ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After taking a 2-0 lead, the Eckerd Tritons (17-9, 7-5 SSC) seemed poised to wrap up a match in less than five sets. The Florida Tech Panthers (11-12, 2-10 SSC), however, had other ieads, scrapping their way to a fifth set, the fifth consecutive five-set match for the Tritons. Thanks to
Lydee Benoit's 21 total kills, the Tritons clinched their four consecutive win.
After the Panthers tied the match 2-2, Eckerd looked well on its way to clinching an easy fifth set win as a kill by
Taylor Whaley put the Tritons ahead 7-3. Unfortunately for the Tritons, a kill by Caitlyn Ballweber followed by three straight Eckerd attack errors tied the set at 7-7. Eckerd would then go on to score five of the set's next six points, including two kills by
Alex Laton to take a 12-8 lead.
The Panthers would no go quietly, still, trimming Eckerd's lead to 13-12 on a kill by Liz Holt but Benoit would put the match away with two kills to earn the Tritons the victory.
For the match, Benoit added 19 digs while
Hallie Ward chipped in with 14 digs. Whaley amassed 16 kills while
Megan Golovkin and
Bri Smith added 38 and 21 set assists, respectively.
Taylor Manning also tallied nine kills, five service aces and five total blocks.
Eckerd will return to action on Wednesday, November 4 as it hosts Florida Southern at 7pm at the McArthur Center.
