Tritons Edged by No. 23 Saint Leo in Five Sets

SAINT LEO, Fla. - For the second time in two weeks, the Eckerd volleyball team held a 2-1 lead over a nationally-ranked opponent on the road but was unable to close the match as No. 23 Saint Leo came from behind for a five-set win on Tuesday night.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: No. 23 Saint Leo 3, Eckerd 2 (22-25, 25-22, 29-27, 18-25, 8-15)
Records: Eckerd 14-10 (7-9 SSC); Saint Leo 19-5 (13-3 SSC)
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 40-37

HOW IT HAPPENED
* The first set was a back-and-forth affair from the opening serve with 10 ties, the eighth of which knotted the score at 13-13.  Saint Leo created some breathing room midway through the set, taking points on six of seven rallies for a 19-14 lead.  The Tritons, however, returned the favor moments later to force another tie at 21-21.  The teams then traded kills before the Lions won the next three points to take the set.
* After another tightly-contested start to the second set, Eckerd broke a 12-12 tie with a run of four straight points.  Saint Leo managed to pull within two points on several occasions, but the Tritons didn't allow their opponents to draw any closer.  A kill by Stephanie Karlovics brought EC to set point, and two serves later Mackenzie Redner finished it with her fourth kill of the frame as Eckerd evened the match at one set apiece.
* Saint Leo took control early in the third set and built a sizable 15-7 lead.  Eckerd, though, won the next five points to pull within three and later used a four-point run to tie the set at 17-17.  The teams swapped the lead four times, the last swinging the score in favor of the Tritons on an SLU attack error to get Eckerd to set point.  The Lions broke set point four times before EC finally finished a 29-27 win on another Redner kill.
* SLU again claimed an early lead in the fourth set, but this time the Lions didn't allow it to slip away.  A 9-0 run was a difference-maker from which Eckerd could not recover.  Saint Leo led by as many as 11 points before a late EC run trimmed the deficit to six, but it proved to be too late as the Lions forced a decisive fifth set.
* In a repeat of the fourth set, the Lions put together a lengthy scoring run behind Reggie Vandevender's service, rolling off seven consecutive points for a 10-3 lead. Back-to-back aces by Abbie O'Ferrell helped the Tritons get within five points late in the set but Eckerd made no additional headway as Saint Leo avoided the upset on its home floor.

NOTES AND NUMBERS
* Madison Whiting set a new career-high in kills with 14 to lead the Triton attack.  
* Four players reached double-digits in kills for Eckerd, the first time since October 14.  Redner had 13 while Paula Hoffmann added 11 and O'Ferrell tallied 10.
* Arielle Erillo also set a new career-high with 25 digs, leading five players in double figures.  Kaitlyn Sibson had 25 while Hoffmann (13), O'Ferrell (14) and Fernanda Reis (17) all posted double-doubles. Reis had 44 assists for her third double-double of the year.

UP NEXT
The Tritons travel to face Lynn University on Saturday at 4:00 PM.  Eckerd won the first meeting this season in St. Petersburg, 3-1.