ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team continued to show its improvement in its second season, taking a pair of wins from Carson-Newman (Tenn.) on Saturday in the team's home opener.
The Eagles (3-4) had edged Eckerd one week earlier at the Stetson Invitational, but the Tritons gained a measure of payback by taking both rounds today, 3-2 and 4-1.
Playing in the No. 1 position, the duo of
Tjasa Kotnik and
Kaitlyn Sibson continued their dominant play. Kotnik and Sibson handled Katie Will and Ally King in both rounds sweeping them 21-19, 21-17 in the first match and 21-18, 21-9 in the second. The pair is now 6-1 on the season.
Madison Whiting and
Arielle Erillo followed suit from the No. 2 position, picking up wins in both rounds. They took a straight-sets win over Sarah Fairley and Molly Locke in the opener (21-18, 22-20) and in the finale (21-18, 21-11), improving to 4-3 together this year.
Carson-Newman's Maddie Zyburt and Taylor Lowe edged
Kali Boatwright and
Gabriella Reis in the No. 3 spot in the first round (16-21, 21-9, 12-15) before Boatwright and Reis returned the favor in the second with a three-set victory (21-18, 19-21, 15-9).
Kristina Hill and Natalie Harris were the only Eagles to score two wins on the day, taking both rounds against the Eckerd tandem of
Stephanie Bogda and
Mackenzie Redner with a straight-sets win in the opener (17-21, 15-21) and a three-set win in the finale (21-15, 18-21, 9-15) for CNU's only point.
Savanna Cary teamed with
Rachel Cornatzer for a dominant win over Megan Morris and Eileen Anderson in the first match (21-14, 21-15), while Cary and
Haylee Bilbray finished off Allie Foster and Hannah Robertson in similar fashion in the second match (21-12, 21-5).
The Tritons will face Carson-Newman one more time this weekend, finishing the series on Sunday at 10:00 AM. Eckerd will then host Stevenson (N.J.) University at 12:00 PM.
