TAMPA, Fla. – In a match that featured numerous story lines, the Lynn University volleyball team stormed past Nova Southeastern, 3-1, Friday evening in the semifinal round of the NCAA South Regional Tournament. The Fighting Knights will now face No. 1 ranked and top seed Tampa in the regional title game tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
 
Lynn will be making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Regional final after defeating the Sharks (20-11) for the third time in 2023. The Fighting Knights posted scores of 25-19, 18-25, 25-13 and 25-23 as they improve to 26-7 overall.
 
The 26 wins are the second most in a single-season in program history, set by head coach Adam Milewski's 2019 squad that finished 28-5.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lynn hit .218 and held advantages in kills (52-46), blocks (10-9), assists (48-42) and digs (72-71)
- Lynn hit .250 in set one, .308 in set three and .219 in the fourth and final set
- The Fighting Knights hit just .100 with seven errors in the second set
- Lynn jumped out to a 19-13 lead in set one behind a 5-0 run and later an 8-2 scoring outburst
- Graduate Dayana Chara started the 5-0 run with two kills while the second run was accented by six Nova errors
- Lynn collected the final three points for a 25-19 win
- The Sharks hit .270 in the second set, their best mark of the night, for a 25-18 win
- Graduate Samantha Wolf smacked two kills as Lynn grabbed a 10-5 cushion in the third set
- Lynn seized the momentum with a 9-0 run that featured two kills and a block from graduate Kenidy Howard for a 19-6 lead
- Junior Maria Cecilia Pinho added a late kill for a 25-13 win
- Lynn fell behind 11-5 in the fourth set before it rattled off six-straight points to pull even at 11
- A 4-0 scoring jolt and a 3-0 run increased Lynn's lead to 19-16
- Chara smacked two late kills and Howard closed the night with a kill for a 25-23 win
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Wolf smacked a match-high 14 kills with nine digs
- Chara had 10 kills
- Cecilia Pinho hit .333 with nine kills, three digs and four blocks
- Olegario had nine kills, five blocks, one ace and two digs
- Graduate Emily Edwards handed out 46 assists with eight digs
- Junior Isabella Gentile finished with 21 digs and two aces
- Graduate Paige Barash added 15 digs
- Graduate Breeanna Long had 11 digs
 
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Adam Milewski (Head Coach) – His takeaways from the match with Nova Southeastern
"You know we are pretty evenly matched teams, where we both distribute the ball and the adjustments that were made. This is one of the tougher matches of the year for us and I thought the difference was when we came back in the third set as the team turned it up and really became consistent."
 
Milewski – How crucial it was to win the third set
"We're both sitting at 1-1 and where does the momentum come from, but with this group we are at the point of taking each point one-by-one. We were ready to go in the third set and I'm really happy with the way we played."
 
Milewski – additional thoughts on the win over Nova and the regional
"Our goal is to make it to this spot and give us an opportunity. This is the first time in the history of the program that we have ever gotten this far. We've made it to the postseason now four years in-a-row and we have some amazing players like Emily (Edwards) and Maria (Cecilia Pinho) that are just driven and competitive and I couldn't be more proud of the team."
 
Maria Cecilia Pinho (Right Side) – Thoughts on the difference in the third set to grab the momentum
"I think the change was that we just trust ourselves a little more. We have been preparing ourselves for this moment, and in the third set, we knew that if we were together we can beat anybody."
 
Emily Edwards (Setter) – Goals heading to the regional tournament
"This is my third time at regionals and last year I was in this room crying after the second round. That was my inspiration you could say as I did not want to go out that way again. Last year was against Barry, a team we beat twice in the regular season and it was literally the same situation as we beat Nova twice this year. This is the third time we played them and I was really hoping we could win."
 
Milewski and Edwards – On carrying the emotion from tonight's win into tomorrow
"That's just how we play" – Edwards
"The second half of the year has been a complete turnaround on how we handle things mentally and how we have approached each individual game. This is the last run for a lot of our players and that is a motivating factor."