Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball team served up an upset special on Friday night by handing perennial powerhouse and newly-ranked No. 1 University of Tampa its first loss of the season in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13).
Freshman
Ali McAlvany hammered down 17 kills and reigning Sunshine State Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Lindsay Biggs added 16.
Alex Laton and
Taylor Whaley were also in double-digits with 13 and 12, respectively.
In a closely-contested match that featured countless twists and turns, the Tritons (20-3, 9-2 SSC) toppled the Spartans (24-1, 11-1 SSC) for the first time in school history in front of another packed McArthur Center on “whiteout” night.
And after sitting on the outside of the most recent AVCA Top-25 Poll with 38 votes received, the Tritons did their best to lock up their first national ranking since the 2009 campaign.
The Tritons extended their win streak to 11 games and sent shockwaves rippling across the volleyball world. Shortly afterwards, EC Head Coach Courtney Draper had her phone buzzing with congratulatory messages as the news went viral.
“Tampa is always a great team and they're tough to beat,” she said. “This is very special for our seniors, but our fans were amazing. They brought so much energy and it was like having a seventh man on the court.”
For several of those seniors, including
Bri Smith (37 assists, 12 digs),
Hallie Ward (15 digs) and
Ariana Chinn (nine kills), it was vindication after taking Tampa to the brink in prior meetings throughout their careers.
“After taking a set against Tampa in our first meeting this year, we knew that we could do it,” the senior setter Smith said. “We really worked hard on the placement of our shots in practice this week and took advantage of them playing a 5-1 scheme.”
“This gives us a lot of confidence to reach the goals that we've set for ourselves,” she added.
Smith set the tone in the decisive fifth set with a service ace that tiptoed across the net for the frame's first point. Her passing set up the next three points and EC held an 8-4 advantage before switching sides.
The Spartans cut the deficit to one point on two possessions, but Eckerd had an answer each time in
Olivia Fraser, who spiked down the game-winning point.
Laton was unstoppable in the first set, ripping seven kills on just seven swings. The Tritons worked their way back down from a 14-9 deficit and tied the score at 22-22 on a McAlvany kill. Shortly after, Eckerd would clinch the first set on back-to-back kills from
Chinn and McAlvany.
The nation's leading hitter, UT's Danielle Selkridge, had 13 kills while teammates Holly Reschke and Jessica Yingling paced the Spartans with 14 apiece.
The Tritons are back to the McArthur Center tomorrow afternoon, hosting Rollins College at 4 p.m.
