Spartans Look to Advance Winning Streak to 5-0
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Tampa volleyball team welcomes the Eckerd College Tritons for a home match tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The Match: University of Tampa (10-1, 3-0 SSC) vs. Eckerd College (5-4, 0-2 SSC)
Date/Time: Thursday, September 13 at 7 p.m.
Location: Bob Martinez Athletic Center | Tampa, Fla.
Last Time Out: The Spartans took down the Rollins College Tars in a clean sweep. Sophomore Sorrel Houghton led Tampa’s offensive efforts with 11 kills at an outstanding .647 kill percentage. Following the efforts of Houghton were that of Katie McKiel and Melissa Elias who had nine and eight kills respectively. Elias also led the Spartans on defense with nine digs in the match, followed by junior libero, Nicole Dominguez with seven. Sammy Mueller tallied 36 assists in the match. Additionally, she logged six digs and one service ace.
About the Spartans: The Spartans’ 10-1 start is the best since the 2014 season. The 2014 team also kicked off the year with a 10-1 start and went on to finish 34-1 concluding the season as national champions. Tampa leads the SSC in hitting percentage (.295), assists (13.51 per set), and kills (14.37 per set). The offensive prowess is a lot in part to the sophomore duo, Houghton and McKiel, who are stride for stride with one another so far this season. Houghton has 149 kills and a .296 kill percentage and McKiel has 146 kills and a .265 kill percentage. Junior middle blocker Taylor Fosler has also been crucial to the Spartans success and is currently first in the conference with a .463 kill percentage. Defensively this season, Dominguez has found a new role on the court as libero. The Apopka, Florida native currently sits with 151 digs averaging 3.51 per set and is 13th in the SSC.
About the Tritons: Eckerd is coming off a 5-set loss against the Saint Leo Lions. In the match, freshman outside hitter Asya Harris led the Tritons offensively with 20 kills followed by senior outside, Abbie O’Ferrell with 15. At libero, the Tritons use senior Arielle Erillo who ended the match with 22 digs and currently sits 4th in the SSC averaging 4.74 per set. Quarterbacking EC’s offense is junior Fernanda Reis who stated 60 assists against the Lions. Reis is 2nd in the SSC in assists per set with 11.18 and has recorded 425 assists and 63 digs on the 2018 season.
Series History: The Spartans hold a commanding series record against the Tritons with 91 wins and just two losses.
Tickets: General Admission ticket prices for all Tampa regular season athletic events are $5 for adults, Seniors, Military and visiting students. Youth (ages 12 and under) are admitted free of charge. Students, faculty, and staff with a valid UT ID will also be admitted free.
Follow UT Athletics: @TampaSpartans on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Vimeo.
Text Alerts: UT also offers a free text messaging service that sends text alerts following all Spartan events. To sign up, please register at www.tampaspartans.com.
Front Row: Download the official app of UT Athletics on the Apple or Android store. Look for Tampa Spartans Front Row app to receive notifications from your favorite Spartan