#6 Tampa Claims First Place in SSC With Win Over #8 Florida Southern

TAMPA, Fla. - The sixth-ranked University of Tampa volleyball team was on the winning side of a battle with eighth-ranked Florida Southern College, defeating the Mocs by a score 3-1. Both teams entered the evening in a first-place tie atop the Sunshine State Conference standings, with UT moving to 20-2 overall and 9-1 in the SSC. FSC drops to 21-5 and 8-2 in SSC play.

The match was part of a "Dig for the Cure," where fans had an opportunity to pledge money for each Spartan dig to the Susan G. Koman Center for breast cancer research. The Spartans finished the evening with 51 digs. UT packed a season-high 892 fans into the Martinez Center as both teams sported pink uniforms.

The Moccasins led for the majority of the first set, ultimately taking a 25-22 victory in the set after leading by as many as six points in the opening frame.

UT responded with a 25-19 victory in the second set as it took a 19-11 lead that proved to be too much for the Mocs. The third set was pivotal as a total of 56 points were recorded by the two teams combined. Tampa took a 29-27 win in a set that included 14 ties.

In the fourth set, the Spartans got off to a 10-5 start before Florida Southern battled back to even the score at 12 apiece. The Mocs continued the run to take a 18-14 lead before UT turned the tide. A Melissa Vanderhall kill was the start of a 11-4 Tampa run to close out the match as the Spartans notched a 25-22 victory in the fourth set.

Vanderhall led Tampa with 18 kills as Danielle MacDonald and Annalea Warren also posted double figures with 13 and 12 apiece. Gabriela Saade registered 30 assists as Meghan Sherman had 16.

Camila and Gabriela Saade shared for the team lead in digs with 10 apiece while Vanderhall and Warren each added nine. Tampa outblocked Florida Southern 10-3 as Sam Macks had six total blocks. MacDonald added five and Vanderhall chipped in four.

Tampa returns to action on Sunday as it hosts Dowling at 2 p.m. UT will offer live stats and a webcast through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may also sign up for eScores through the website, a free service that sends text messages on Spartan athletic events.