Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - No matter the result, Friday night's Dig Pink match for the Eckerd College volleyball team was going to be special.
Getting a three-set conference win just served to sweeten the deal.
Eckerd avenged a five-set loss to Barry from September, sweeping the Bucs by scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 25-21 in front of a large, pink-clad crowd in the McArthur Center.
The breast cancer awareness event held a significant meaning to the Eckerd community, as EC head coach
Michelle Piantadosi is in the middle of a battle with the disease after being diagnosed in August. And the Eckerd community came out in droves with students, faculty, staff and administration all represented to honor and support Piantadosi.
"I didn't expect what I saw," she said. "To have students, colleagues, professors and co-workers out there wearing pink, it was just incredible. I felt so supported through this. I can't describe how much it keeps me strong when I am having bad days. I couldn't get through it without the strength of these people that love and cared for me."
The Tritons fell behind late in the first set, trailing 22-19 before mounting a comeback. EC rolled off four straight points to take the lead and eventually won the set after getting to set point a second time, winning it on a Barry attack error.
Eckerd (13-9, 4-6) jumped ahead early in the second set and led by five at 17-12 before the Bucs tied it up with five straight points. The Tritons pushed back up by three (22-19) but again Barry rallied with four consecutive points thanks in part to three EC attack errors to take the lead.
That's when senior
Tjasa Kotnik stepped up, tying the set with a kill and putting it away with blocks on the next two points to give Eckerd a 2-0 lead.
Stephanie Karlovics, playing in her first match of the season after returning from injury, assisted Kotnik on the two set-deciding blocks.
Barry (11-8, 6-4), looking to avoid the sweep, took a 7-3 lead out of the gate in the third set. The Tritons soon tied it at 8-8 on the strength of four straight points, and the two teams would be tied four more times before EC pulled ahead to a 17-13 lead. Though the Bucs got back within two points, they never could close the gap and a
JaQuayla Baker kill finished things off as Eckerd completed the sweep.
"I thought everybody played well tonight," Piantadosi said. "We were really scrappy. Emily did a fantastic job of running our offense. Her decisions were really good tonight."
Schadow had 28 assists on the night. Kotnik led the Triton attack with 12 kills while Baker and
Lauryn Nelson each had nine.
Eckerd prepares to host two nationally-ranked opponents in its next two matches, starting tomorrow against No. 14 Palm Beach Atlantic at 4:00 PM.
