#5 Spartans Take A Pair Of Matches At South Region Crossover
Team Stats
West Alabama
| Game Statistics | West Alabama | Tampa |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .090 | .310 |
| Blocks | 3.0 | 4.0 |
| Digs | 44 | 45 |
| Aces | 4 | 5 |
West Florida
| Game Statistics | Tampa | West Florida |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .282 | .197 |
| Blocks | 13.0 | 3.0 |
| Digs | 53 | 48 |
| Aces | 10 | 5 |
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The No. 5 University of Tampa (8-1) volleyball team played to a pair of victories at the Hemingway's Island Grill Regional Crossover, defeating West Alabama (8-3) and No. 19 West Florida (5-5).
UT registered a 3-0 sweep of West Alabama, winning by scores of 25-21, 25-13, 25-23. The afternoon matchup with host UWF resulted in a 3-1 victory for Tampa, who rebounded from a lopsided set one setback. The scores were 15-25, 25-17, 28-26, 25-15.
Melissa Vanderhall paced Tampa against UWA, leading the team with 12 kills while hitting .308. Jessica Yingling added 10 kills while Meghan Sherman tallied 34 assists. Kaleigh Cunningham and Julie Howlett led the defensive effort with 14 and 13 digs respectively.
After hitting .121 as a team in the first set against UWF, the Spartans rebounded to hit at a .333 clip in the following set. UT finished off the match with a .560 attack percentage in the final frame. UT also forced 10 West Florida hitting errors in a critical third set that saw 56 combined points.
Yingling enjoyed a career performance with a personal best 18 kills. The freshman also recorded her third career double-double as she was credited with 12 digs. While hitting .429, Yingling also had a service ace, three total blocks and a team high 21.0 points against the Argonauts.
Vanderhall added 13 kills while Sherman contributed 49 assists. Howlett matched Yingling with a team-high of 12 digs while Kaleigh Cunningham added 11. Camille Hanks led the team with six total blocks, including two solos.
Redshirt freshman Danielle Selkridge played in both matches, making an impact as the Spartans won all five games she appeared in. The middle hitter turned in three kills and two blocks against UWA and finished the day with a pair of kills and four blocks in the matchup with UWF.
Tampa will meet Arkansas Tech on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. EDT in its final match of the Regional Crossover.
Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, which is a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.