FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Volleyball) - Florida Tech (9-10, SSC 4-9) started the weekend in thrilling fashion, as the Panthers powered past the Nova Southeastern Sharks (4-14, SSC 2-9) with a 3-1 win on Friday night at Rick Case Arena.

As a team, FIT held a 7-4 service ace edge on the Sharks, while holding them to a .154 hitting percentage and seven blocks. Offensively, the Crimson and Gray racked up 58 kills on a .223 clip, notching a match-best .333 hitting percentage in the fourth set.

In the night outing, juniors Kelly Germain and Olivia Hersey led the Florida Tech offense firing 12 kills each. Germain ended the match with a .125 clip, while Hersey registered a team-best and game-high .423 hitting percentage. Junior Tania Kottke joined her fellow teammates tallying 10 kills for a .261 hitting percentage, while senior Samantha Reeves added eight kills to hit .316.

Setter Kiersten Rosa notched her ninth season double-double, adding 36 assists and 13 digs. Defensively, Rosa combined with Hersey for two block assists. Orchestrating the Crimson and Gray defense, sophomore Sheila Villagrasa left the hardwood with 23 digs and eight assists, while sophomore Kyra Atkinson picked up 16 digs to go with seven assists.

Beginning the match, Nova jumped out to an early lead, putting FIT behind 3-1. However, the Panthers roared back and locked a four-point streak to overlap the Sharks 4-3. From there, the teams traded three lead changes, with the Panthers ultimately moving ahead 16-14. After bolting three back-to-back points, Florida Tech kept the momentum going and never looked back, holding the Sharks to a -.20 hitting percentage to clinch the first stanza 25-22.

In the second set, Florida Tech struggled against the Sharks offense, dropping to 16 Nova kills and falling behind 25-19. Returning from intermission with a tied score, the teams quickly exchanged points early on in the set, reaching a 5-5 tie. The Sharks broke through the score clutching four consecutive points, but the Crimson and Gray promptly closed the gap with one kill from Reeves and two from Audrey Keenan to balance the score at 9-8. Despite Nova regaining a heavy six-point advantage, Florida Tech fought from behind and tied the game up 23-23. Thanks to two errors by the Ft. Lauderdale team, FIT grabbed the set 25-23.

Leading now by two sets, the Panthers found themselves tied to the Sharks at 4-4. Although Nova grabbed an initial two-point run, Florida Tech imposed itself at the net to reckon five successive kills and roll past the Sharks 14-10. With a confident offense and a solid defense, Florida Tech cruised in the remaining of the fourth and ripped off seven more kills to clinch the last stanza 25-20

The Panthers will now travel to Miami Shores to square up against the Barry Buccaneers. First set is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

For more info, fans can access FloridaTechSports.com.