Top-ranked Tampa rode the net play of Katelen Dixon and Danielle McDonald to win its first volleyball crown with a four-game conquest of North Alabama.

The duo combined for 31 kills and six block solos to propel the Spartans to a 30-25, 27-30, 30-21, 30-17 victory after finishing as the national runner-up in 1996 and 1999. Tampa finished the season 35-1.

“Our team came up with the theme ‘unfinished business’ earlier this year and we as a coaching staff made them stick to it,” said Tampa head coach Chris Catanach. “

The match opened with competition befitting a championship, with fierce rallies, diving digs and neither team able to pull away. North Alabama opened a 14-10 advantage after Laura Bellinger assisted on a block and followed with a flip shot into vacated Tampa space. But Tampa tallied two kills each from McDonald and Alisha Green to swing momentum the Spartans’ way, 20-18. A service ace from Gabriela Saade maintained Tampa’s two point lead at 23-21.

The Spartans pulled away with two McDonald kills and a block and kill from Tarah Marinelli. Green finished it with an emphatic blast.

North Alabama (35-6) struggled with Tampa’s front line and had to resort to strategic dump-off attacks instead of raw power. The Lions’ hitting percentage was a lowly .094, and Tampa posted four block solos.

The Lions fought back in game two, sustaining a slim lead deep into the session.

Danielle Palasak placed a shot to put North Alabama up, 20-17. The lead grew to four at 23-19 on a Tampa error. A Dee Ayers block made it 25-20. Game point came from Kasie Spencer on a deflection kill. Neither team managed a high hitting percentage in game two, primarily because of good blocking from both squads.

Catanach, though, said he thought North Alabama had the Spartans “right where they wanted us.” But a 10minute break between games two and three helped his tesm refocus.

It worked, as the Spartans bolted to a 7-3 lead in game three. Green struck with authority to make it 9-5. Dixon extended the lead to 12-7 with a kill. Erin Clark sustained Tampa’s five-point edge at 13-8 and 14-9 with a pair of kills. Green delivered two loud kills to make it 20-10. Tampa continued to wear down the North Alabama attack, with Clark extending the lead to nine at 23-14. A North Alabama attack error gave the game to Tampa, 30-21.

With momentum back on the Spartans’ side, Tampa rode two Green kills to take a 9-7 lead in game four. Dixon and Clark had kills in a nine-point run that put the Lions’ hopes on the ropes. McDonald blocked another North Alabama attempt for a 19-9 advantage. Green struck again to make it 22-10. Dixon wrapped up the title with her 16th kill of the match.

The loss for North Alabama ended a 28-match winning streak. Of the 28 wins, 22 had been in three games, including 12 in a row to begin the skein.

Tampa’s only loss of the campaign was against Florida Southern. The Spartans won all 18 matches since.

The all-tournament team featured Tampa’s Dixon, McDonald, Green, Saade and libero Margeaux Sinibaldi. Bellinger, Oliveira, Stout and Spencer were named from North Alabama. Lock Haven’s Li YiZhi and Rachel Altman from West Texas A&M rounded out the elite squad.

Tampa 3, North Alabama 1
North Ala. 25 30 21 17
Tampa 30 27 30 30

North Ala. K E TA Pct. A SA D BS BA
Laura Bellinger 5 2 19 .158 39 1 8 0 1
Nilcia Oliveira 11 8 41 .073 0 0 12 0 1
Danielle Palasak 8 7 34 .029 0 0 7 0 4
Megan Stout 11 3 33 .242 3 1 9 0 2
Dee Ayers 8 4 26 .154 0 0 2 0 3
Kasie Spencer 8 8 28 .000 0 0 1 0 5
Ashley Hill 0 0 0 .000 2 0 23 0 0
Samantha Wilson 0 0 0 .000 2 0 7 0 0
Jessica Hansen 0 0 0 .000 1 0 10 0 0
Totals 51 32 181 .105 47 2 79
Total blocks: 8

Tampa K E TA Pct. A SA D BS BA
Gabriela Saade 0 0 4 .000 56 3 12 0 0
Alisha Green 11 4 24 .292 1 0 2 2 0
Camila Saade 0 0 1 .000 0 2 4 0 0
Tarah Marinelli 10 7 42 .071 0 2 14 1 0
Katelen Dixon 16 6 44 .227 0 0 19 5 1
Erin Clark 13 6 35 .200 0 1 5 1 1
Nealy Thomson 0 0 1 .000 0 0 0 0 2
Danielle McDonald 15 2 34 .382 4 0 2 1 2
Margeaux Sinibaldi 0 0 0 .000 0 0 28 0 0
Totals 65 25 185 .216 61 8 86
Total blocks: 13