ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd College volleyball team wraps up the regular season at home this weekend as the Tritons look to secure a bid to the regional tournament in December.
WHAT: Rollins Tars (11-17, 6-8) vs. Eckerd Tritons (15-13, 6-9) - Friday, 7:00 PM | Embry-Riddle Eagles (12-16) vs. Eckerd - Saturday, 4:00 PM
WHERE: McArthur Center
WATCH: Live Stats |
Live VideoABOUT THE TARS- Rollins started the season losing 12 of its first 13 games, but recovered to put up a strong performance in conference play. The Tars wrap up their schedule this weekend at Eckerd on Friday and at Saint Leo on Saturday. One of their conference wins was a 3-0 sweep of the Tritons on October 24.
- Three players average at least two kills per set, led by Bri Civiero's 3.02 average. Shannon McDonough averages 2.46 per set while Rachel Sawyer adds 2.12 per set. Civiero ranks eighth in the conference in kills per set.
- Rollins ranks last in conference in team hitting percentage (.152) but does limit opponents to a .189 hitting percentage. Part of that is aided by net defense; the Tars lead the SSC in blocks per set with 2.38. Kianna Dieudonne (77), Sam Schlesman (65) and Kerra Tirado (62) lead the team in total blocks.
ABOUT THE EAGLES- The Eagles have struggled a bit in their first season of transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II with a 12-16 overall record. The provisional conference members have gone 3-13 against SSC competition. ERAU started the year strong, going 9-1 in its first 10 matches but enters the weekend on an 11-match skid.
- Embry-Riddle features one of the more prominent hitters in Division II in Evelina Abdurakmanova, who averages 4.46 kills per set. She had a season-high 26 kills in the team's first meeting with Eckerd this season. Ana Pajic (2.95) is the only other player on the team to average more than two kills per set.
- Sumerr Paxton (4.80 digs per set) and Tamires Ferreira (3.27 digs per set) help lead a defense that limits opponents to a .190 hitting percentage.
ABOUT THE TRITONS- Eckerd enters the weekend ranked sixth in the latest regional rankings, putting the Tritons in position to earn a bid to the regional tournament in December with two wins this weekend.
- Senior
Tjasa Kotnik enters the weekend chasing two milestones. She needs 40 kills to reach the 1000-career kill mark at Eckerd and 43 kills to tie the program's single-season kills record. She had a huge performance last weekend and earned SSC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts. Fittingly, she has a chance to break both marks on senior day on Saturday.
- Saturday will mark the final home matches in the careers of Kotnik and
Emily Schadow. Schadow ranks fourth in program history in career assists (2542) and is one of only eight players in program history to accumulate 900 assists in a season.
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Kaitlyn Sibson is also nearing a career milestone, sitting at 966 career digs entering the weekend. Her 498 digs thus far this season rank second in program history in a season, passing the mark she set last season as a freshman. She needs 38 digs to tie the program's single-season record.
- The Tritons rank third in the conference in hitting percentage (.223) and second in service aces (191).
LOOKING BACKEckerd won a thrilling five-set match against Embry-Riddle on October 23 as Sibson posted a career-high in digs with 32. Kotnik had 20 kills while
JaQuayla Baker added 16. The Tritons won despite hitting just .120 in the match.
The next day was not as kind to Eckerd as Rollins posted a 3-0 win over the Tritons in Winter Park, Florida. The Tars hit .252 as a team and used a balanced attack to keep the Eckerd defense off its game.
