Box Score MELBOURNE, Fla. - In a thrilling five set match on Saturday, the 2014 volleyball season came to an end for the Eckerd College volleyball team as the Tritons fell to Florida Tech.
The Panthers and Tritons met earlier this year at the McAthur Center where EC came out on top, sweeping FIT in three sets.
Eckerd came out strong in set one, tallying six consecutive points against Florida Tech. The Panthers were down one point to the Tritons, 11-10, when
Emily Schadow sent a beautiful set sailing across the net that
Tjasa Kotnik slammed down. The kill gave the Tritons the advantage as they rallied seven unanswered points against the Panthers. Kotnik grabbed her fifth kill and set point handing EC the win, 25-18.
EC flexed their muscles in set two as six different Tritons nabbed kills in the set. The team hit an astounding .438, one of their highest team hitting percentages of the year.
Kayla Parker made her second appearance of the year and took home the team high with five kills and hit .714 and led the team to a 25-17 victory.
Lauryn Nelson led the charge in set three, grabbing the 250
th kill of her young career. Each team fought valiantly as both struggled to gain momentum. With the set tied at 22-22, the Tritons fell victim to untimely errors that led to a Panther victory, 26-24.
The Panthers jumped out quick on the Tritons in the fourth set, grabbing early points and capitalizing on mistakes to take a 16-10 lead. Two late kills by Kotnik brought the Tritons close, but the deficit proved to be too large as Tech took home the set, 25-21, sending the match into a 15 point final set.
Three Triton kills opened up the fifth set before the Panthers would fight back.
Kaitlyn Sibson went flying over the court as FIT tacked on two kills, knotting the score at 6-6. Each team went point for point as Florida Tech drove home three unanswered kills. Kotnik slammed down her 21
st kill of the night and tied the match up at 12-12. The Panthers were able to take home match point and defeat the Tritons, 15-12.
As the match came to a close, collegiate careers ended for three standout Tritons.
Ali McAlvany,
Grace Jones, and
Katarina Milojevic each donned the Eckerd uniform for one last time. All three athletes have been with the team since 2011, helping the program to over 80 wins. McAlvany is one of the best the program has seen, the senior finished the year and claimed a spot in the record books, ranking third all-time in career kills (1,241). Jones earned a spot in the starting lineup and never looked back, appearing in more than 200 sets for the teal and navy. Milojevic has been out this year due to an injury, but the middle blocker had an outstanding 2013 season, earning defensive player of the week honors three times.
