Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – An upset alert went down to the wire for the Eckerd College volleyball program as fifth-ranked University of Tampa found a way to squeak out a five-set victory on Wednesday night, 3-2 (20-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 17-15).
For two hours and 24 minutes, the Tritons (11-7, 5-2 SSC) traded blows against the Spartans (14-2, 7-0 SSC) in the McArthur Center on “White Out Wednesday.”
Eckerd had a chance to put away UT after roaring back to claim the third set, but fell just short as momentum carried over to the Spartans and the final frame.
A 15-15 tie in the fifth set was snapped with back-to-back kills by the Tampa frontline to end the match.
UT middle blocker Danielle Selkridge was dominant, totaling 26 kills and a .488 attacking percentage.
Holly Reschke added to the UT offensive output with 16 kills while Jessica Yingling contributed 13 and Meagan Burke finished with a dozen.
EC's
Ali McAlvany attacked the Spartan defense for a team-high 22 kills and junior
Lindsay Biggs recorded 19 more. Both McAlvany and Biggs ended up with 14 digs apiece.
Seniors
Alex Laton and
Taylor Whaley combined for 23 kills as each ended in double-digit figures.
After toppling the Spartans the last time the two schools met in the McArthur Center last year, the Tritons had their sights set on their second tally in the win column in the series history.
EC was off to a great start, putting the Spartans on their heels with a 7-1 run to end the first set and managed to take the early lead.
Rallies were the theme in the third and fourth frames after UT tied the match at 1-1. The Tritons stormed back from an 18-13 deficit in the third set to run off five unanswered points down the stretch.
Again in the fourth set, Tampa was threatening to pull away with a 14-10 lead, but the Tritons answered with an 11-3 run, including a rare block against Selkridge in the middle put up by McAlvany and sophomore
Katarina Milojevic.
However, it wouldn't be the final run and the Tritons were done in by a 6-2 run to end the set and forced to face a final set.
But in an event of this magnitude, each point is critical, and a puzzling sequence left the Tritons on the short end in a critical time.
After it appeared a point was awarded to EC, the team gathered in a huddle to celebrate, but play continued on because there was no whistle. The Tritons couldn't recover in time and were forced into a key miscue.
The Tritons will look to bounce back on Saturday against Barry University at 4 p.m. in the McArthur Center.
