#8 Spartans Roll, Earn Season Sweep Over Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla. - For the first time since the 2004 season, the University of Tampa Spartans volleyball team left the Jenkins Field House with a win, as UT cruised to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-12) triumph over the Florida Southern Moccasins. With the win, Tampa stays tied atop of the Sunshine State Conference with a 26-2 record and a 13-1 mark in league play. FSC drops to 14-16, and 5-9.

The first set saw the Spartans ahead early and slowly build a six point lead at 21-15 when the Moccasins went on a 6-1 run to bring the game to within one. Tampa stretched the lead back out to three after an attack error from Florida Southern and a kill by Eva Dupay. FSC rallied again though with back-to-back points, until Melissa Vanderhall drove home a kill to end the threat and give Tampa the game, 25-23.

The second game went a little smoother for the Spartans as they raced to an 8-3 lead and never looked back. Vanderhall, Kaleigh Cunningham, and Camille Hanks each turned in four kills to help UT pick up the 10 point victory. The Spartans hit .500 as a team while holding the Moccasins to just .161.

Cunningham led the charge for the Spartans in the third frame, converting five of eight to pace the offense to a .531 hitting percentage. Tampa also side-out an incredible 92 percent to cap the 13 point victory.

The Spartans finished the match with an impressive .427 attack percentage as Cunningham put down a match-best 11 kills followed by Hanks with 10 at a .714 clip. Dupay recorded nine kills and Vanderhall contributed with seven. Setter Meghan Sherman set the pace handing out 39 assists and dropping two service aces as well.

Defensively, Tampa held the Moccasins to a .240 mark as Julie Howlett notched a match-high 12 digs. Dupay had eight scoops while Cunningham had seven as Tampa finished with 38, four more than Florida Southern. The Spartans also held the advantage in blocks, five to four, with Vanderhall putting up three stuffs.

Florida Southern was led by Julia Borecka and Natalie Arvizu, each registering a team-high nine kills. Elise Burke tallied 21 assists, and split duties with Kendall Wilde who had 11.

Tampa hits the road for the last time in the regular season for a 7 p.m. Tuesday night contest against Eckerd College. UT will offer live stats through www.tampaspartans.com. Fans may visit www.tampaspartans .com and click on Multimedia to view the services. Fans may follow University of Tampa athletics on Twitter (www.twitter.com/utspartans) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/tampaspartans). UT also offers eScores, which is a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.