ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Eckerd College volleyball team recognized five core members of the program and celebrated Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at the McArthur Center with a win over Florida Tech in straight sets, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-23).
All five seniors --
Madison Burr,
Maija Strazdina,
Kaleigh Humphrey,
Lindsay Biggs and
Ana de Olano -- had their fingerprints all over the team's victorious regular-season finale.
Strazdina's performance was noteworthy and inspiring as she appeared on the court for the first time since 2011. After enduring four knee surgeries, it was decided before the 2013 season that Strazdina would take on more of a coaching and managing role with the team, but she played all three sets today with a brace protecting the left knee.
"It was really fun to watch the girls today," EC Head Coach
Michelle Piantadosi said. "It was an emotionally charged day, and it was a testament to our leadership that we used those emotions to come out focused, driven and with high energy."
Eckerd surged to solo second place in the updated Sunshine State Conference standings after today's sweep and compiled its 10th win out of the last 11 matches played with the postseason looming ahead.
In the first set, the Tritons (19-9, 10-5 SSC) cruised to the early win. Leading 14-12, Strazdina recorded her first kill of six of on the day to give the Tritons a three-point lead, and the crowd erupted in applause.
In the second set, The Tritons and Panthers (15-13, 5-9 SSC) played point-for-point. With the score at 14-11 and Eckerd leading, the Tritons went on a 7-3 run to take a more commanding lead, 21-14. A Florida Tech service error, a kill by
Katarina Milojevic, a service ace from Burr and a kill from Biggs secured the second set win.
The intensity was high in the third set, with the Tritons trying to close out its 13th sweep of the season. With the set neck-and-neck at 24-23, Eckerd led and Florida Tech called timeout.
Strazdina was in control of the serve and before play resumed, Piantadosi said Strazdina told her teammates she would serve an ace to close out the match.
Strazdina spun the ball high above her head and struck the ball hard out of her jump serve. It sailed over the net, and Cheyanne Kauffman dove to return the serve, but the ball shanked out into the stands to give the Tritons the victory.
"Maija [Strazdina] was a hero today," Piantadosi said. "I wanted this for her. It was a special moment, and it was really uplifting for the team."
"Ending it with an ace was just the icing on the cake. It felt like we were watching an inspirational sports movie."
The Tritons hit an impressive .337 on the match with sophomore right side
Tjasa Kotnik leading the team going 10-for-16 (.625), and she added one solo block and three block assists.
Milojevic totaled eight kills in the match and added three solo blocks with five block assists. Fellow junior
Grace Jones also added eight kills.
The Tritons are currently ranked third in the NCAA Division II South Region rankings with one match remaining in the regular season against Saint Leo University on Tuesday night. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. EST from the Bowman Center.
