MELBOURNE, Fla. - On the cusp of crashing through the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll, the Eckerd College volleyball team delivered a night to remember for eighth-year Head Coach Courtney Draper in a straight-set sweep against Florida Tech on Tuesday evening, 3-0 (28-26, 25-19, 25-22).
Draper officially reached the 150-win milestone in her accomplished coaching career as she navigated her team through another challenging road environment in the Clemente Center that featured Dig Pink Night to recognize Breast Cancer Awareness month and included a band.
Coincidentally, Draper recorded her 100th career win on Oct. 25, 2008, against the University of St. Francis (Ill.), the Tritons' next home opponent on Thursday for their own Dig Pink Night in the McArthur Center.
The Tritons (17-3, 7-2 SSC) extended their win streak to eight games against the Panthers (6-16, 2-7 SSC), just one match shy of tying a nine-win stretch put together earlier this season.
Eckerd, which received 20 votes in the latest national poll for a ranking of No. 28, is now in the driver's seat for solo second place in the Sunshine State Conference standings.
“We're concentrating on taking one match at a time,” Draper said. “Tonight, Florida Tech showed why they are a strong team and their record is very misleading. Our blockers were very strong tonight, but overall, we played good, not great.”
“It's great to get win No. 150 and I'm proud about the season we're putting together,” she added. “We still have some difficult matches left on our schedule and we're not thinking about the national implications right now, just our conference and region.”
The Tritons outlasted the Panthers in a gutsy first-set effort that began with an 11-4 run out of the gates. Florida Tech mustered a 9-4 run midway to negate the Tritons' advantage and pulled even at a 19-19 tie following one of Caitlyn Ballweber's match-high 13 kills.
After that point, there would be seven ties and seven lead changes as the teams traded sideouts before a Ballweber attack error and a
Taylor Whaley kill had EC leading, 1-0.
Whaley made key contributions with eight kills on 16 swings for a .375 hitting percentage. She also added 10 digs.
A 7-1 run midway through the second set had the Tritons doubling up the Panthers, 18-9, and a Whaley ace capped the scoring in the second frame.
The Tritons had to overcome several ties in the third set as Florida Tech tried to extend play. But
Lindsay Biggs had back-to-back kills for two of the final three EC points to seal the match.
Eckerd flexed its muscle on the defensive end again, holding the Panthers to a .177 hitting percentage while converting at a .322 clip on the other side.
Biggs finished with 11 kills on the night to go with 10 digs. Junior
Alex Laton accounted for five of the team's 14 blocks and
Ariana Chinn contributed nine kills with no errors. Senior setter
Bri Smith had a team-high 23 assists.
The Tritons are back in action on Thursday at home against the Saints of St. Francis. The players will wear pink jerseys and fans are encouraged to also wear pink to support Dig Pink Night at 7 p.m.
