Tritons Reclaim Lead in SSC with Sweep of Florida Tech

Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Two days after falling out of sole possession of first place in the Sunshine State Conference, the Eckerd volleyball team quickly regained it after sweeping Florida Tech in the McArthur Center on Thursday night.

The Tritons took a pair of close wins in the first two sets, 25-23 in each, before finishing the straight-sets victory with a more comfortable 25-20 win in set three.

One key moment in the match came late in the second set when Eckerd (14-6, 6-2 SSC) found itself down 20-14 as the Panthers closed in on tying the match.

Behind the service of Kaitlyn Sibson, the Tritons rolled off six straight points - capped by a Sibson ace - and tied the set at 20-20.

FIT reclaimed the lead with three points in the next four rallies, but Eckerd once again pieced together a sequence of consecutive points, mostly from JaQuayla Baker and Kali Boatwright.  After a service error by the Panthers' Jenna Schaffer gave EC a side out, Baker and Boatwright each tallied a kill to get the Tritons to set point, then combined on a block to finish the set two comeback.

"I thought being down like that and fighting back in the second set to win was a big momentum shift for us," said EC head coach Michelle Piantadosi.  "Madison Whiting played incredible defense which extended some long rallies in the third, giving us momentum to close.  Kaitlyn was also very strong on the back row as she had some amazing ups tonight and passed very well."

It was their defense that helped Eckerd jump out to an 11-7 lead in the third set.  FIT (5-12, 0-6 SSC) pulled within two points, but the attempt to further close the gap was short-lived after Eckerd won four points in five rallies to extend its lead to 20-14.  The Panthers had no answer as Eckerd finished the match with a 25-20 set win.

EC also rallied from a deficit in the first set, though not as dramatically as in set two.  Florida Tech built an early three-point lead before the Tritons closed the gap.  The set was tied seven times, including 21-21, but Eckerd pulled away by taking four of the final six points.

The win moves Eckerd back into sole possession of first place in the conference standings, a half-game ahead of both Florida Southern and Saint Leo who were idle tonight.

Boatwright led all players with 15 kills while Baker made nine and Lauryn Nelson contributed eight.  Gabriella Reis aided the Triton attack with 41 assists.  Sibson led the back-row defense with 18 digs while Baker paced the front-row defense with a hand in five of the team's nine total blocks.

Eckerd enjoys the weekend off before returning to the floor on Tuesday, October 25, for a road rematch with the University of Tampa at 7:00 PM.