Spartans Charm Mocs in Straight Sets

LAKELAND, Fla. - Remaining a perfect 8-0 in Sunshine State Conference play, the No. 2 University of Tampa volleyball team defeated rival Florida Southern College 3-0 off a double-double performance from AVCA National Player of the Week Berkley Whaley.

The Spartans improve to 20-1 on the season (8-0 SSC) while the Mocs fall to 16-7 with 5-2 conference tally.

Sophomore Whaley blasted 17 kills to go along with 17 digs and four service aces while fellow outside Holly Reschke grounded 13 kills. Setter Kahley Patrick spun a double-double to her credit, assisting 38 attacks along with 11 digs.

Defensive tandem Jen Scholz and Frances Cardenas reached double-digit digs with 14 and 10 respectively. Tampa amassed eight team blocks with sophomore Jessica Wagner having a hand in six, limiting FSC to a .131 attack percentage.

Mocs outside hitter Kate Stromberg led her squad with nine kills while libero Catherine Brusie totaled 17 digs.

The UT squad took the first set by a decisive 25-11 margin as Whaley notched three service aces in the premier set. Middle blocker Jessica Wagner blocked three attacks with Patrick and Scholz patrolling the court with five and four digs respectively.

The second set proved more difficult for the No. 2 ranked Tampa as the stanza saw 11 tied scores and two lead changes, ultimately going in the favor of the Spartans by a 27-25 score. Whaley smacked seven kills in the set along with another ace.

The back-and-forth third set had 18 tie scores and 8 lead changes, ending 29-27 for Tampa as they seal the sweep. Senior Reschke grounded an errorless seven kills in the third frame while Whaley planted eight.

Tampa returns to action next week with a road match against Florida Tech Friday Nov. 1st at 7 p.m. Live stats will be made available through www.tampaspartas.com under the interactive schedule page.

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