PENSACOLA, Fla. – The third-seeded Nova Southeastern Sharks began their NCAA Tournament run with a three-set victory over sixth-seed Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday afternoon from the UWF Fieldhouse on the campus of West Florida. The victory marked the first NCAA tournament win for the Sharks since the 2008 season, when NSU defeated West Florida in five-sets to advance to the Elite-Eight.
INSIDE THE MATCH-UP
Records: Nova Southeastern 25-5, Alabama-Huntsville 21-10
Score: Nova Southeastern 3, Alabama-Huntsville 0
Location: Pensacola, Fla. | UWF Fieldhouse
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HOW IT HAPPENED
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Nova Southeastern fell behind early in the first-set trailing the Chargers 6-2. Elizabeth Price and Emily O’Neil recorded back-to-back kills to bring the Sharks within one, 6-5.
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With NSU down 17-13, O’Neil started a 5-0 run for Nova Southeastern, with Brittany Landrum, Price and Julia Bernardes all tallying kills, as the Sharks led 18-17.
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Amanda Hall, McKenna Tucek and O’Neil all added kills in the closing points of the first-set, leading Nova Southeastern to a 1-0 set lead, as NSU claimed the set win 25-22.
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O’Neil, Tucek, and Bernardes began the second set with kills, as the Sharks took a 3-1 advantage over the Chargers.
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Hall started a 5-1 rally for Nova Southeastern, which included a service ace from Madison Cook, giving the Sharks a 13-11 lead.
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An AUH service error sparked a 5-0 run for NSU, with Price and O’Neil capping the run with kills as the Sharks extended their lead to 18-13.
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Nova Southeastern extended its match lead to 2-0, taking the 25-22 second set win.
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Landrum led a 7-0 rally for NSU, as the Sharks led 12-5.
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O’Neil recorded her 11th kill of the match, completing the match sweep, and advanced to the round-of-32 for the first-time since 2008.
UP NEXT
The Sharks await the winner of the Tampa/Palm Beach Atlantic match-up to determine who they face-off against in the NCAA South Regional Semifinals on Fri., Dec. 3 at 6 p.m.
