FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Tars hit the road on Friday night, making the trip south for a Sunshine State Conference matchup with Nova Southeastern. Rollins responded to a tight opening-set loss with a dominant second frame, but the Sharks answered to take the match in four sets (20-25, 25-14, 19-25, 17-25).

The two sides traded points throughout the opening stages of the first, neither team able to create much separation. Kayla Goodloe and Vivian Scuteri each found the floor early before a Morgan Coughlin ace evened the frame at five. Willow Barron followed with a kill, while a Molly Morris ace helped give Rollins a 7-6 advantage.

The back-and-forth battle continued, Goodloe putting down another kill before Robinson Repass and Scuteri teamed up at the net to give the Tars an 11-9 lead. Nova Southeastern responded with five of the next six to move ahead 14-12, eventually stretching the advantage to 18-13.

Rollins continued to battle, Scuteri and Kai Hazelett each adding kills before Morris found the floor to make it 21-16. Repass and Scuteri followed with kills of their own, while Jenna Garza dropped in an ace to cut the deficit to three at 22-19. The Sharks held off the late push, taking the opener 25-20.

The Tars flipped the script quickly in the second. Cameron Grange opened the Rollins scoring with a kill and followed with an ace before Hazelett put down a pair of early kills. Lelolai Paulino-Dinzey then stepped to the service line and helped ignite the Blue and Gold, adding an ace as Scuteri and Barron helped stretch the advantage to 10-2.

Rollins continued to control the frame from there. Scuteri added another kill before Goodloe and Barron helped push the lead to 14-5. Barron and Grange teamed up for another block, with Morris and Grange following with kills as the Tars moved ahead 17-8.

Nova Southeastern tried to cut into the deficit, but Rollins never let the Sharks get close. Scuteri added two more kills down the stretch before Goodloe made it 21-12. Hazelett followed with a kill, Aryanna Spainhower dropped in an ace, and Grange put the Tars on set point. Barron finished the dominant frame at the net, giving Rollins the 25-14 victory to even the match at one.

The third returned to a much tighter battle. Grange and Scuteri opened with kills to help Rollins grab an early 3-1 lead, while Hazelett later put one away to even the frame at five. The Tars pushed back in front at 10-8, but Nova Southeastern answered with five straight to take a 13-10 advantage.

Rollins continued to stay within reach. Grange and Hazelett each added kills before Scuteri pulled the Tars within one at 17-16. A Goodloe block made it 19-17, but the Sharks found another late run, scoring four of the next five to take a 23-18 advantage. Grange added one more kill before Nova Southeastern closed the set, 25-19.

The Sharks jumped ahead 4-0 to open the fourth before Remington Doggett put Rollins on the board with a kill. Scuteri and Goodloe helped the Tars work back into the frame, with a Spainhower ace cutting the deficit to 7-5.

Grange and Scuteri continued the push as Rollins pulled within one at 11-10. The Sharks responded with three straight, but Scuteri answered with another kill before Paulino-Dinzey dropped in an ace to make it 14-13.

Nova Southeastern created separation from there, using a 7-2 stretch to move ahead 21-15. Grange and Morris each added late kills, but the Sharks closed out the set 25-17 to take the match in four.

Scuteri led the Rollins attack with 15 kills on a .290 hitting percentage, while Grange added nine kills and 13 digs. Goodloe finished with eight kills, with Hazelett adding seven. Barron totaled three kills while playing a key role at the net, finishing with a solo block and four block assists.

Garza dished out 21 assists and added six digs, while Morris finished with 13 assists, three kills and six digs. Sarah Seabrooke collected nine digs, with Spainhower adding nine of her own. Rollins also finished with eight service aces, led by Paulino-Dinzey and Spainhower with two apiece.

The Tars move to 10-16 overall and 3-12 in Sunshine State Conference play, while Nova Southeastern improves to 11-14 and 4-10 in the SSC. Rollins returns to action tomorrow at 4 p.m., taking on the Lynn Fighting Knights in Boca Raton.