Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – After junior outside hitter
Lindsay Biggs recorded the first point of the match, it only seemed appropriate she should get credit for the last.
Storming back from a pair of one-set deficits, the Eckerd College volleyball program put away a resilient Florida Tech program on the road Thursday night, 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12), in the Clemente Center.
In the end, it may have been a little too close for comfort after the Tritons handled the Panthers at home in a straight-set sweep earlier this year, but a road win in the Sunshine State Conference is tough to come by regardless of sport.
The second-place Tritons (16-7, 7-2 SSC) were beginning their second go around the Sunshine State Conference schedule after assembling a 6-2 record the first time through.
The Panthers (14-8, 4-6 SSC) began the night in the middle of the pack of the conference standings in fifth.
Biggs' first and last kills carried historical implications as she tallied EC's first point for her 1,000th kill on a strategic tip. On the last point in the final set, her 22nd kill of the night tied a career-high total set just last weekend vs. Valdosta State (Ga.) University.
Biggs moved from eighth to sixth in the all-time career kills leaderboard in the five-set affair, passing Leigh Badoyen (2004-2007) and
Ariana Chinn (2008-2011) with the memorable night.
Junior libero
Kaleigh Humphrey dug out a season-high 27 attack attempts and junior setter
Madison Burr paced the offense with 34 assists. Sophomore
Ali McAlvany added 18 kills from the right side.
Florida Tech recognized a new 1,000-kill club member of its own, presenting a game ball to Caitlyn Ballweber prior to the start of the match.
But the first set was marred with an uncharacteristic nine attacking errors that neutralized 10 kills and slowed down the EC offense as the Panthers stormed out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back.
The Tritons looked more comfortable on the court in the second set, swinging heavily to force the Panthers to use both timeouts by the time EC was leading 16-9.
The Tritons turned the tables on the Panthers to eventually tie and doubled their lead 18-9 following a service ace by Biggs.
Florida Tech mustered a 6-1 run late in the second set to make things interesting, but a kill down the middle from senior
Alex Laton primed EC for set point.
Tech's Janice Valies was popular among the home crowd in the third set with some violent, sidearm back-row attacks, stringing together back-to-back kills after a service ace to help the Panthers take a 19-16 lead.
Out of an EC timeout, the Tritons closed the gap in a hurry, but Valies spiked down a key kill that ignited the fans again to make the score 23-21. FIT closed it out to take a 2-1 lead.
The Tritons snapped a 10-10 tie in the fourth set with a long rally that started a 4-0 run. The Panthers erased a six-point deficit and tied the match 19-19 before the Tritons surged with six unanswered points to force the fifth and final set.
EC dug in after the Panthers eased out to a 7-6 lead in the final set, but a 5-2 run restored a Tritons' lead that would not be relinquished.
The Tritons are back on their home court tomorrow in the McArthur Center, playing host to Rollins College at 4 p.m. Tomorrow is Dig Pink day and all funds generated from admissions and concessions will be donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation and breast cancer research.
Fans are encouraged to wear pink in honor of the worthy occasion.
