PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Eckerd Tritons volleyball team (0-2) got off to a rocky start, falling in three sets at the hands of two tough opponents, #12 Central Missouri (25-16, 25-22, 26-24) and top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul (25-20, 25-20, 25-23) on Friday evening in day one of the University of West Florida's Comfort Inn-Vitational.
In the first set against the CMU Jennies, a kill by
Taylor Whaley tied the set at 6-6 before Central Missouri would go on a 13-5 run, capped by a kill by Paula Harris, busting it open for the Jennies and making it 19-11. After a kill by
Taylor Manning made it 20-15, the Jennies would go on to score five of the last six points to the seal the first set victory.
Eckerd fared much better in the second set but Central Missouri still proved too tough. Regi Silva tied the set at 22-22 but Allie Huffman accounted for two of three consecutive points by the Jennies to win set two, 25-22.
In the third set, the Tritons found their rythym, trailing 14-9 at one point before going on a 11-2 run to take a 20-16 lead. CMU closed the gap to 22-22, thanks in part to two kills each by Huffman and Jennifer Williams. After an Eckerd service error gave the Jennies a 24-23 lead, Whaley tied the game before CMU made a final push with back-to-back kills to clinch the victory.
For the match, neither team set the world ablaze offensively, with CMU hitting at a .248 clip while the Tritons hit .164.
Ariana Chinn and
Lydee Benoit paced Eckerd with nine kills each while
Bri Smith tallied the only double-double for Eckerd with 12 set assists and 13 digs. CMU's Huffman led all players with 15 kills and a .325 attack percentage.
Central Missouri Box Score
Against the Golden Bears, CSP led wire-to-wire as the Tritons got no closer than four points down the stretch. With the score 24-18, Chinn and
Alex Laton registered consecutive kills before an Eckerd service error clinched the set for the Bears.
In the second set, a kill by Benoit trimmed a Bears' lead to 20-19. Unfortunately for Eckerd, CSP scored five of the final six points in the set, paced by two kills and a service ace by Megan Carlson.
Just as they did in the third set of their match against Central Missouri, the Tritons held a lead against Concordia-St. Paul, however slim it was, at 15-14 after a kill by Regi Silva. The Bears would go on to take a 23-18 lead before nearly giving away that lead on three consecutive errors. Trailing 24-23, the Tritons would get no further as the match ended on a service error.
For the match, Chinn led the Tritons with 11 kills and a .375 attack percentage while Carlson led all players with 15 kills.
Concordia-St. Paul Box Score
The Tritons will return to action on Saturday as they face Flagler and #15 West Florida on day two of the Comfort Inn-Vitational.
