VOLLEYBALL GAMEDAY: Tritons Travel to South Carolina for USC Aiken Invitational

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd volleyball team heads to South Carolina for its final weekend of competition before entering conference play, taking part in the USC Aiken Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

GAME 5: Eckerd vs. Merrimack (Pa.) | Friday | 3:00 PM | Live Stats
GAME 6: Eckerd vs. USC-Aiken | Friday | 7:00 PM | Live Stats | Live Video
GAME 7: Eckerd vs. Lander (S.C.) | Saturday | 10:00 AM | Live Stats
GAME 8: Eckerd vs. Montevallo (Ala.) | Saturday | 2:00 PM | Live Stats | Live Video

BALANCING ACT
The Tritons used a balanced attack on opening weekend to pick up four wins.  Four players average better than 2.4 kills per set, led by Kali Boatwright (3.2 per set).  Katie Arnette (2.9), Lauryn Nelson (2.6) and Sarah Johnshoy (2.5) give EC a deep pool of options for setters Gabriella Reis and Fernanda Reis.

ACES WILD
Eckerd had a lot of success at the service line last weekend with a total of 36 aces in 14 sets.  Arielle Erillo led the way with 10 while Kaitlyn Sibson had seven.  The Tritons currently lead the conference in aces per set.

ABOUT MERRIMACK (1-3)
The Warriors dropped their first three matches of the season at the Tony Banner Memorial in Clarion, Pennsylvania, before bouncing back to defeat Southern New Hampshire in four sets in their home opener on Tuesday.  Jennifer Cain entered the lineup for that match, putting away a team-high 15 kills.

ABOUT USC-AIKEN (3-1)
The Pacers won three of four matches last weekend at the Queens (N.C.) Invitational.  The team relies on a trio of attackers - Taylor Stratton, Julia Forster and Shawn Hotson - to provide the majority of its offense with each averaging better than 3.0 kills per set.  Last year, the Pacers went 27-6 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round.

ABOUT LANDER (4-0)
The Bearcats went a perfect 4-0 at the Queens Invitational last weekend and look to carry that momentum into this weekend.  Halle Dotson has been a force at the net thus far, averaging 4.1 kills per set.  Eckerd will also need to watch for Hannah McManus at the service line as she has totaled 16 aces.  Lander is coming off a 25-win season that saw the team advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

ABOUT MONTEVALLO (2-2)
The Falcons split their matches last weekend with all four contests going to five sets.  Kristy Bohan leads the attack averaging 3.4 kills per set while also adding 20 blocks.  Montevallo averages 2.35 blocks per set as a team.