Box Score
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball program made a strong impression to open the University of West Florida Regional Crossover, defeating Valdosta State (Ga.) University in four sets on Friday, 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19).
The Tritons (14-3, 6-2 SSC) won their fifth straight to begin a three-match weekend slate that also includes the University of Alabama-Huntsville and Christian Brothers (Tenn.) University on Saturday.
Reigning Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Week
Olivia Fraser was one of four Tritons to record three assisted blocks along with
Lindsay Biggs,
Alex Laton and
Ariana Chinn.
Biggs tied freshman right-side hitter
Ali McAlvany with a team-high 11 kills and setter
Madison Burr operated the offense to the tune of 44 assists. Burr also added 10 digs while senior
Hallie Ward paced all players with 14.
VSU (12-10 overall) dropped its second contest of the day after being swept by No. 2 University of Tampa in the morning.
Eckerd began to make noise on the national scene this week as nine votes were awarded to the program when the latest edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's Top-25 Coaches Poll was released.
The Tritons justified the voters' confidence by snapping a 7-7 tie in the first set with a 7-0 run that helped EC control the early momentum.
After the Blazers evened things up in the next set, Eckerd bounced back from a sluggish start, trailing 4-1, to turn the tables and take an a 11-7 lead before VSU called for a timeout.
The Tritons then overcame a 5-0 run from Valdosta State as McAlvany spiked three kills in the next four EC points to right the ship and help Eckerd take a 2-1 lead.
Laton recorded a pair of kills sandwiched in the middle of a 6-2 run to open the fourth game and back-to-back kills from Biggs gave the Tritons a 15-12 advantage.
Valdosta State's offense labored in the fourth and final set with a -.021 hitting percentage as the Blazers were plagued by various miscues. The Blazers had an uncharacteristic 13 attacking errors in the fourth frame (including three straight to end the match), a pair of service mistakes and two setting errors.
One of the Tritons' seven team blocks came in the final set.
Eckerd is set to face Alabama-Huntsville tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the tourney with a 4 p.m. showdown against Christian Brothers.
NOTE: No. RV denotes “receiving votes”
