VOLLEYBALL GAMEDAY: #5 Tampa at Eckerd

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After nearly knocking off a nationally-ranked team on Saturday, the Eckerd College volleyball team will get another chance to pull an upset as the Tritons host No. 5 Tampa tonight at 7:00 PM.

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SETTING THE STAGE
Eckerd (13-10, 4-6) is coming off a solid weekend that saw a sweep of Barry University and a narrow five-set loss to No. 14 Palm Beach Atlantic after getting to match point.  The Spartans (20-4, 8-1) sit in their familiar spot atop the Sunshine State Conference and won all three of their matches last week.

LAST TIME THEY MET
The Tritons took the second set, 25-21, but couldn't handle the Spartans in the other three sets as Tampa scored a 3-1 win over Eckerd on September 18, 2015.  Tampa hit .342 for the match, including .552 in the fourth set, as Marissa Lisenbee posted 17 kills and Berkley Whaley added 16.  Eckerd had 12 kills from Tjasa Kotnik and 14 digs from Kaitlyn Sibson.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
- Tampa saw its 59-match conference winning streak come to an end on October 24 when the then-No. 1 Spartans were upset by Lynn, 3-2.  Before the loss to the Knights, Eckerd was the last team to defeat Tampa is conference play.
- Tampa has earned a ranking for 265 consecutive AVCA polling periods, a mark that ranks second only to No. 13 Central Missouri, as both are active program records. The Spartans hold the Division II record for most times ranked in the top 10 with 256 releases of the AVCA coaches' poll and have garnered a top-10 rank for 144 consecutive releases.
- Four-time SSC Offensive Player of the Week selection Jessica Wagner has been virtually unstoppable at the net this season, ranking second in the nation in hitting percentage (.439).  Reigning AVCA National Player of the Year Berkley Whaley leads the conference in kills, averaging 4.01 per game, good for 21st in the nation.
- The Spartans rank fifth in NCAA Division II in hitting percentage (.287) while averaging 14.26 kills per set.  They also lead the conference in total blocks with 298.

ABOUT THE TRITONS
- Sophomore right-side hitter Lauryn Nelson had a big weekend that included a career-high 22 kills on Saturday against No. 14 Palm Beach Atlantic.  She has posted double-digits in kills in each of her last five games, averaging 3.84 per set over that stretch.
- Senior Tjasa Kotnik continues to be among the nation's leaders in kills, entering tonight ranking 25th in Division II with 3.97 kills per set.  She enters the week with 863 career kills as she closes in on becoming the 10th player in program history to hit the century mark in kills.
- Sophomore Kaitlyn Sibson is also nearing a milestone, entering the week with 867 career digs as she aims to become the 10th player in Eckerd history to reach the 1000 mark for a career.