DELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team opened its second season at the Stetson Invitational on Saturday,
In the opener, the Tritons edged Spring Hill (Ala.), 3-2, getting strong play from the back end of the lineup.
In the No. 1 spot, the tandem of
Tjasa Kotnik and
Kaitlyn Sibson held off SHU's Julie Vujnovich and Madison Seuzeneau in a three-set battle. Kotnik and Sibson cruised to a win in the first set, 21-12, before seeing the match extended to a third set when the Badger duo won 21-17. Kotnik and Sibson then closed out the win by taking a 15-12 third-set victory.
Stephanie Bogda and
Kali Boatwright were dominant in the No. 4 spot, sweeping the Badgers' Sara Brodner and Caroline Herrera, 21-12 and 21-11.Â
Rachel Cornatzer and
Savanna Cary got EC the final point needed for the win after defeating Catherine Milwee and Emily Greim in comeback fashion. After dropping the first set, 21-18, the duo won the next two by scores of 21-12 and 15-9.
Madison Whiting and
Arielle Erillo lost in straight sets in the No. 2 spot while
Gabriella Reis and
Mackenzie Redner lost in two in the No. 3 spot.
"I really liked how we showed up to play our first match this morning against Spring Hill," said EC head coach
Michelle Piantadosi. "Each team was ready to play and executed the things we have been working on in practice. Overall it was an excellent performance."
The day ended with another close match but this time EC came out on the wrong end as Carson-Newman (Tenn.) picked up a 3-2 win.
Kotnik and Sibson pulled out another nail-biting victory in the No. 1 position, coming from behind after losing the first set to Sara Fairley and Molly Locke (17-21) to force a tiebreaker with a 21-18 win in set two. The tiebreaker was close as well, but Kotnik and Sibson emerged with an 18-16 win.
Bogda and Boatwright posted their second sweep of the day, making quick work of Kristina Jill and Natalie Harris (21-16, 21-14).
The Tritons dropped their remaining counting contests in straight sets. The duo of
Haylee Bilbray and
Maison Burr did post a win (21-14, 21-14) but their victory did not count toward the team total.
"I thought we showed great fight against Carson-Newman, especially at our one and four seed," Piantadosi said. "We learned from that match that we are going to have to make quicker adjustments and bring a consistent intensity."
Overall, Piantadosi was pleased with her team's first performance in competition this season.
"The teams are obviously new with this being their first competition," she said, "so they are still working out their chemistry and learning how to communicate effectively. We will take these things and work on elevating our level of play tomorrow."
The Tritons play three matches tomorrow facing the College of Charleston, Stetson and North Carolina-Wilmington.
ECKERD DEF. SPRING HILL, 3-21) Kotnik/Sibson (EC) def. Vujnovich/Seuzeneau, 2-1 (21-12, 17-21, 15-12)
2) Tietijens/Klinger (SHU) def. Erillo/Whiting, 2-0 (21-19, 21-13)
3) Griffin/Masoner (SHU) def. Reis/Redner, 2-0 (21-9, 21-14)
4) Bogda/Boatwright (EC) def. Brodner/Herrera, 2-0 (21-12, 21-11)
5) Cornatzer/Cary (EC) def. Milwee/Greim, 2-1 (18-21, 21-12, 15-9)
CARSON-NEWMAN DEF. ECKERD, 3-21) Kotnik/Sibson (EC) def. Fairley/Locke, 2-1 (17-21, 21-18, 18-16)
2) King/Will (C-N) def. Erillo/Whiting, 2-0 (21-19, 21-16)
3) Lowe/Zyburt (C-N) def. Reis/Redner, 2-0 (21-17, 21-15)
4) Boga/Boatwright (EC) def. Hill/Harris, 2-0 (21-16, 21-14)
5) Anderson/Morris (C-N) def. Cornatzer/Cary, 2-0 (23-21, 21-15)
Ext.) Bilbray/Burr (EC) def. Robertson/Foster, 2-0 (21-14, 21-14)
