Box Score ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opening Sunshine State Conference play against the top two teams in the conference's pre-season poll, it was imperative for the Eckerd volleyball team to make an early mark against top competition.
The Tritons made that mark today, knocking off No. 22 Florida Southern in five sets to earn their first conference win of the year.
The match came down to the wire. Eckerd (7-3, 1-1 SSC) took the first two sets before Florida Southern won sets three and four, sending the contest to a decisive fifth set.
Staying in theme with the rest of the match, the fifth set was tight the whole way with neither team leading by more than two points.
A key stretch saw Eckerd take three straight points to move ahead 11-9. Though FSC (7-2, 1-1 SSC) managed to tie the set once, the Tritons didn't trail again.Â
Kali Boatwright's kill put the team at match point at 14-12 and, after Anna Tovo kept the Mocs alive for one more rally, it was Tovo's attack error that finished off the victory for EC.
It marked the second year in a row that Florida Southern came to the McArthur Center as a nationally-ranked team and left with a loss. Eckerd won last year's meeting in St. Petersburg in four sets.
Perhaps in what was a sign of things to come, the Tritons fought off set point three times as part of a run of five straight points on the way to a 26-24 win. Eckerd then jumped ahead early in set two building a 12-4 lead, and FSC got no closer than four points the rest of the way as the Tritons moved ahead two sets to none after a 25-18 set win.
Florida Southern, however, refused to be put away easily. In a back-and-forth third set, the Mocs used a late run of four straight points to stay alive with a 25-20 win. They later survived match point in the fourth set and extended things to a fifth set on the heels of a 27-25 set victory.
The fifth set saw eight ties before Eckerd was able to pull away for the win.
"Both of our seniors really stepped up tonight and led the team offensively," said EC head coach
Michelle Piantadosi. "I thought Kaitlyn did an incredible job leading the back row. Our defense was ready and very disciplined. I couldn't be more happy about the way we bounced back as a team."
The Tritons got a season-high 18 kills from
JaQuayla Baker, while
Lauryn Nelson (16) and
Katie Arnette (14) also reached double figures.Â
Gabriella Reis posted her second straight double-double with 50 assists and 19 digs.Â
Kaitlyn Sibson added 15 digs while
Keri McMahon and
Kali Boatwright both had 13.
Eckerd out-hit Florida Southern, .245 to .182, and had 10 aces and 12 total blocks.
The Tritons return to action next weekend, visiting Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) on Friday and Nova Southeastern (Fla.) on Saturday.
