FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Lynn University women's volleyball team fought valiantly on the road but came up just short in a five-set thriller against Nova Southeastern Tuesday night. The Fighting Knights stormed out to a 2-0 lead behind a dominant performance from Brooke Jackson, only to see the Sharks rally to win the final three sets, including a nail-biting 18-16 fifth set. Lynn showcased balanced scoring, timely kills, and strong defensive play throughout, but Nova Southeastern's late-game resilience ultimately secured the hard-fought 3-2 victory.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Set 1: Lynn, 25-23
- Lynn opened strong on the road, trading points early before Laney Wilson and Lillia Neill powered a 4-0 surge to take a 6-3 advantage
- Clara Maidantchik provided a key service ace during a 7-6 run that extended the lead to 13-9, while Jackson added two kills to keep the momentum rolling
- With the Sharks roaring back offensively, Ula Gorjup dropped in a service ace to keep NSU at bay, 15-12
- Later in the set, Nova Southeastern pulled within two as Jackson responded with a powerful kill and followed it up with a service ace to make it 21-19, forcing a Sharks timeout
- Neill and Nadia Rossi each added late kills as an NSU attack error put away the final point to close the set 25-23, giving Lynn the early 1-0 match lead
 
Set 2: Lynn, 25-15
- Lynn wasted no time establishing control in the second set, as Jackson and Neill delivered early kills while Rossi found her rhythm to push the Fighting Knights ahead 6-5
- Rossi stayed hot with back-to-back kills, and Maidantchik sparked a huge surge at the service line, dropping an ace and forcing multiple Shark errors during a dominant 8-2 Lynn run
- The Fighting Knights extended their lead to 17-9 behind precise setting from Gorjup, who continued to spread the attack to Neill, Jackson, and Wilson across the front line
- Joelle Alexander added to the momentum with a service ace, while Jackson powered home two more kills to give Lynn full command late in the frame
- Jackson capped her strong set with her fifth kill of the frame off a Gorjup assist, sealing the 25-15 victory and a 2-0 match lead for the Fighting Knights
 
Set 3: Nova Southeastern, 25-21
- Lynn held firm with the help of Jackson and Rossi, who combined for early kills to keep the Fighting Knights even through the first 10 points
- The Sharks gained momentum midway through the frame with a service ace and back-to-back kills to take a slim 12-10 lead, forcing a Lynn timeout
- Rossi and Neill helped close the gap late with timely kills and a Gorjup service ace to make it 21-24, but Nova Southeastern held on to reach set point
- Despite one final push from the Fighting Knights, the Sharks sealed the 25-21 win on a decisive kill, cutting Lynn's lead to 2-1 in the match
 
Set 4: Nova Southeastern, 25-21
- The two teams traded points early before Jackson and Alexia Radulovic sparked Lynn's attack with three quick kills to grab a 5-3 lead
- Nova Southeastern responded with a dominant stretch, stringing together a 9-1 run behind strong blocking and an ace to seize control at 12-6
- Lynn showed resilience late, with Neill, Wilson, and Radulovic powering a 6-1 rally that trimmed the deficit to 20-19 and forced an NSU timeout
- Despite the late push, the Sharks held firm, closing the set on back-to-back kills to secure the 25-21 win and force a decisive fifth set
 
Set 5: Nova Southeastern, 18-16
- The final set started with back-and-forth action, as both teams traded early kills and errors before Jackson and Hope Passerello sparked Lynn's offense to tie the set at 5-5
- Lynn continued to battle behind kills from Jackson and Rossi briefly taking a 11-9 advantage and later a 13-9 advantage causing the Sharks to burn both timeouts.
- With Nova Southeastern fighting back, a kill from Jackson forced a match point at 14-11 however the Sharks stayed on the prowl and kept the battle going.
- In the final stretch, both teams traded points through errors and kills, but NSU pulled ahead with a late ace to close out the set 18-16, clinching the hard-fought match
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- Jackson powered the Lynn offense with a season-high 26 kills, adding 9 digs and two service aces for a match-best 28 total points
- Rossi contributed 14 kills on a .174 hitting percentage, adding six digs for 14 total points.
- Radulovic provided eight kills on a .154 hitting percentage, adding three digs, three block assists, and a service ace for 10.5 total points
- Neill and Wilson combined for 13 kills and four total blocks, with Neill posting nine kills and two block assists and Wilson adding four kills and three block assists
- Gorjup recorded 43 assists, two kills, three aces, and 12 digs for six total points
- Maidantchik anchored the back row with 22 digs, while Fabia Gonzalez Stanton contributed nine digs and Valentina Mogg added eight digs to keep rallies alive
-  Passerello added 12 assists in limited action, helping facilitate Lynn's attack throughout the later stages of the match
- As a team, Lynn totaled 63 kills, 10 service aces, 83 digs, and hit .171 overall in the five-set match
 
UP NEXT:
The Fighting Knights hit the road again this weekend for a two-game stretch, beginning with Florida Tech on Friday evening at 7:00 pm in Melbourne.