Box Score (No. 16 Truman State)
Box Score (Grand Valley State)
ALLENDALE, Mich. – Another pair of top-caliber opponents stared the Eckerd College volleyball program in the face as the season-opening Riverfront Hotel Grand Rapids Classic came to an entertaining conclusion on Saturday afternoon.
The Tritons (2-2, 0-0 SSC) opened with a three-set defeat against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs (3-1, 0-0 GLVC) by scores of 16-25, 26-28, 23-25, before taking down the host Lakers (2-2, 0-0 GLIAC) by a narrow margin, 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 30-28, 27-25), in Fieldhouse Arena.
In their first tournament of the season, Eckerd faced the No. 6 and No. 16-ranked teams in the country along with a program receiving votes in the AVCA Top-25 Poll and another school tabbed to finish second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Coming off a 27-7 record out of the Midwest Region a year ago, Truman State validated its spot in the national poll despite subpar offensive numbers in the sweep.
The Bulldogs were led by Allie Brak's 14 kills, but hit .184 in the first set and .024 in the second frame. The Tritons struggled to get the offensive tracked and were plagued with an uncharacteristic number of attacking errors.
Both teams finished with nine blocks.
EC clawed its way to 13 ties and six different lead changes in what turned out to be the final frame looking to force a fourth set against Truman State.
Senior and junior All-American outsides
Lindsay Biggs and
Ali McAlvany combined for 24 kills.
The Tritons bounced back against host Grand Valley State and in a battle of two teams both receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Poll, lived up to its premier billing. The minimum two-point margin was all that separated the teams in every set played and three of the four sets went beyond the standard.
Biggs and McAlvany combined for over 100 attack attempts and led the charge with 19 and 18 kills, respectively. Senior setter
Madison Burr tallied 33 assists after posting 23 vs. Truman State and senior All-Sunshine State Conference libero
Kaleigh Humphrey had a pair of service aces to complement 22 digs.
Strong play by middles
Katarina Milojevic (five assisted blocks) and
Grace Jones (two solo blocks, four assisted blocks) helped the Tritons overcome a 25-kill effort by standout GVSU outside Abby Aiken.
The first frame set the tone for a back-and-forth tussle as the Tritons erased a 23-22 deficit with a 4-1 run following a timeout summoned by second-year coach
Michelle Piantadosi.
A 23-23 tie was split by the Lakers with a pair of points to even the match at one set apiece.
Grand Valley State had set point on three straight possessions in the third set, but the Tritons turned a 28-27 score around with a 3-0 run, all kills from McAlvany in a critical momentum swing.
The Tritons came back yet again in the fourth frame to ice the host Lakers, wrapping things up with a 3-0 run to negate a 25-24 GVSU lead.
Upon their arrival home, the Tritons will prepare to host another edition of the Eckerd College Classic this weekend in the McArthur Center with 10 matches scheduled Sept. 13-14 between Barry University, Nova Southeastern University, Bentley (Mass.) University, Wilmington (Del.) University and the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras.
Live stats will be available for every match. Video/audio has yet to be determined for matches not including Eckerd.
