Spartans Weather Eckerd's Hot Start, Defeat Tritons in Four Sets

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Triton volleyball team got off to a solid start on Tuesday night against the University of Tampa, but the Spartans won a pair of close sets in the middle of the match on the way to a 3-1 win over Eckerd in the McArthur Center.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Tampa 3, Eckerd 1 (25-21, 25-27, 23-25, 19-25)
Records: Eckerd 10-6 (3-5 SSC); Tampa 9-10 (4-4 SSC)
All-Time Series: Tampa leads, 74-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
* Eckerd overcame an early 4-1 deficit in the first set by rolling off four straight points and eventually taking a two-point lead.  The turning point, though, was a five-point Triton run that turned a tied set into a 15-10 advantage  EC stayed in front for the rest of the set as the Spartans only managed to get within three points of the lead.  The Tritons used an efficient attack, hitting .294 to Tampa's .086, on the way to a 25-21 win.
* The Tritons seemed to carry the momentum into the second set, taking a quick 7-2 lead, but the Spartans fought back to tie the set at 9-9.  UT later built a 15-11 lead, taking points on six of seven rallies, before Eckerd put together a six-point run behind Paula Hoffmann's service to reclaim the lead.  After the lead changed hands three times, Eckerd looked to be in a prime position to take control of the match holding a 22-20 lead.  However, the Spartans won the next three points and, after a Stephanie Karlovics kill, got to set point following an EC attack error.  The Tritons broke set point twice but couldn't do it a third time as a tandem block by Melissa Elias and Sorrel Houghton closed a 27-25 win for Tampa.
* In the third set, it was Tampa's turn to claim an early lead, winning six of the first seven points. Eckerd responded with the same scoring run over the next seven rallies, tying the set at 7-7.  It was the first of eight ties in the set as the teams battled for position before the Tritons built a 19-16 lead. After calling timeout, the Spartans tied the set for the ninth time with three straight points.  EC retook the lead at 21-19 only to see UT tie it again.  The teams swapped points on the next four rallies, but Tampa managed to get to set point first after an Eckerd attack error.  The Spartans then avoided going into extra points for the second straight set, using a kill by Taylor Fosler to finish a 25-23 win.
* Eckerd took the first point of the fourth set on a Hoffmann kill, but soon found itself with a sizable deficit after Tampa won the next eight points.  The Tritons battled back and tied the set at 12-12 on the heels of a five-point run with three kills from Mackenzie Redner and two aces from Fernanda Reis. But UT retook control, winning six of the next seven rallies, and eventually pushed its lead back to seven.  Eckerd was unable to recover as the Spartans took the set, 25-19, and won the match.

NOTES AND NUMBERS
* Kills in the match were even with 56 for both teams, but Tampa out-hit Eckerd .230 to .180.  The fourth set was the most drastic in difference as UT committed two attack errors to Eckerd's 12.  UT hit a match-best .393 in that fourth set.
* Tampa's win was its sixth straight.  The Spartans have yet to lose in October.
* Mackenzie Redner reached double-digits in kills for the fourth straight match.  She tied for the team lead tonight with 12, along with Stephanie Karlovics.
* Kaitlyn Sibson led the back row defense with 19 digs while Arielle Erillo had 10.  Madison Whiting had six blocks to pace the team's defense at the net.

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel for a pair of road matches this weekend visiting Florida Tech on Friday and Embry-Riddle on Saturday.