November 22, 2014

No. 1 Spartans Defeat No. 19 PBA, Punch Ticket to NCAA National Tournament

Box Score
Box score
TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 1 ranked University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team (31-1) defeated the No. 19 Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish (30-4) by a 3-1 score (25-23, 25-14, 26-28, 25-12), awarding the Spartans a trip to the NCAA Division II National Championship.

The victory marks Tampa's sixth-straight trip to the national tournament, and propels the Spartans to a 7-0 all-time record against the Sailfish.

The No. 1 Spartans took first point in the match, going on a 4-0 run before the Sailfish could put themselves on the board. From then on, the set was nearly a point-for-point battle, and the Sailfish were able to rally and take the lead at 23-22. Refusing defeat, Tampa's offense gathered itself and went on a 3-0 run to take the set, 25-23. Junior Marissa Lisenbee led the offense with six kills in the first set, attacking for a .600 average. Junior Megan Heffron also added four kills to the effort, while senior Meagan Burke picked up three at a .750 clip.

Tampa took the first point of the night's second set, but again the game turned into a point-for-point fight. At 7-7, the Spartans were able to pull away from the visiting Sailfish, going on a four-point run and gaining momentum that would outlast Palm Beach Atlantic throughout the set. Led by Jessica Wagner and Berkley Whaley, a hard-fought Tampa offense propelled the top-ranked Spartans to a 25-14 second set victory.

Backed by a 2-0 lead, the Spartans came out of the gate in the third set thirsting for victory, but Palm Beach Atlantic would not back down. After the first point landed in Tampa's favor, the set was a back and forth affair, until the visiting Sailfish took a 27-26 lead late in the game. Led by freshman Sarah Ragland, PBA gained momentum and took the third set by a 28-26 score.

The fourth set of the evening was a battle on both sides of the court, but the top-ranked Spartans gained control and finished off the Sailfish with a 25-12 fourth set victory.

Junior Lisenbee led the offensive attack for the Spartans in the victory, registering 19 kills at a .444 clip and breaking her previous career-high in kills. Junior All-American Whaley followed her lead with 12 kills on the night. Senior Burke also ended the contest with a .529 attack average and ten kills, while Wagner chipped in with nine kills at a .562 average.

Averaging over 13 assists per set, senior setter Kahley Patrick guided the Spartans' offense to victory. The captain earned a total of 54 assists on the night, coming up just short of her career-high.

Defensively, freshman libero Molly McAlvany led the Spartans with a career-high 29 digs, shattering her previous career mark of 21. Whaley followed up her performance with 14 digs of her own, while Patrick rounded out the night with ten.

From the net, Burke led Tampa with five blocks, and Lisenbee tacked on four.

As a team, the Spartans earned a .336 attack average on the night, holding the Sailfish to a .130 average thanks to nine Tampa blocks and 78 total digs.

After the contest, the Spartans were presented with the NCAA South Region Championship trophy, and Burke, Lisenbee, Whaley, and Patrick were all named to the NCAA South Region Tournament team.

Tampa will is set to compete against Wheeling Jesuit in the first matchup of the NCAA National Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 5:00 p.m. in Louisville, Ky. All contests will be hosted by Bellarmine University.

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

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers blAst, a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.