Box Score
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball program put a sluggish start behind in the rearview mirror, accelerating past an overmatched Florida Tech squad in both teams' Sunshine State Conference opener on Friday night, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-17).
The Tritons (7-4, 1-0 SSC) won their sixth contest in the last seven meetings against the Panthers (8-3, 0-1 SSC), who had compiled one the best starts in the program's history out of the gates this fall.
Eckerd bounced back in the first set after Florida Tech went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 14-7 lead.
The Tritons regrouped with a 13-2 run of their own, and under the leadership of first-year coaches
Michelle Piantadosi and
Bri Smith, the deficit was quickly a thing of the past.
“I told them that we were fine (after the slow start),” Piantadosi said. “We kept the team calm and let them know they have two coaches that believe in them.”
“I feel like we were firing on all cylinders and we played as a team tonight,” she continued. “The girls had so much fun on the court and that was our goal, to be honest.”
With plenty of matches left in her decorated career, junior outside hitter
Lindsay Biggs forged her name into one of the top-10 leaders in career kills, notching 11 on the night to give her 836 and move past Liz Grevengoed with 831 (1994-1996) in the archives.
The frontline defense came through again in a big way, converging for 11 total blocks, led by senior middle
Olivia Fraser with six assisted rejections.
The EC block party helped contain the Panther offense to just a .094 attacking percentage, Florida Tech's second-lowest hitting total this season.
The Tritons were never threatened the rest of the way, leading wire-to-wire beginning in the second set and dictated the tempo the rest of the way.
Eckerd was methodical on offense, swinging for 42 kills versus just 10 errors on the evening. Sophomore right-side hitter
Ali McAlvany swatted nine kills and sophomore middle blocker
Katarina Milojevic turned in six kills and four blocks.
Biggs led a trio of teammates in double-digit dig totals with 12 while McAlvany (11) and junior
Kaleigh Humphrey were close behind in the defensive effort. Junior setter
Madison Burr directed to the offense to a team-best 22 assists.
Eckerd will be on the road tomorrow for another SSC contest against rival Rollins College.
The Tritons and Tars have had some memorable five-set thrillers in recent history (2011 NCAA South Regional semifinal) and both teams will square off in Winter Park at 4 p.m.
“It's going to be a battle,” Piantadosi foreshadowed. “For us, we have to continue to stay focused on our game and the things that help us play well.”
