Tritons Win Final Two Matches at Battle On The Bay

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team capped its final day of play in the inaugural Battle On The Bay Invitational with a pair of wins, defeating Jacksonville State (Ala.) University and Huntingdon (Ala.) College to finish the weekend with a 3-2 record.

After falling to Florida International, 5-0, to open the day, the Tritons were dominant in their final two contests.  Eckerd downed the Gamecocks, 4-1, before sweeping the Hawks, 5-0, with five straight-sets decisions.

Playing in the No. 1 pair, Kaitlyn Sibson and Madison Whiting scored a thrilling three-set win over JSU's Jae-Lyn Visscher and Katie Will in the day's second contest.  Sibson and Whiting won the first set, 21-12, before falling in the second, 21-16, sending the match into a third set.  The Triton duo built a comfortable lead once there and closed out a 15-11 win to earn a point.

The Tritons (9-7) scored straight-sets wins over JSU in the No. 3, 4, and 5 spots.  Arielle Erillo and Abigail O'Ferrell outlasted Maddie Coulter and Sadie Anderson, 22-20, in the first set before grabbing a 21-14 win in the second.  Stephanie Bogda and Rachel Cornatzer held off Hailey Hughes and Shayla Schmidt in the No. 4 flight, 21-16 and 21-19, while Savanna Cary and Mackenzie Redner took a pair of 21-15 wins in the No. 5 position.

Eckerd carried the momentum into its final match of the weekend with a dominant win over Huntingdon.  The Hawks reached double-digits in points in only two of the 10 sets in the match.

Fernanda Reis and Katie Arnette earned their first win of the day in the No. 2 position defeating Bria Rochelle and Alex Creasman, 21-15 and 21-5.  Erillo and O'Ferrell made quick work of their opponents, 21-4 and 21-8, at the No. 3 pair.  Bogda and Cornatzer (21-7, 21-5) did the same, as did Cary and Redner with a 21-9, 21-4 win at the No. 5 spot.

Whiting and Sibson continued their strong play as the No. 1 pair with a 21-10, 21-7 victory.

The Tritons return to action on April 7-9 at the Fiesta On Siesta Invitational in Siesta Key.  Last year, Eckerd won the small college division national championship at the event.

BOX SCORES: FIU 5, EC 0 | EC 4, JSU 1 | EC 5, HC 0