Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd College volleyball team couldn't have come closer to pulling off a big upset on Saturday afternoon.
The Tritons got to match point against 14th-ranked Palm Beach Atlantic, but the Sailfish took the final four points of the contest to hang on for a five-set win over Eckerd in the McArthur Center.
Eckerd took the second and third sets in narrow fashion as both extended into extra points, fending off set point in both to score 26-24 and 27-25 wins. PBA (21-3) jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the fourth set on the way to a nine-point win, sending the teams into a decisive fifth set that turned out to be the most exciting set of the day.
The final set saw six ties in a back-and-forth battle that went down to the wire. A run of four straight points put the Sailfish ahead 10-7, the largest lead of the set, only to see Eckerd take seven of the next nine points to get to match point at 14-12 thanks to a pair of
Lauryn Nelson kills and a
Kaitlyn Sibson service ace.
The Tritons (13-10) had a chance to finish the match off on the next rally, keeping PBA off-balance with a strong attack that resulted in several over passes. However, the Sailfish back row kept coming up with digs and eventually ended the rally on a Katie Ballantyne kill.
Palm Beach Atlantic's defense continued to hold strong to keep the ball alive for the offense, which finished things off with three straight kills for a 16-14 set win.
The Sailfish cruised in the first set, winning 25-18 after turning an 11-11 tie into a seven-point lead. Eckerd bounced back to take the first four points of set two on its way to winning the next two sets. In the second set EC won the final four points to even the match, then took the last three points of set three for another narrow win.
Nelson had a huge day for the Tritons with a career-high 22 kills while
Tjasa Kotnik recorded a double-double with 20 kills and 18 digs.
JaQuayla Baker added 11 kills and eight total blocks.
Emily Schadow also set a new career-high with 56 assists and finished off a double-double with 13 digs.
The road gets no easier for the Tritons as they host No. 5 Tampa on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM.
