Box Score (Wayne State)
Box Score (No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State)
ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Eckerd College volleyball program ushered in a new era as the fall season got underway at the Riverfront Hotel Grand Rapids Classic on Friday afternoon with a first-day split against Wayne State (Mich.) University and No. 6 Southwest Minnesota State University.
The Tritons (1-1, 0-0 SSC) swept the Warriors (1-1, 0-0 GLIAC) in the opener before concluding the afternoon by putting early pressure on the Mustangs (2-0, 0-0 NSIC) with a first-set rally.
Eckerd defeated Wayne State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22). Southwest Minnesota State prevailed during the 5 p.m. matchup, 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-18).
In a tournament field featuring numerous schools garnering preseason attention in the AVCA Top-25 Polls, the Tritons (47 votes) drew plenty of their own praise from second-year head coach
Michelle Piantadosi.
"I think we can take a lot of good from the day and overall, I was very impressed," she said. "There are things that we want to work at in order to compete consistently against the Southwest Minnesota State's. As a team, we will move forward and get better."
It took Eckerd just an hour and 16 minutes to send Wayne State off court two as senior two-time AVCA All-American
Lindsay Biggs led the way with 11 kills in an evenly distributed offensive showing.
Fellow AVCA All-American
Ali McAlvany added seven kills and her output was matched by emergent junior middle
Grace Jones, who also added five assisted blocks along the front line.
Eckerd raced out to an 11-3 run in the opening set and broke a 16-16 tie with a 9-2 streak to win the first set of the season. In the second set, the Tritons hit .370 as a team before holding off Wayne State for the sweep.
Senior setter
Madison Burr, the lone Michigan native on the roster, enjoyed a warm homecoming with family and friends in attendance in Grand Valley State's Fieldhouse Arena. Burr combined to run the offense with 43 assists on the day while continuing to excel in Piantadosi's two-setter system.
"Madison is making the right decisions and quarterbacking our offense," said Piantadosi. "She's also digging a ton of balls. She's on a mission to do great things this season."
The Tritons had Southwest Minnesota State, a former No. 1 ranked team in 2012 with a current string of nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances, on their heels with an inspired rally that resulted in early momentum.
The Mustangs made a few adjustments in the second set and reeled off the come-from-behind victory in part to 20 kills from Abbey Thissen and 50 assists from reigning NCAA Freshman of the Year, setter Emilee Gutzmer.
Biggs racked up 17 more kills and 10 digs against the Mustangs while hitting to an impressive .357 clip.
"I'm really proud of Lindsay," said Piantadosi. "She played at a very high level and was confident. She's been a great leader on the court for our team."
Freshman
Kayla Parker had three kills on just four swings while McAlvany and senior libero
Kaleigh Humphrey each had 12 digs.
The Tritons are slated to compete against No. 16 Truman State (Mo.) University tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. before concluding the tourney against host Grand Valley State at 4 p.m. There is no live stats/video/audio coverage of the tournament.
