Over the past week of play, the Eckerd College Volleyball team has proven why they are a team to watch out for in the Sunshine State Conference. Even though every match is tough in the SSC, the team improved their record to 15-9 and 6-5 in the SSC by going 2-1 in the past three games. An unsetting lost to Nova Southeastern forced the team to rally to beat both Lynn and Rollins in thrilling matches.
The Nova Southeastern match proved to be a battle for the Tritons. During the first three sets both teams were going back and forth with points, keeping the match neck and neck. However, in the fourth set, the players pulled together to have a commanding win, 18-25. With a combination of senior leadership and the determination to win on their home court the Tritons moved into the fifth and final set. Assistant Coach Kelly Morrisroe said of the final set, “It's so tough to battle that hard and then end up losing by two points.” This experience however did prove to help the team during the Lynn game.
After such a heartbreaking lost, the players were visibly upset since a game like that is never easy to get over. But the Tritons had to because in less then 24 hours they would be competing against another conference team, Lynn.
“We told the girls [after the NSU match] to take your time here, but as soon as you leave this locker room you have to focus on Lynn,” Morrisroe said. The coaches were very impressed with how the players responded because they all knew Lynn was a match they had to win.
In another five-set thriller against Lynn, the Tritons came out on top. Coach Morrisroe believes a change in the defense prior to the match was key in defeating Lynn 3-2 (25-15, 23-25,25-23, 21-25, 16-14). The reason the Tritons made the change in defense was because of the first meeting with Lynn during which their outsides proved to be powerful.
“When Lydee [Benoit] was in the front row, we had our middle commit to the opponents outside and left Lydee one-on-one,” explained Coach Morrisroe. So the team had two blockers on Lynn's outside and left the right side to be protected by Benoit, which she did quite successfully as she racked up six blocks.
Then there was a service ace by
Bri Smith against their serving target in the fifth set, which was a huge momentum change for the Tritons. They were down in the final set 13-11 but they remembered how in the prior night's match they were up 13-10 in the fifth set and Nova came back to win. Coach Morrisroe said, “This gave the players confidence that they could come back and take control.”
Senior leadership has been a key factor in much of the Tritons' success this season and Benoit is one of these leaders.
“She is the [player] you want to get the ball in a game. She has great confidence and is willing to put the team on her back. She is the one that says 'set point, give me the ball and I'll put it away.'"
In both the Nova and Lynn game, Benoit proved why she is an asset to the team by amassing a total of 45 kills and 24 digs.
Playing on the road can prove to be a challenge for teams but the Tritons showed otherwise by defeating the Rollin Tars on the road 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 15-25, 27-29, 15-13) Wednesday evening. Many of the players utilized their individual skills, but it proved to be overall teamwork that led the team to another SSC victory.
The team has already begun to shift their focus on this weekend's matches, where the Tritons have to go 2-0 to keep their season alive. When first meeting with both Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Tech the team beat them in three and five sets, respectively. The Tritons know that these teams are going to be hungry for a win the second time around. However, the Tritons have been scouting these teams heavily so they are well prepared.
“The girls understand the importance of these matches,” Coach Morrisroe states. “We have to focus every point and every set to get [the wins].”
As Coach Morrisroe said, “The month of October is were champions are made.” Since it is such an important month with finishing the first round of conference play and moving into the second, anything can happen. If the team continues to stay focused and determined, their hopes of making it to the NCAA tournament will be within reach. But first the Tritons must keep their winning streak alive and beat both Palm Beach Atlantic and Florida Tech this weekend.
