LAKELAND, Fla. – UWF volleyball (29-6) advanced to the second round of the NCAA South Regional with a 3-1 victory over Tampa (18-14) Thursday in the George W. Jenkins Field House at Florida Southern. Katy Kuhlmeier led the team with 15 kills. Rachel Neblett pitched in 13 kills of her own, and the Argos got an outstanding performance from Caleigh Morrison, who notched 12 kills and four blocks.
West Florida next will take on the winner of 2-seed Palm Beach vs. 7-seed Eckerd at 5:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. CT in the South Region semifinal.
UWF won a marathon first set 36-34. The Argos trailed most of the set before igniting a 6-0 run that flipped a 20-17 deficit into a 23-20 lead. Tampa refused to go quietly though, equaling the score at 23-23. The Argos would close the stanza on a kill by StCyr that put them up 34-33. Tampa once again tied the set before back-to-back errors gave the set to UWF. The first featured 14 ties and six lead changes and was the longest of the year for West Florida.
Neblett led the Argos with seven kills in the first. Nadine Williams finished with six, and Katy Kuhlmeier added five. The Argos outhit Tampa .339 to .315 in the first. StCyr notched 25 assists and added six digs. Logan Kael also finished with six digs in the first.
"As we moved out of that first set, we came off with a lot of confidence to be able to withstand that kind of set from a very good team," said UWF head coach Melissa Wolter. "I think that was the highest-scoring set I've ever coached."
Katy Kuhlmeier posted five kills to help UWF to a 25-17 win in the second. The Argos took the lead at 6-5 and never looked back from there. The team finished the set on a 17-10 run. The Argos outhit Tampa .257 to .027 in the second.
"Katy is one of our senior captains, and she is rock solid," said Wolter. "She's just such an engine for us. She's so steady, and she lives for competitive matches."
The Argos maintained the pace to begin the third, starting the stanza on a 7-2 run. Tampa fought back to equal the third at 9-9 and eventually take the lead at 12-11 as part of a 16-5 run that left them with an 18-12 lead. The Spartans would go on to win the set 25-19. The set was the first UWF volleyball had dropped since Oct. 21, breaking a streak of 29 consecutive won.
Morrison set the tone early in the fourth, helping UWF notch two of its first three points with early kills. UWF built a 9-5 lead that would eventually grow to 13-8. Kuhlmeier and Morrison combined for five straight points to run the Argonaut lead to 16-10 at a Tampa timeout. The Argos built a lead of 24-15 before closing the 25-19 final set win on a kill by Morrison. Morrison finished the fourth set with seven kills and two blocks to pace the team.
"She's just such a fun player to watch," Wolter said of Morrison. "Caleigh definitely gives us great joy on whatever point she scores… She played a vital role today."
Kuhlmeier led the team with 15 kills. Neblett finished with 13, Morrison piled up 12 and Williams added 11. Jordyn Poppen finished with 9 kills. Morrison led the team with a .440 hitting percentage and four blocks. StCyr led the squad with 53 total assists. She also led the team with 19 digs.
UWF outhit Tampa .211 to .180. The Argos committed 27 errors while forcing 26. UWF finished with 8 blocks vs. 12 by Tampa. The Spartans were led by Nicole Dominguez, who registered 14 kills. Alexandra Misca finished with seven blocks.
The win was No. 375 of head coach Melissa Wolter's career. Win No. 350 also came against Tampa at the Colorado Premier Challenge Sep. 9. The victory improved UWF to 10-11 in NCAA Tournament all-time. This is the second straight year that UWF has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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