Box Score
TAMPA, Fla. – The second-seeded Eckerd College volleyball program survived an opening-round scare against upset-minded No. 7 seed Christian Brothers (Tenn.) University to begin the NCAA Tournament South Regional on Thursday, surging late to prevail in five sets, 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-20, 15-7).
With their backs against the wall, the Tritons showed resiliency to come back in the fourth game with a 9-0 run and force a final set, where Eckerd dominated with 10 kills in 16 swings (.562).
Senior right-side hitter
Ariana Chinn tallied a season-high 18 kills on .441 hitting and junior middle blocker
Olivia Fraser was a difference maker in the latter stages as she finished with 11 kills.
Lindsay Biggs added 14 and
Alex Laton was also in double-digits with 10 kills.
The Tritons (26-4) will face No. 3 seed Rollins College in the next round of the South Regional bracket tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Bob Martinez Center. Rollins eliminated sixth-seeded University of North Alabama earlier this afternoon.
Christian Brothers ended its season with a 24-11 overall record.
The Bucs couldn't be stopped in the early going, ripping 13 kills for a .478 attack percentage in the first set alone.
EC was leading the second frame 22-20 before a 3-0 run by the Bucs put the Tritons behind in a critical juncture. But a timeout called by Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year Courtney Draper set up a 4-1 run to knot the match at a set apiece.
Chinn started the mini run with back-to-back kills and Laton had a kill and a block as EC won the second set, 26-24.
With momentum on their side, the Tritons labored through a sluggish third set, plagued with an uncharacteristic eight errors versus nine kills. That equaled a .028 hitting percentage as the Bucs pulled away and led 2-1.
The Tritons fortunes finally started to change in the middle of the fourth set as Eckerd reeled off a 6-0 run, capped by a service ace from
Kaleigh Humphrey. Fraser had four kills on five attempts in the fourth frame as the Tritons hit at a .316 clip.
The fifth set was do-or-die and Eckerd came out on the mission, leading 9-4 after a kill by Fraser.
After a service error interrupted the streak, the offense again went through Fraser with immediate dividends for consecutive kills. She also was credited with a pair of blocks in the last set, an assisted rejection that had EC up by eight, and a solo stuff that clinched the match.
The Tritons held the Bucs to a .000 hitting rate in the fifth set.
A fan bus to Tampa is available only for students (need to bring an ID) for transportation to tomorrow's match against Rollins. The bus, sponsored by the EC athletics department and ECOS, will leave from the campus mailboxes at 3:30 p.m.
