MELBOURNE, Fla. (Volleyball) - In a battle that trailed into the fifth set, Florida Tech (4-6, SSC 2-5) came up short against the Tampa Spartans (5-10, SSC 3-4), missing three consecutive sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20, 15-10) at Clemente Center on Saturday afternoon.

Although the Panthers bested the Spartans hitting percentage with a .195 clip, FIT succumbed to the 60 Tampa kills. As a team, Florida Tech racked up 85 digs, 54 assists and eight blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Audrey Keenan paced Florida Tech with a season-high 13 kills and 10 digs for her first double-double of the season. Junior middle blocker Olivia Hersey chipped in with 11 kills on .333 hitting, and defensively notched three blocks. Sophomore libero Kyra Atkinson patrolled the back of the court, collecting 17 digs, and a season-high 11 assists.

Junior setter/outside hitter Kiersten Rosa amassed 18 assists and 21 digs. Fellow teammate sophomore setter Sheila Villagrasa tallied 15 assists and 16 digs for her second double-double of the season.

Although Tampa jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in set one, the Panthers clawed six consecutive points to turn the game around, 7-6. With 13 kills and a .234 hitting percentage, FIT fastened the first stanza, 25-23

Trailing by two in the beginning of the second, the Crimson and Gray tied the score up on a kill by Samantha Reeves, and broke open a 7-7 tie with a 10-7 run to force the Spartans to call timeout. From there, the Panthers never trailed again and put the set out of reach for Tampa. Three consecutive kills and two attacks errors by the Spartans secured the second set for FIT, 25-18.

After half-time, Tampa quickly took an 8-3 lead and the Panthers never erased the gap, dropping the third set, 25-17.

In set four, the Spartans used 9-4 run to go up 21-18, which pressured Florida Tech into calling timeout. Although closing the gap by four, the Panthers fell to Tampa, 25-20 and forced the game into a fifth set.

FIT started off the last set leading 7-5, which came on three kills from Keenan and one from Hersey. However, Tampa answered back to tie the game 7-7, and eventually took the lead 10-7. A kill by Kelly Germain decreased the Spartans stretch by two, but the Panthers couldn't tie the score and eventually missed the set, 15-10.

Florida Tech will now hit the road and travel to Birmingham, Ala. to participate in the South Regional Crossover from Friday, Oct. 12 to Saturday, Oct. 13. 

Opponents and times have yet to be assigned, fans can find more info at FloridaTechSports.com.