TAVARES, Fla. - University of Tampa graduate transfer Erica Haslag helped the Spartans to an NCAA Division II national championship Sunday at the AVCA Small College Beach Championships at Hickory Point Beach.
Haslag (Helias High School), who played four years of indoor volleyball at Bradley, helped Tampa to a 7-0 record at the national championships, which began Friday. A total of 12 teams were in the Division II/Division III portion of the championships.
During the tournament, Haslag was paired with Jordan Duffy in the two-on-two matches, and the duo combined to go 6-0 in their matches at the No. 5 doubles position.
Haslag and Duffy won their matches against Tusculum (21-12, 21-13), Principia (21-9, 21-10) and Colorado-Mesa (21-10, 21-16) during pool play. In the challenge round, they won 21-9, 21-8 against Carson-Newman, but their match against Saint Leo was unfinished, as the Spartans had already clinched the team win with three match victories.
In the gold bracket, Haslag and Duffy won 21-14, 21-13 in the semifinals against Spring Hill, then followed that with a 21-12, 21-17 win against Texas A&M-Kingsville in the championship match.
Tampa did not lose an individual match during the national tournament, outscoring its opponents 18-0. This is just the second year of beach volleyball for the Spartans, who won the NCAA Division II indoor volleyball national championship in December at Pittsburgh.
During the beach volleyball season, Haslag posted a record of 17-9. She was 11-5 when paired with Duffy.
Tampa finished the season with a 20-10 record.