Volleyball - Sharks Start Season with Pair of Victories

ASHLAND, Ohio – The Nova Southeastern Sharks Volleyball team began their 2024 season on Friday at the Ashland Invitational, taking on East Stroudsburg and Ashland in a pair of matches. NSU opened the season with a 3-0 victory over ESU and followed with a 3-1 victory against Ashland. In the match versus East Stroudsburg, the Sharks offense was led by Elizabeth Price (15 kills), and Taylor Stockman (12 kills), while the NSU defense was anchored by Olivia Aniol (four total blocks, three service aces) and Brooke Spurgeon – making her collegiate debut – led the Sharks with a team-high 12 digs. Price followed with 15 kills and 11 digs in the match against Ashland, while Gabrielle Spankus recorded 40 assists.

NSU took an early lead in the match, opening the contest with a service ace from Gabrielle Spankus, before Elizabeth Price and Olivia Aniol added kills to put the score at 7-4.
ESU rallied to tie the set at 12-12, but Taylor Stockman started an 8-2 run by the Sharks putting the score at 21-13 in favor of Nova Southeastern.
During the run, Price tallied four kills, while Stockman added two of her own and Brooke Spurgeon added back-to-back service aces.
The opening set ended how it began, as Spankus recorded another service ace and sealed the set win at 25-18.
Kate Mihacevich tallied two consecutive kills to open the second set as both NSU and East Stroudsburg battled back-and-forth.
Olivia Aniol added back-to-back points, followed by another Stockman kill, pushing the Sharks’ advantage to 8-6.
Price and Stockman scored six consecutive points for NSU, extending the Sharks advantage to 18-11 over ESU in the second set.
Nova Southeastern closed out the second set with a 25-18 victory, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third and final set of the match, neither team created much separation on the scoreboard.
The score was deadlocked at 17-17 before ESU rallied to take a 20-17 lead. However, the Sharks responded with a 6-1 run, taking a 23-21 lead over East Stroudsburg, following kills from Gabrielle Spankus and Stockman.
With the Sharks leading 25-24, ESU tied the frame at 25-25, but kills from Oliva Aniol and Price sealed the season opening sweep for NSU.

Elizabeth Price: 15 kills, 0.560 hitting percentage
Taylor Stockman: 12 kills, 0.500 hitting percentage, seven digs
Olivia Aniol: nine kills, 0.615 hitting percentage, four blocks, six digs
Gabrielle Spankus: 43 assists, 1.000 hitting percentage
Brooke Spurgeon: 12 digs, two service aces

Head Coach Kacie Ehinger – “Overall, I am happy with the match. We had some really strong performances and put up good numbers. Olivia Aniol, Taylor Stockman and Elizabeth Price were a big physical presence for us. I thought Elizabeth, Marley Navaretta, and Brooke Spurgeon did a strong job steadying our defense and passing. Gabrielle Spankus did a great job of distributing the ball evenly and getting our hitters open looks.”

Elizabeth Price, who made the transition from outside hitter to libero last season and who has slid back into an outside hitter role, was asked to give her perspective on her mindset ahead of each game and how she can help the team.

Price said, “Each game, no matter what position I get put in, I give it my all. Playing a season in the libero jersey gave me a new perspective of teamwork. Every game I want to contribute to the team’s success to the best of my ability; whether it’s as the libero, or the back or front row. Each game I have the mindset to do the job I have been given so the team is in the best position to win.”

Olivia Aniol, following an impact performance on both offense and defense, was asked how her preparation in the off-season and practices helped her elevate her game for the season.

Aniol said, “the off-season allowed me to recognize areas of my game in which I wanted to improve. I had the opportunity to go in for film and discuss specifics, and truly implement the things I was being told to work on. The support from Head Coach Kacie Ehinger and Assistant Coach Matt Geer has instilled a new sense of confidence in me. I know I can accomplish all the necessary things to be successful.”

Facing a 6-2 deficit in the early stages of the match, Price sparked a four-point rally by the Sharks that featured a service ace from Stockman and a kill from Aniol, tying the set at 6-6.
The Sharks and Eagles battled back-and-forth for most of the frame, seeing the score tied at 18-18 late in the opening set.
NSU pulled away in the final points, closing the frame on a 7-1 run and winning the set 25-19.
Ashland took another early lead in the second set, as the Sharks trailed 5-3. NSU rallied for an 8-3 run, claiming a 12-9 lead over the Eagles.
Stockman tallied back-to-back service aces giving Nova Southeastern a 19-13 advantage over Ashland as the Eagles called a timeout.
NSU took the second set 25-15 over Ashland.
Searching for a second consecutive sweep to open the season, Nova Southeastern was unable to put together an extended rally in the third set and dropped the frame 25-17.
NSU regained their form in the fourth set, after trading points with Ashland through the midway point of the set.
With the score at 15-14 in favor of the Sharks, Nova Southeastern closed out the match on a 10-2 run.
Price recorded the final three kills for NSU before Mihacevich and Aniol sealed the win with a block.

Elizabeth Price: 15 kills, 1.5 total blocks, 11 digs
Kate Mihacevich: 11 kills
Taylor Stockman: 10 kills, three service aces
Olivia Aniol: three total blocks
Gabrielle Spankus: 40 assists

Nova Southeastern returns to action on Saturday, September 7th with another pair of matches to conclude the Ashland Invitational. The Sharks’ first match pits them against West Liberty at 12 p.m. and NSU will conclude the tournament with a 4 p.m. first serve against D’Youville. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Volleyball, be sure to follow on Instagram at NSU_VBall and X at NSU_VB.