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September 13, 2014

Tampa Takes Two in Final Day of Premier Classic

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DENVER, Colo. - After defeating the No. 1 team in the country on Friday in the first day of the Colorado Premier Classic, the University of Tampa Spartans returned to action on Saturday to defeat No. 3 Minnesota Duluth and No. 4 BYU-Hawaii. The Spartans began the day with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (23-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-17), before wrapping up the tournament with a 3-1 win over the BYU-Hawaii Seasiders (25-21, 25-12, 25-27, 25-15).

In addition to the Spartans' victories on Saturday, junior outside hitter Berkley Whaley was honored at the close of the tournament with MVP Honors. Junior middle blocker Jessica Wagner and senior setter Kahley Patrick joined her with selections to the All-Tournament team.

The first match of the day began slowly for Tampa, as Minnesota Duluth quickly went up 1-0 with a first set victory. Despite the score, the Spartans remained poised and launched an offensive attack in the second set that would go unanswered for the remainder of the match.

With what has come to be her usual offensive surge, Whaley led the squad with 15 kills in the match, an effort that junior outside hitter Megan Heffron mirrored with 15 of her own. Junior middle blocker Jessica Wagner, who earned a .500 attack percentage in the victory, also contributed with 11 kills.

Senior setter Kahley Patrick shined as well, notching 50 assists in just four sets played. She is currently averaging nearly 12 assists per set.

As a team, the Spartans registered 10 blocks, a number that senior middle blocker Meagan Burke heavily influenced by earning one solo block and assisting on five others.

Heading into the final game of the tournament with a record of 2-1 on the weekend, the Spartans stayed strong offensively to down the No. 4 BYU-Hawaii Seasiders.
Tampa took the first two sets of the match, but BYU-Hawaii pushed the third set score to 27-25 in their favor, forcing a fourth. Despite the Seasiders' effort, the Spartans cruised to a fourth set victory, taking the match 3-1 and earning their seventh win of the season.

Whaley again led the offensive effort, recording 18 kills and earning the tournament's highly respected MVP Award. Junior right-side hitter Marissa Lisenbee swatted 15 of her own to contribute to the team's 56 kills.

Patrick repeated her performance from the match earlier in the day, posting 44 assists and earning a selection to the All-Tournament team. She has collected over 300 assists so far this year.

Defensively, Burke stayed strong at the net with four solo blocks and six block assists. Wagner, who was later named to the All-Tournament team, tallied five total blocks in the victory.

The Spartans will get back in action with a midweek match at Rollins College on Wednesday, September 15. The matchup signals the first of 16 Sunshine State Conference games that Tampa will have throughout the year. The Wednesday night contest is set for 7:00 p.m.

Live stats will be made available through www.tampaspartans.com.

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