ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -
With the final match of the 2009 regular season, the Eckerd College Woman's Volleyball Team (19-11, 9-7 SSC) took on the Barry Buccaneers (15-12, 7-9 SSC) and was able to walk away with a 3-1 victory (25-16, 25-16, 25-21, 25-18). Not only did they win, but they were also honoring three seniors in the process.
Going into the match, the Tritons were ready to come back from the loss they previously encountered this week against Tampa. Coach Courtney Draper stated, “I kept telling the girls if they play with the same intensity and same urgency that they did against Tampa that tonight they would most likely earn that victory.” Before this match, the Tritons beat Barry earlier this season, 3-1, and tonight was quite similar as Eckerd won the first two sets, lost the third, and came back in the fourth with a victory.
Leading the Tritons in the first set was
Lydee Benoit and
Ariana Chinn with a total of five kills each. The Tritons were in the lead throughout the majority of the set, with the Buccaneers not falling that far behind. It wasn't until
Taylor Manning and
Taylor Whaley blocked an attack by Barry and Chinn tallied the final kill to set the score 25-16 that Eckerd took a 1-0, hitting for a .412 attack percentage.
Once again, Eckerd was up from the beginning of the second set. Benoit led the Tritons in this set as she had four kills, along with Manning and Whaley who totaled six kills. As the set continued, the Buccaneers did not trail too far behind Eckerd as they went point-by-point throughout the rest of the set. Benoit came back with two kills to clinch the set for the Tritons.
In the third set, Barry and Eckerd committed seven errors each, as Barry had 14 kills, with Eckerd trailing with seven.
Megan Golovkin checked in with a kill to raise the score to 22-20, with Barry in the lead. However, Julia Teixiera tallied the final kill to make it 2-1.
Regarding the third set, Draper did not think that there was anything in particular that led to the loss of the set. “Maybe it was a lack of focus. Our team hit a .000 in that third set, and Barry only a .167, so if we could hit somewhere around that range, it might have been a better contest.”
Going into the fourth set, Draper knew that her team had the strength and confidence to come back and be victorious. During their break, Draper discussed different strategies such as being deep on defense, since Barry is known to hit the ball deeper than most teams. “Defense really sparks the team and motivates them to perform better and win those long rallies.”
The fourth and final set was certainly an Eckerd advantage, as they were able to come back and clinch the final victory with a final tally of 3-1. Benoit led the team with 17 kills and Chinn with 12. The Tritons out-blocked Barry 11-8, and also hit a .238.
Eckerd now awaits word on a potential fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance with the announcement to be made Sunday evening. Fans can log-on to EckerdTritons.com for the latest seedings and pairings in next week's tournament.
