Tritons Complete Perfect Weekend at South Region Crossover

ORLANDO, Fla. - Two more straight-sets wins capped a perfect weekend for the Eckerd volleyball team at the South Region Crossover on Saturday as the Tritons swept both Union (Tenn.) and Christian Brothers (Tenn.) of the Gulf South Conference.

HOW IT ENDED
Match 1 
Final: Eckerd 3, Union 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-17)
Records: Eckerd 11-11; Union 5-22

Match 2
Final: Eckerd 3, Christian Brothers 0 (25-19, 27-25, 25-23)
Records: Eckerd 12-11, CBU 11-15

HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1

• Eckerd methodically pulled away from Union in the first set while not allowing Union to win more than two consecutive points.  The Tritons hit a blistering .417 in the set with 17 kills on the way to a 1-0 lead.
• A seven-point run in set two gave Eckerd a 15-6 lead.  The Tritons continued to dominate, later rolling off five straight points and reaching set pointat 24-11.  Union battled to stay alive and won points on six straight rallies before a Paula Hoffmann kill capped the set.
• Behind the service of Arielle Erillo, Eckerd opened the third set with six straight points including two Erillo aces.  It set the tone for the remainder of the set as EC led by as many as nine and Union never got closer than four. The Tritons hit .444 in the set and finished off the Bulldogs with their third straight 25-17 win.

Match 2

• Christian Brothers held a 13-11 lead in set one, but Eckerd took over from that point forward beginning with an Abbie O'Ferrell kill.  The Tritons won 14 of the next 22 rallies in pulling away with a 25-19 win.
• The Tritons again overcame a deficit in the second set, this time trailing 16-14.  EC won points on five of the next six rallies and later had the Buccaneers on the ropes with a 23-19 lead.  However, CBU survived set point three times and forced the set into extra points.  Eckerd finally scored a 27-25 win on an O'Ferrell kill and Lauren Kadilis ace.
• Eckerd led for the majority of the third set and seemed poised to run away with it after six straight points resulted in a 20-11 lead.  Once again, the Bucs battled back and eventually tied the set at 22-22. O'Ferrell came up big with two late kills, the last of which gave EC a 3-0 win.

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd posted its two highest hitting pecentages of the season in today's matches (.365 vs. Union, .327 vs. Christian Brothers).
• O'Ferrell was key to the team's success with 12 kills and 13 digs against Union and 17 kills against CBU.
• The straight-sets wins were Eckerd's sixth and seventh of the season.
• The Tritons are 11-1 at the South Region Crossover in the last four years.

UP NEXT
Eckerd hits the road for three SSC matches beginning on Tuesday at Saint Leo for a 7:00 PM start.