit .378, holding the Sharks under .100. The Tars used a seven-point run to take a 10-2 lead. The Sharks weren't able to get back within seven. When NSU pulled to a 21-14 deficit the Tars scored the next four to even the set score at one apiece.
Third Set (25-19, NSU) – The Sharks and Tars remained even throughout the critical third set but once NSU went on a 5-0 run to take a 13-10 lead, the Sharks put a vice grip on the led and never relinquished it. The Tars could never pull back into a tie as five Rollins errors through the last eight points of the set helped the Sharks to the 2-1 set lead.
Fourth Set (25-17, NSU) – NSU set the tone scoring the first four points of the set, and similar to the third set, never let Rollins tie or take the lead once the Sharks established the lead to go wire-to-wire in the match-clinching set. A
Dana Gibbons kill set up match point for
Caiden Largent's kill to finish it to lift the Sharks to a four set victory to even the season series with Rollins.
Natalya Bergant and
Caiden Largent both led the Sharks with 14 kills each.
Hadley Dantzler shined at the middle blocker position with two solo blocks and two block assists alongside eight kills.
Abbie Roth led at the setter position with 36 assists with
Taylor Teaman rounding out the match leaders with 23 digs, just one shy a season high.
Natalya Bergant added 12 digs to her 14 kills for her fourth double-double of the season.
NSU won back-to-back matches for the first time since Sept. 11 when it beat Trevecca Nazarene and Fort Valley State in a doubleheader in Boca Raton.
Nova Southeastern plays again on Saturday, Oct. 31 at home in a Halloween showdown against Embry-Riddle. The Sharks fell to the Eagles on the road earlier this season. First serve against Embry-Riddle on Halloween is set for 4 p.m.
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