Tritons Sweep Twice on Opening Day at EC Invitational

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opening day was a good day for the Eckerd volleyball team as the Tritons won both of their matches at the EC Invitational in straight sets, defeating West Georgia and Kentucky Wesleyan in the McArthur Center.

The Tritons received impressive debuts from Paula Hoffmann and Abbie O'Ferrell while a veteran squad showed plenty of balance as the team cruised to a pair of victories.

HOW IT ENDED
Final (Game 1): Eckerd 3, West Georgia 0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-13)
Records: Eckerd 1-0, West Georgia 0-1
All-Time Series: West Georgia leads, 3-2

Final (Game 2): Eckerd 3, Kentucky Wesleyan 0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-21)
Records: Eckerd 2-0, Kentucky Wesleyan 0-2
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. West Georgia)
- Following a bit of a slow start to the first set, the Tritons took control after winning points in 10 of 13 rallies, turning an 8-7 deficit into a 17-11 lead.  Eckerd then got three straight kills from O'Ferrell to extend the lead to eight points before winning the final four points of the set to take a 1-0 lead.  O'Ferrell put away eight kills in the set.
- Eckerd took control from the start in set two, building a quick 7-1 lead behind the service of Arielle Erillo.  Hoffmann then took over on the attack, tallying six kills in the set as EC breezed to a 14-point win.
- In the third set, the Tritons looked primed to pull away early once again after building a 13-8 lead following four consecutive points.  West Georgia, however, won points on three of the next four rallies to pull back within three and was still within striking distance moments later at 17-13.  That was as close as the Wolves could get as Eckerd rolled off eight straight points to put the set and match away, capped by a tandem block by Hoffman and Stephanie Karlovics.

HOW IT HAPPENED (vs. Kentucky Wesleyan)
- Eckerd raced out to an early lead in the opening set, going ahead 11-5 behind a balanced attack.  Kentucky Wesleyan managed to pull back within two points at 12-10 before EC answered with runs of three and four consecutive points for a 20-12 lead.  The Tritons then finished off the set by taking the final four points for a comfortable first-set victory.
- A run of seven straight points early in the second set helped Eckerd build a 10-4 lead over the Panthers.  KWC cut the deficit down to four but the Tritons stepped on the gas, rolling off four consecutive points and eventually extending the lead to 23-13.  The Panthers stayed alive by taking three straight points before EC closed out the set on a kill by Hoffman and a block by Johnshoy and Rachel Cornatzer.
- The third set turned out to be much more of a battle than the first two.  The Tritons held a four-point advantage early but Kentucky Wesleyan fought back, tying the set at 15-15 and again at 18-18.  Eckerd finally created some breathing room on a Cornatzer kill and Hoffman ace in building a 23-19 lead, and eventually closed out the match on an O'Ferrell kill after the two teams traded side-outs over four rallies.

LEADING THE WAY (vs. West Georgia)
- Hoffman and O'Ferrell were fantastic in their Eckerd debuts.  Hoffmann recorded a double-double with a team-high 16 kills and 12 digs while O'Ferrell added 13 kills.
- Kaitlyn Sibson and Arielle Erillo paced the team's back-row defense with 14 digs each.
- Sarah Johnshoy, Madison Whiting and Karlovics helped balance the team's attack.  Johnshoy had seven kills while Whiting and Karlovics each put away six.
- Fernanda Reis recorded a career-high 39 assists and led the team in aces with three.

LEADING THE WAY (vs. Kentucky Wesleyan)
- O'Ferrell capped her day with a double-double, leading the attack with 14 kills and adding 14 digs.  Hoffmann narrowly missed her second double-double of the day with nine kills and 16 digs.
- Johnshoy led the team's defense at the net with six blocks (one solo, five assisted).  Whiting and Cornatzer each had two block assists.
- Sibson was outstanding on the back row with 22 digs on her way to setting a new program record for digs in a career.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Eckerd was progressively more efficient on the attack against West Georgia, hitting .310 in the opening set followed by .343 in the second and .438 in the third.  The Tritons had 51 total kills compared to 14 for West Georgia.
- EC also had a big advantage in kills against KWC, putting away 42 versus 25 for the visitors.

NOTABLE
- Sibson etched her name into the Eckerd record books yet again as she became the program's all-time leader in career digs in the third set of the win over Kentucky Wesleyan.  Her 18th dig of the match moved her past Kristy Busse with 1,646 during her time as a Triton.  She already holds the program's record for the most digs in a season with 601, a milestone she achieved last season.

QUOTABLE
"Overall, I thought our upperclassmen did an incredible job with making sure the team was prepared for both matches today.  That preparation really set the tone for us to come out and take care of business.  Our outsides were very dependable and the defense was strong.  The biggest thing that was evident was our team chemistry." - EC head coach Michelle Piantadosi-Lima

UP NEXT
- The Tritons wrap up the tournament on Saturday taking on St. Edward's (Texas) at 3:00 PM followed by Notre Dame (Ohio) at 7:30 PM.