No. 1 Tampa Sweeps Pair of GSC Foes

FLORENCE, Ala. - Playing a pair of Gulf South Conference opponents in the opening day of the UNA Classic, the No. 1 University of Tampa Spartans swept both Harding and West Florida to improve to 8-2 on the year. Tampa also moves to a perfect 3-0 in the South Region.

In the first match of the day, the Spartans took on Harding for the first time in program history and made quick work of the Lady Bisons, dispatching them in just an hour and eight minutes.

A trio of Spartans recorded four kills in the opening set as Kaleigh Cunningham, Jessica Yingling, and Melissa Vanderhall totaled 12 of Tampa's 16 kills on the way to a 25-18 victory.

The second frame was all UT as the team never trailed and slowly built an 11 point lead to win 25-14. Camille Hanks was perfect in four attacks and Vanderhall chipped in with four more kills as the Spartans finished with a blazing .571 hitting percentage for the set.

Tampa once again raced to an early lead in the final game and led 14-9 when head coach Chris Catanach emptied his bench. Freshman Kaylee Koetter entered in just her second collegiate set and handed out eight assists. Eva Dupay took over as captain and slammed home three kills while Janae Nelson added another to help Tampa to a 25-20 triumph.

Cunningham contributed with six kills in the final set to give her 10 for the match, tying Vanderhall for the match high. Cunningham also added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Julie Howlett turned in a match-best 13 digs and Meghan Sherman tallied 32 assists. Tampa put up 10 blocks, notching double figures for the sixth time this year, and limited Harding to a .040 attack percentage.

Tampa faced the defending Gulf South Conference champion West Florida in the second match of the day. The Argos entered the Classic having received votes in the latest AVCA poll and started Friday by beating fellow GSC foe Christian Brothers 3-0.

The first set was the most lopsided of the three, as the Spartans cruised to a 10 point victory. Vanderhall drove home five kills as the team combined for a .448 attack rate.

UWF regrouped and fought hard in game number two, going point for point with the nation's top-ranked squad. The set featured eight tie scores and four lead changes as neither team led by more than four at any point. With the score knotted at 23, Tampa capitalized on pair of errors to give it a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The final frame of the contest saw UT hold a 17-11 lead before the Argos went on an 8-4 run to bring the game to with two at 21-19. Following a Tampa timeout, the Spartans went on a 4-0 run to close the match, capped off by Dupay's service ace.

Selkridge finished with nine kills, tying her with West Florida's Chelsea Wilhoite for the match best. Vanderhall turned in eight more in the contest and Sam Macks seven on a .353 clip.

Tampa hit .283 while holding West Florida to just a .099 mark, it's lowest of the season.

Sherman dished out 32 assists while Howlett led the team in digs with 13. Anna Stoecklein recorded a match-best 14 digs and Tricia Tirabassi chipped in with 12 more for the Argos.

The Spartans wrap up the road swing by playing host North Alabama on Saturday at 1 p.m. central time. Fans can follow the contest with live stats though tampaspartans.com or by updates on twitter.com/utspartans.