Box Score
LAKELAND, Fla. – After reeling off three consecutive wins to begin the challenging Sunshine State Conference schedule, the Eckerd College volleyball program fell victim against Florida Southern College on Saturday, 1-3 (20-25, 22-25, 25-22, 22-25).
The Tritons (9-6, 3-1 SSC) were snake-bitten in the loss to the Mocs (11-5, 3-1 SSC) at the Jenkins Field House as Kate Stromberg and Anne Pietkiewicz each spiked 15 kills.
FSC setter and current SSC Offensive Player of the Week, Ali Skayhan, was credited for 50 of the team's 57 assists.
Eckerd swept Florida Tech, took down Rollins College on the road and earned a win against Saint Leo University, in SSC play before running into Florida Southern.
The Mocs and Tritons are now both tied for second in the SSC standings with both programs looking up at No. 7 University of Tampa, still undefeated at 4-0 in league play.
EC outblocked FSC, 9-5, but hit at a .181 clip compared to the Mocs' .224 attacking percentage.
Sophomore right-side hitter
Ali McAlvany powered the offense with another eye-popping 25 kills. Her 32 kills against Northwood (Mich.) University recorded this season were the most recorded in a match in records dating to the 2005 campaign.
Since 2005, McAlvany's 25 kills ranks tied for the fourth-best match total, equaling former All-American Lydee Benoit's 25 recorded against West Texas A&M University (Sept. 20, 2008).
McAlvany (54) and junior
Lindsay Biggs (52) took most of the Tritons' offensive swings on the afternoon.
In addition to a team-high 23 digs in the effort, junior libero
Kaleigh Humphrey also served up three service aces.
Biggs finished with 13 kills (10 errors), while senior middle
Alex Laton added eight and sophomore
Katarina Milojevic had five kills to balance out five blocks.
Eckerd faced a five-point deficit in the first set, trailing 9-14, and closed the gap to two points on separate sideouts, but a 4-0 Mocs' run was keyed by a Stromberg block and kill to give FSC the early lead.
The Tritons led 15-12 in the second frame and an eventual 19-19 tie was broke up by a kill from Pietkiewicz.
The third set was all Eckerd as the Tritons led wire-to-wire and came out of the gates hot with a 6-0 run. The Tritons finished strong with an 8-2 run and held the FSC offense in check with just a .082 hitting clip to prevent the sweep.
Eckerd will look to bounce back against Nova Southeastern University on Friday. The Tritons and Sharks will begin at 7 p.m. in Fort Lauderdale.
