Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Some unexpected early-season injuries have forced certain players on the Eckerd College volleyball team into unanticipated roles.
However, based on their performance so far, it's not easy to pick up on that.
The Tritons (4-1) got a pair of balanced performances on the first day of the Eckerd College Invitational in it resulted in a pair of straight-sets wins. EC knocked off UNC-Pembroke in the opener (25-12, 25-15, 25-18) and Colorado Christian (25-15, 25-21, 25-23) on Friday evening in the McArthur Center.
With players like
Katie Arnette in new positions and
Gabriella Reis Guimaraes - and even
Tjasa Kotnik - in new roles, fourth-year head coach
Michelle Piantadosi is very pleased with how they have responded.
"I felt really good about tonight," she said. "We've improved since last weekend. We had some focused practices to improve in a couple of areas, and I thought we did that."
One of those improved areas has been defense along the back row, where Arnette and Kotnik are finding themselves much more often. Their play, coupled with that of
Kaitlyn Sibson and
Arielle Erillo, has been huge for the Tritons.
"Our defensive drive is night and day from where it was last year," said Piantadosi.
In their first match of the day, Eckerd jumped all over UNC-Pembroke from the start. The Tritons, in fact, never trailed throughout the entirety of the match. Kotnik led the way with 14 kills while
JaQuayla Baker had 12 kills on only 16 attempts. Sibson paced the back row with 15 digs.
EC did the same to start the second match against Colorado Christian, building a quick 12-4 lead and pushing ahead by 10 on multiple occasions before closing it out 25-15.
The Cougars (2-4) were more competitive in the next two sets, hanging with Eckerd in the second set before EC pulled away late for a four-point win. CCU again held close in the third set until the Tritons took points on four of six rallies to get to match point at 24-20.
Colorado Christian, though, rolled off three straight points to stay alive and force a crucial point after an Eckerd time out. The Tritons delivered with an Arnette kill to finish the sweep. Arnette had six of her 10 kills in the final set.
Kotnik again led the attack with 13 kills while
Lauryn Nelson added 12. Arnette had 13 digs for a double-double while Sibson had 12 and Erillo had 11.
The Tritons finish off the weekend with two more contests on Saturday facing West Liberty (Pa.) at 3:00 PM and Seton Hill (Pa.) at 7:30 PM.
