ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball program's torrid win streak will be put to the test tomorrow against a team that has broken in to the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll this season in Sunshine State Conference counterpart Rollins College.
The Tritons (9-1, 2-0 SSC) have won nine straight and will be seeking to gain some of the same recognition against the Tars (7-6, 0-1 SSC), who dropped from the No. 24 slot when Monday's latest edition of the top-25 was released.
Rollins has been ranked as high as 18th in the nation this fall before a four-match slide eventually dropped the Tars out of the poll and in receiving votes status.
And if recent history is any indication of the type of match that is in store at the Warden Arena at 7 p.m. in Winter Park, another storied chapter is about to be written in the programs' respective history.
“It's always a pretty even matchup and this is a big opportunity for our girls,” EC Head Coach Courtney Draper said. “Our goal is to be a top-25 team and the only way to break into the top-25 is to beat ranked opponents. Rollins is always tough place to play on the road.”
Last year's series featured a five-set marathon that included over 200 attacking attempts and a combined 199 digs between both schools on Oct. 9.
EC's Lindsay Biggs dueled Rollins' now departed and former one-year University of Kentucky transfer Sarah Mendoza for some gaudy stats once the final box score was compiled. Biggs totaled 21 kills to go along with 21 digs to complement a .463 attacking clip.
Mendoza tallied 25 kills and had 23 digs in a two-hour plus affair that resulted in a narrow win for the Tars (17-15 in the fifth set). Rollins later completed the season sweep in November.
The Tritons have rattled off back-to-back conference wins over Florida Tech and Nova Southeastern University to tie No. 2 University of Tampa and Saint Leo University as unbeatens at the top of the SSC standings.
Rollins has a pair of wins over nationally ranked opponents in then-No. 8 Grand Valley State (Sept. 3) and No. 21 University of North Alabama (Sept. 16).
Eckerd has swept its last five opponents and has a current streak of 16 consecutive sets won.
Live stats will be available at www.rollinssports.com.
