GAMEDAY: Tritons Head to Lakeland for NCAA Tournament

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd volleyball team makes its ninth all-time appearance in the NCAA National Tournament this afternoon, taking on a familiar foe in Palm Beach Atlantic University at 2:30 PM in the Jenkins Fieldhouse at Florida Southern College.

Eckerd (17-11) plays the second match of the opening day against the No. 9 Sailfish (25-3), who have won the last two regional championships.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed in the region while PBA enters as the No. 2 seed. The winner of the game will go on to play the winner of the West Florida/Tampa game.
• Eckerd capped its regular season with wins over Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech, helping to lock up the tournament bid. Eckerd has also won five of its last seven matches. PBA enters the match off three straight wins, but has lost two matches in the last five games.
• Both teams have players on both the SSC All-Conference Team and All-South Region Team. Senior libero Kaitlyn Sibson was selected to the AVCA All-South Region team, becoming the third Triton in the past three years to be named to the team. Sibson was also named to the All-SSC Second team, while freshman outside hitter Paula Hoffmann was named to the All-SSC Newcomer team. From Palm Beach Atlantic, Ally Rohn and Sarah Kimmey were named to the AVCA All-South Region team. Rohn was also named the SSC Player of the Year while Kimmey, Maddie Span, and Jazz Schmidt were also named to the all-conference squad.
• Eckerd has excelled at the service line this season. As a team, they lead the conference in total aces and aces per set. The team also ranks 39th in aces per set (1.76) and 52nd in total aces (187) in all of Division II.  The Tritons are led behind the line by Arielle Erillo with 45 aces. Erillo is tied for 50th in the country in aces and 56th in the country in aces per set with 0.43. Both of those numbers also lead the conference.
• The Saiflish enter the match ranked seventh in the country in blocks per set, averaging 2.65 as a team. Leading the team is Span and Sarah Ragland who both average 1.30 per set, ranking 12th in the country.

STAT LEADERS

• Eckerd is led on the attack by the duo of Hoffmann (342 kills) and Mackenzie Redner (215). Behind the tandem is a balanced attack of three Tritons: Stephanie Karlovics (165), Abbie O'Ferrell (161), and Madison Whiting (151).  Hoffmann ranks seventh in the conference with 3.45 kills per set. In the last four matches, Redner has been hitting at a .379 clip and in three of the four matches has committed only one error per match.
• The Eckerd defense is led by Sibson with 537 digs. Her total digs rank tied for 78^th in the nation while her 5.07 digs per set rank tied for 67^th in Division II.
• Rohn and Reagan Grooms lead the attack for the Sailfish with 309 and 237 kills respectively. Behind the pair are four Sailfish with over 100 kills apiece. Rohn also leads the country in triple-doubles for the year with 12 recorded this season while averaging 3.43 digs per set and 4.78 assists per set as well. Paving the back row is Susie Forbes with 426 digs.

PREVIOUS MATCHUPS

• PBA traveled to the McArthur Center on September 22nd and walked away with a straight-sets win. Hoffmann led the attack for Eckerd with 17 kills, while Sibson paced the back row with 14 digs.
• Eckerd looked to knock off the Sailfish in the second matchup of the season on October 28th in West Palm Beach. The Tritons won the second and third sets putting them up two sets to one and in prime position to upset the Sailfish, but dropped the next two sets for a five-set loss. Hoffmann tallied 21 kills while Redner recorded 19. Sibson had 33 digs and Erillo had 16.