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Box Score 2 CARROLLTON, Ga. - The Eckerd College volleyball team battled from behind twice on the first day of the South Region Crossover to record a pair of five-set victories over Gulf South Conference opponents at the University of West Georgia.
Eckerd (10-7) won the fourth and fifth sets of its opening contest against Lee (Tenn.) University, then overcame a 2-0 deficit in the afternoon to knock off Valdosta State (Ga.) University. The event pits teams from the Sunshine State Conference against teams from the Gulf South Conference, both members of the South Region.
The Tritons dropped the first set to the Flames, 25-20, after Lee took the final four points of the set. EC took set two, 25-20, but fell behind again when Lee took a comfortable 25-21 win in the third set.
Eckerd, though, was able to elevate its play in the final two sets and the Flames couldn't match it. The Tritons rolled off seven straight points in the fourth set to take a 19-11 lead on the way to a 25-18 win, then followed by taking points on 12 of 13 rallies in the fifth set as they cruised to a 15-8 win to close out the match.
Tjasa Kotnik led the attack in the opener with 20 kills while hitting .409 for the match. JaQualya Baker had 15 kills and
Katie Arnette added 13. Kotnik and Baker both posted double-doubles as each recorded 11 digs.
Kaitlyn Sibson paced the back row defense with 14 digs.
Eckerd again found itself trailing in the afternoon match to a Blazers squad that came into the day with a record of 14-2. VSU took the first two sets (25-22, 25-17) and held a 21-18 lead in the third set.
That's when the Tritons again stepped it up, taking the next seven points to turn the deficit into a 25-21 set win. They then battled back from set point with three straight kills to win the fourth set, 26-24.
Eckerd controlled the fifth set from the start, jumping out to a 4-0 lead and then held off the Blazers after they got within one point on three occasions to final close it out on a Baker kill for a 15-13 win.
Baker had a huge match against VSU with a career-high 27 kills while Kotnik recorded her second double-double of the day with 15 kills and 11 digs. Sibson tied her season-high with 29 digs.
Emily Schadow narrowly missed her season-high with 52 assists.
The Sunshine State Conference has been dominant thus far at the annual event, winning 16 of the first 17 matches across the board.
Eckerd concludes play at the crossover on Saturday against the University of Alabama in Huntsville at 2:30 PM.
