WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Nova Southeastern University Sharks Volleyball lost in a five-set heartbreaker to Palm Beach Atlantic on Thursday night.
The Sharks faced the Sailfish for the third time this season with the Sharks winning in a sweep in August before the 'Fish took a four set victory in Fort Lauderdale and a five-setter in West Palm Beach.
Records: Nova Southeastern 11-17 (4-12 SSC) | Palm Beach Atlantic 14-13 (7-9 SSC)
Location: Rubin Arena | West Palm Beach, Fla.
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First Set (25-22, NSU) – The Sharks came out of the gates on fire quickly building a 5-1 lead off the back of kills from
Natalya Bergant and
Brooke Spurgeon. The Sharks would never relinquish the lead to the Sailfish in the frame despite PBA pulling within a point on five separate occasions. Most notably, the 'Fish scored five unanswered to pull to a 22-21 Shark lead before NSU was able to secure the next three of four points to take the opener with a finishing kill from
Hadley Dantzler. The Sharks had a stellar first set with 20 kills to just two errors hitting .581.
Second Set (25-21, PBA) – The 'Fish fought back in a very tightly contested second set that featured eight ties with the last of which coming at 21-21 before PBA scored four unanswered to even the set score at one apiece.
Kotryna Melstrad began to put up numbers in her second career match as she ended the night with a career-high four digs.
Third Set (25-22, NSU) – In nearly a mirror image of the first set, the Sharks took an early 4-1 lead and never let it go despite the 'Fish coming close to reclaiming the set lead on multiple occasions. NSU was able to score four of the last five points in the set to take a 21-21 tie to a set victory to put the Sailfish a set away from falling in front of its home fans.
Natalya Bergant added two kills down the stretch as she added on to a career night where she notched a career-high 26 kills and 27.0 points.
Fourth Set (25-22, PBA) – Neither side could catch much momentum in the fourth set as both the Sharks and Sailfish could not put together a run of more than three points until the very end of the frame when NSU scored four straight to draw back within a point but it was too little too late as PBA scored two straight to claim the set and send the match to a winner-take-all fifth set. Of note, libero
Taylor Teaman showed signs of discomfort and was taken off the court to be evaluated.
Cami Sekanina was tasked with the libero responsibilities in the fifth set. It is the only set Teaman has missed this season.
Fifth Set (15-11, PBA) – NSU stumbled out of the gate in the do-or-die set as PBA went on a quick 4-0 run to force the Sharks to call timeout with the 'Fish leading a touchdown to a field goal, 7-3. The Sharks could never catch up to the Sailfish momentum never coming closer than two points as former Shark,
Juliana Imbuzeiro, set up Kelsey Rodgers for the match-ending kill.
Statistically, it was a night to remember for the Sharks. It marked the first time a NSU team notched 70 or more kills in a match since 2023, 111 matches ago. It also marked the first time since 2023 that a single player had more than 25 kills as
Natalya Bergant notched a career-high 26.
Abbie Roth collected her second 50+ assist performance of the season as she marked a 56 assist and 15 dig double-double.
The Sharks had their second-best hitting performance of the season hitting .338 in the losing effort.
Nova Southeastern comes back to Rick Case Arena to end the season with a three-match homestand. Florida Tech comes to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, Nov. 10 to kickoff the final stretch of the season, first service is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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