Albany State put a brief scare into Tampa, but that didn't last long as the Lady Rams fell in straight sets to the Spartans, 25-21, 25-10, 25-13, at Martinez Center in Tampa Thursday.
The victory allowed Tampa (29-2), the top seed in the NCAA Division II South Regional, to move on to the second round against Sunshine Conference rival Eckerd College.
Albany State (20-8) stayed close in the first set, trailing by no more than four points and tying the game four time. Then, the Spartans got going and it showed in the final stats.
Sabrina Garcia and Bonnie Salary led the Lady Rams with five kills apiece, while setter Priscila Sena dished out 12 assists. Carolina Ribeiro scooped up eight digs.
Conversely, Melissa Vanderhall pounded out 12 kills for the Spartans, as Tampa held a dominating 45-15 edge in kills. They also controlled the assists, 41-14, with Meghan Sherman more than doubling ASU's output with 31. The Spartans made nine service aces to just one for the Lady Rams. Eva Dupay made 10 digs, the one category that was almost even, with Tampa leading 35-29.
Tampa used all 12 players that were eligible as they spread the statistics around. The effort helped the Spartans increase their record in the first round of the playoffs to 18-7. This victory was their fifth straight.
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