Tritons Down Sharks in Four Sets

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Eckerd volleyball team broke a three-match skid and picked up its first Sunshine State Conference win of the season Friday night, defeating Nova Southeastern on the road in four sets.

HOW IT ENDED
Final: Eckerd 3, Nova Southeastern 1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-20, 25-16)
Records: Eckerd 5-3 (1-3 SSC); NSU 4-4 (2-2 SSC)
All-Time Series: Eckerd leads, 34-21

HOW IT HAPPENED
* Eckerd started the night on fire, taking the first six points of the opening set for a commanding early edge.  Nova Southeastern managed to get back within three points on two occasions before the Tritons won four straight points for an 18-11 lead.  EC kept the Sharks at bay for the remainder of the set on the way to a comfortable eight-point win.
* The Tritons jumped ahead early again in the second set, winning five consecutive points for a 7-3 lead.  NSU, though, battled back and took the lead behind a five-point run of its own.  Eckerd appeared to return momentum to its favor later in the set, going ahead 16-14, but the Sharks used a pair of four-point runs to pull away and even the match at one set apiece.
* After a tight start to set three, Eckerd won points on 10 of 11 rallies to take a 15-7 lead.  Nova answered with five points in a row - four from EC errors - to pull within three.  The Sharks later rolled off three straight points to tie the set at 18-18, erasing Eckerd's once-sizable lead.  But the Tritons didn't fold, instead responding with three straight points of their own, the last two via blocks from Payton Meader and Madison Whiting.  NSU narrowed the lead to one (21-20) but two straight kills from Kali Boatwright forced a Sharks timeout.  EC then closed the set with two more points capped by an Arielle Erillo ace for a 25-20 win.
* The Tritons took yet another early lead in the fourth set, rolling off four straight points behind Erillo's service for an 8-3 advantage.  The Sharks closed the deficit to three points at 13-10 before EC padded its lead with another four-point run.  This time, the deficit proved too much for Nova Southeastern to overcome as Eckerd took the final three points of the set to close the match.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
* After struggling with errors in their first three conference matches, the Tritons significantly limited miscues tonight.  EC committed only 16 attack errors while putting away 47 kills for a .244 hitting percentage.
* Eckerd's 10 aces were the team's second most this season.  The Tritons recorded 11 last week against Rollins.  Fernanda Reis led the team with four aces, her final ace served on match point.
* Boatwright (15 kills, 15 digs) and Paula Hoffmann (13 kills, 12 digs) both posted double-doubles.  Kaitlyn Sibson added a team-high 17 digs.

NOTABLE
* Eckerd's win tonight was its sixth in a row over Nova Southeastern.
* Boatwright's 15-kill performance marked her first double-digit output of the season.  It was also her 12th double-double at Eckerd.

QUOTABLE
"This was a great road win and it was a big one for us as we really came together and bounced back as a team.  Kali stepped up and had an incredible match.  The defense did a good job executing our game plan.  It was a great team win." - EC head coach Michelle Piantadosi-Lima

UP NEXT
The Tritons finish their southeast Florida swing tomorrow, visiting Barry University for a 4:00 PM SSC showdown.