Box Score
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – For the second day in a row, the Eckerd College volleyball program persevered in crunch time to emerge on top of another thriller that went down to the wire, this time against Barry University on Saturday afternoon, 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 15-25, 25-21, 15-11).
A three-way tie for fourth unfolded in the updated Sunshine State Conference standings with the Tritons (13-8, 4-4 SSC) now locked with Florida Tech and Rollins College at the conclusion of the first half of the league schedule.
After taking down Florida Tech in five sets last night, the Tritons won the first, fourth and fifth sets, today against the scrappy Buccaneers (8-11, 1-7 SSC) on their home court.
"It was a battle out there this afternoon," EC Head Coach
Michelle Piantadosi said. "I'm so proud that our girls dug deep and found consistency in those big moments; that will help us get to the next level."
"Barry is a tall team and they can hit different angles around our blocks," she continued. "Our front line did a good job of channeling the ball to our defense. Anytime that you can battle in back-to-back five-set matches and come out with wins on the road, it says a lot about where this team is right now."
Four players recorded double-digit kill totals, including a team-high 15 from sophomore
Tjasa Kotnik.
Junior
Ali McAlvany produced 14 more while junior
Katarina Milojevic and senior
Lindsay Biggs each slammed down 10. Setters
Madison Burr (30) and
Emily Schadow (15) combined for 45 assists to help the Tritons hit at a .222 clip collectively.
After the Tritons and Panthers combined for 33 blocks last night, attacking percentages were comparatively up across the board in today's match with Eckerd and Barry totaling 16 blocks.
Piantadosi made a slight personnel switch in the fourth set and plugged in sophomore defensive specialist
Kelie Reimer. She made a stealthy impact, helping the offense with passing and taking the defense to another level while finishing with five digs.
The Tritons fell behind 2-1, but forced the final frame by assembling a 4-0 run to snap a 20-20 tie late in the fourth set. Following a self-inflicted Barry service error, Milojevic nailed down the final kill to complete the rally.
Barry jumped out of the gates with a 4-1 run in the final set, but the Tritons forced their opponent into six attacking errors and went on an 8-1 run to swing momentum. Another 3-0 EC run was defined with a Barry service miscue and setting error.
And just like last night, Kotnik recorded the match's final kill to seal the final decision.
The Tritons will have the week to prepare for the start of the second half of SSC action when Lynn University pays a Friday visit to the McArthur Center. Lynn was the victor in a four-set meeting in Boca Raton back on Sept. 28.
"The second round of conference is huge for us and we're looking forward to sustaining momentum to finish strong down the stretch," Piantadosi said.
