Whaley Wallops Regional Foes in Doubleheader Sweep

CARROLLTON, Ga. - After a career day from outside hitter Berkley Whaley, the No. 2 University of Tampa volleyball team took both Friday matchups in the GSC/SSC South Region Crossover. UT swept Shorter 3-0 to start the day before battling North Alabama to a 3-1 victory to improve to 15-3 on the season.

The Hawks fell to 10-5 on the season while North Alabama dropped to 16-5 in the first day of the action in The Coliseum.

Whaley put forth a career performance, posting her fifth and sixth consecutive double-doubles of the season. The outside hitter blasted 38 kills at a .385 attack percentage to combine with 30 digs in the two contests, adding three blocks and two service aces in her monster day.

Fellow senior Jessica Wagner was an offensive juggernaut, posting 28 kills at a scorching .565 attack percentage between the pair of wins, adding 10 blocks for UT.

The Spartans were a force at the net as right side hitter Marissa Lisenbee and middle blocker Demery Zachery notched eight and seven blocks, respectively, limiting foes to .175 attack percentage on the day. Libero Logan Holanchock paced the back row with 45 digs to compliment the rounded effort of Whaley.

Tampa opened play in the GSC/SSC South Region Crossover by besting Shorter University, 3-0 in The Coliseum, Friday afternoon. The No. 2 Spartans defeated the Hawks behind set scores of 25-16, 27-25 and 25-13 to improve to 14-3 on the season.

Seniors Wagner and Whaley kept the offensive tempo, as the tandem combined for 27 kills as UT posted a team .342 attack clip across the trio of sets. Middle blocker Wagner padded her SSC-leading attack percentage, terminating 14 kills at an errorless .667 clip. Whaley posted her fifth-consecutive double-double performance, adding 19 digs to combine with her 13 kills. The 19-dig effort ties her season-high as the reigning SSC Defensive Player of the Week continues to dazzle on defense.

Freshman Holanchock paced the back row with 26 digs for Tampa while Lisenbee posted five blocks at the net. Junior Zachery stopped three attacks as UT ran rough-shot through Shorter to secure its first win of the day.

In the night matchup, Whaley posted a career-high 25 kills in the Spartans' four-set win over North Alabama. After dropping the first stanza, Tampa rattled off three-consecutive set wins to earn the victory by scores of 22-25, 29-27, 25-22 and 25-17 over the Lions.

The outside hitter spun her sixth consecutive double-double, her second of the day, tallying 11 digs in the nightcap of the twin-bill. The St. Petersburg, Fla. native has 11 double-double efforts this season to lead UT.

Wagner continued to dominate opponents, adding 14 kills at a .480 clip against UNA. The Cape Coral, Fla. product has an impressive .451 season hitting mark, leading the Sunshine State Conference by over .100.

Tampa used a strong net presence to limit the Lions to a .234 attack clip. The Spartans totaled 12 blocks as Wagner led with seven total blocks, two unassisted while Zachery, Lisenbee and Whaley each stopped three UNA swings.

Freshman Holanchock chipped in 19 digs as junior Allee Stelogeannis added 15 to her credit. Stelogeannis just missed a double-double, swatting nine kills for Tampa against UNA.

UT will close out the tournament with a 12:15 p.m. contest against Gulf South Conference foe West Alabama, Saturday. Live stats will be provided through www.tampaspartans.com.

Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/tampaspartans), Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans), YouTube (youtube.com/utathletics) and Instagram (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.