Efficient Attack Gives Tritons Win Over Lynn

Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Eckerd College volleyball team capped off an impressive weekend with another road win, knocking off Lynn University in four sets (25-18, 25-10, 21-25, 25-18) on Saturday afternoon.

Eckerd (15-13, 6-9 SSC) avenged an earlier loss to the Knights in October, when Lynn swept the Tritons in St. Petersburg.

For the second night in a row, the Tritons were very efficient on the attack.  EC hit .374 for the match, including .517 in the fourth set and .733 in the second set.

"We passed the ball well, and Emily did a good job distributing the ball around to everyone," said head coach Michelle Piantadosi.  "The hitters took care of business. I am incredibly proud of the fight and the focus of this team."

Eckerd never trailed in the first set, opening the afternoon with a double-block by JaQuayla Baker and Mackenzie Redner as the team jumped out to a 4-1 lead.  The Tritons continued pulling away, extending their lead to 15-8 and later 23-13 on the heels of four straight points including two Tjasa Kotnik aces.

The Knights tried to make a comeback, running off five consecutive points to cut the EC lead in half before Eckerd put the set away on a Lauryn Nelson kill and a double-block by Nelson and Baker.

The Tritons dominated the second set, using a run of seven straight points to take a 9-2 lead.  From there, Eckerd kept the pressure on never allowing Lynn (14-14, 4-11 SSC) to score consecutive points on the way to a 15-point set win.

Lynn held off the sweep with a 25-21 win in set three, taking advantage of six Eckerd attack errors, but couldn't stop the Tritons in the fourth set.  EC used a run of five straight points to take a 19-15 lead in the set, then took six of the final seven points to close out the victory.

The Tritons, who committed only nine attack errors for the match, were led on the attack by Kotnik with 16 kills and Nelson with 13 kills.  Kotnik added 11 digs for her 13th double-double of the season.  Emily Schadow had 40 assists while Kaitlyn Sibson paced the back row with 16 digs.

Eckerd also had a season-high 14 blocks for the match, including six solo.  Nelson, Baker and Stephanie Karlovics all had five total blocks as EC limited Lynn to a .150 hitting percentage.

The Tritons return to the McArthur Center next weekend to finish out the regular season, hosting Rollins on Friday at 7:00 PM and Embry-Riddle on Saturday at 4:00 PM.