ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Eckerd College Volleyball (18-9, 8-5 SSC) continued their winning streak as they defeated Florida Southern (14-15, 5-8) 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-22) on Wednesday evening at the McArthur Center. Seniors
Lydee Benoit, with 17 kills, and
Megan Golovkin, with nine digs led the team.
In the first set, the Tritons could not keep up with the Mocs' Julia Borecka who led the set with 10 kills and a .833 attack percentage.
“She is just unbelievable, especially is tonight's game. She is their go to player,” said Coach Courtney Draper.
After losing the first set by four, due in part to four net violations, the Tritons started to commit block Borecka and improved both passing and serving in the second set.
“Our [players] are use to playing multiple sets and still walking away with a win, so I think they stayed composed after the first set,” Coach Draper added. The composure is what allowed the Tritons to come out on top in the second set.
The third set proved to be a battle between both teams with multiple lead changes. Ultimately, the Tritons were able to come out victorious because the Mocs made errors late in the set that gave the Tritons the momentum they needed. Coach Draper talked about how she tells the team “take care of our side and limit the errors.” This proved to be what ultimately allowed the team to pull away with the win.
Coming out in the fourth set, the Mocs went on a run, going up 4-0 led with extremely tough servers. Florida Southern is known as a great serving team, one of the best in the Sunshine State Conference, according to Draper, so the Tritons were aware that a run like that could happen.
Again, the Tritons kept their composure and fought back. In the fourth set, the Tritons were down 7-8 but went on their own six-point run to pull ahead 12-8. Once they took the lead, the Mocs didn't have a chance.
“Our hitters did a really nice job and our setters did an even better job of getting our hitters in a good position to score those points,” added Coach Draper.
The final set ended with a kill by
Taylor Whaley on match point.
The Tritons will look to continue their winning streak as they travel to Saint Leo, Fla. to take on the Saint Leo Lions Saturday at 4 p.m.
