Box Score
SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball program continued to cement itself towards the pinnacle of the Sunshine State Conference standings, taking down Saint Leo University on Saturday afternoon at the Bowman Center, 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 23-25, 25-21).
The Tritons (19-7, 10-2 SSC) completed the regular-season sweep against the Lions (10-14, 2-10 SSC) and earned their eighth-straight win with the streak starting mid-October.
EC was coming off a Friday-night win in the McArthur Center, a four-set tussle vs. Florida Southern College.
With that win, the Tritons gained two full games of separation from third-place FSC by defeating the Mocs and only look up to the University of Tampa at the top of the league standings.
Senior
Olivia Fraser was a one-person wrecking crew against the Lions' defense, smashing 15 kills on 21 swings for a .619 attacking percentage. She also contributed four blocks (two solo, two assisted) as the Eckerd defense limited Saint Leo to a .175 attacking clip.
Fraser now has 280 blocks in her career (currently ranking fifth all-time) and 77 for the season, tying her for the team lead with sophomore middle
Katarina Milojevic.
Reigning SSC Offensive Player of the Week
Ali McAlvany recorded 14 more kills in the Eckerd offensive attack.
Again, another tie for the lead unfolded in another key statistical category as McAlvany and junior
Lindsay Biggs both have 345 kills in the season to date.
Together, they are just 20 kills shy before cracking the all-time top-10 list for a single season.
Current SSC Defensive Player of the Week
Kaleigh Humphrey tallied 14 digs and accounted for two of the team's three service aces. Junior setter
Madison Burr assisted 25 of her teammates' kills bearing down on fifth all-time among career leaders.
Burr is currently at 1,829 in her three-year career, rapidly closing in on Jeanne Sundstrom's total of 1,996 compiled from 1993-1996.
Neither team could gain more than a three-point lead in a thrilling first set, trading sideouts and double-digit ties/lead changes before back-to-back kills from McAlvany ended a 24-24 stalemate and gave EC huge momentum on the road.
The Tritons had their bearings in the second set and breezed out to a 7-2 lead to open the frame and led wire-to-wire for the 2-0 edge.
Saint Leo prevented the sweep, but the Tritons surged in the fourth set to put away the Lions, thanks to a 5-0 run. A trio of kills by McAlvany, an additional kill from senior
Alex Laton and a service ace from freshman
Emily Schadow led to a Lions' timeout.
With EC leading 20-14 at that point, the Lions' last stand wasn't enough on their home court.
The Tritons will have a week to prepare for a two-game homestand next weekend, hosting Lynn University on Friday night before recognizing the senior class on Saturday afternoon against Nova Southeastern University.
