Spartans Claim Fifth Straight SSC Title

TAMPA, Fla. - The No. 7 University of Tampa (28-2, 15-1) volleyball team earned its fifth consecutive Sunshine State Conference Championship as it defeated Barry University (15-12, 6-10 SSC) by a score of 3-0 in the regular season finale. UT won its 18th overall SSC title as it is co-champions with Saint Leo University.

After breezing through the first set with a 25-12 victory, the Spartans ran into some resistance in the second frame as it rallied to take a 25-22 victory. After trailing 21-18, Tampa won six straight points to take a 24-11 advantage before trading points to close out the set. Tampa picked up a 25-19 win in the third set as it only trailed early in the frame.

After tallying 10 kills in the first set, Kaleigh Cunningham finished with 16 to lead UT's offensive effort. She also notched a .517 hitting percentage. Melissa Vanderhall added 13 kills for the Spartans as Meghan Sherman had 36 assists.

Julie Howlett followed up her career performance at Eckerd with a team-high 19 digs to finish the week with 43. Sherman also had 10 digs to notch a double-double in assists and digs. Eva Dupay started and finished with a career-high five blocks to lead UT as Sam Macks came off the bench to record four, including two solo.

The Spartans now await word on their NCAA II South Regional fate, where they are among the choices to host the event. The regionals are slated for Thursday through Saturday. Please visit www.tampaspartans.com for complete information regarding postseason selections.

UT will offer live stats 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 eScores, which is a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events.