Saints Waive Their Flag in Defeat to No. 7 Spartans

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The No. 7 University of Tampa (7-2) volleyball team returned to the court for the first time in 10 days and handed Flagler College (6-5) a 3-1 setback on its home court.

Traveling to Flagler College for the first time in program history, the No.7 Spartans defeated the Saints in four sets. The Spartan victory came by scores of 22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-21.

Senior Jessica Yingling led all Spartans with 15 kills, with Danielle Selkridge and Holly Reschke recording 12 and 10 kills respectively. Kahley Patrick notched 24 digs on night while Selkridge would record four blocks on the evening. The UT squad would finish the night with 13 blocks.

After a slow start to the match, the Spartans dropped the opening set to the Saints by a score of 22-25. Leading the Spartans attack was Yingling, recording four kills on seven swings. Sophomore Meagan Burke and junior Holly Reschke notched two blocks each. The Spartans defense wasn't enough as Flagler's Emilee Taylor swung 6-for-10 in the Saints first set victory.

The Spartans rallied back and won the second bout 25-22 after dropping the first set to the Saints. Yingling continued to lead the offensive attack for the Spartans with four kills, two digs, and a solo block. Selkridge and sophomore Jackie Neff notched two blocks each, while combining for four kills in the set.

The back-and-fourth third set saw a multitude of Spartans recording multiple kills to win 25-23. With everyone battling to win the set, Selkridge led the attacks swinging 3-for-8 while Marissa Lisenbee, Reschke, and Yingling notched two kills each respectively. Flagler's Taylor would again pressure the Spartans defense landing four kills.

In the fourth frame, Yingling's success would continue as she paced the Spartans to a 25-21 victory swinging 5-for-11. Patrick dug out 11 Saints attacks while freshman Jen Scholz tallied seven. The combo limited the Saints to a .132 hitting percentage during the final set.

Tampa will return to action on Friday in its Sunshine State Conference opener at Rollins College. The match is slated for 7 p.m., in Winter Park, Fla. Live stats and a webcast will be available through TampaSpartans.com.

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