#2 Tampa Heading to Elite Eight After Four-Game Win Over Florida Gulf Coast
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
30 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 1 |
|
|
27 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 3 |
Team Stats
Florida Gulf Coast
Tampa
| Game Statistics | Florida Gulf Coast | Tampa |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .175 | .242 |
| Blocks | 8.0 | 11.0 |
| Digs | 96 | 111 |
| Aces | 7 | 7 |
Tampa, Fla. - The University of Tampa (32-1) defeated a tough Florida Gulf Coast (29-3) team in front of a rowdy crowd. After falling 27-30, Tampa came back to win the final three games 30-27, 30-28, 30-25.
Tampa sophomore Danielle MacDonald had a career night as she dominated with 28 kills while hitting an amazing .619. MacDonald had 10 kills in each the third and fourth games as she put the Spartans on her back.
The first game started poorly for Tampa as they fell behind 5-0, with a combined four errors. The Spartans managed to fight back and tie the score at 25 but the Gulf Coast attack was too much down the stretch as they took the game.
Erin Clark stepped up big in the second game as she had five kills on eight attempts to help guide the Spartans to a 30-27 win. Katelen Dixon and MacDonald also had five kills. Margeaux Sinibaldi had a total of eight digs in the second game, many of which took the wind of the Eagles sails, as Tampa rallied from a four point deficit on two occasions.
The third and fourth games were all about MacDonald, who was unstoppable as she had 20 kills on 25 attacks with no errors in those two games. Time after time the sophomore from Daytona peppered the right line with powerful swings, leaving Gulf Coast players wondering what they could do to stop her. And on this night the answer was nothing. Tampa took the final two games 30-28 and 30-25.
Gabriela Saade tied a four-game school record with 72 assists on the evening. With a team-leading 28 digs Sinibaldi has a season total of 540 digs, only 17 away from her own school-recod of 557. Clark (10), Dixon(19), Marinelli(10) and Green (10) all had double-digit kills. With 20 and 15 digs apiece Marinelli and Dixon recorded double-doubles.
A total of four Spartans made the all-South Region Tournament team with MacDonald, Green, Clark and Dixon getting the nods.
With the win, Tampa moves to the Division II Elite Eight in Pensacola, Fla. and will face the winner of the Dowling/C.W. Post match, Thursday, November 16 at 2:30 pm.