FLORENCE, S.C. - The Eckerd volleyball team extended its early-season winning streak to five matches on Friday after picking up a pair of victories at the Francis Marion Invitational.
The Tritons breezed to a straight-sets win over the University of Mount Olive (N.C.) before fighting through errors to defeat host Francis Marion, 3-1.
HOW IT ENDED
Match 1
Final: Eckerd 3, Mount Olive 0 (25-18, 25-7, 25-21)
Records: Eckerd 4-1; Mount Olive 0-1
Match 2
Final: Eckerd 3, Francis Marion 1 (25-20, 16-25, 25-18, 25-14)
Records: Eckerd 5-1; Francis Marion 4-2
HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1
- The first set was tight from the outset with eight ties and two lead changes until the Tritons won three straight points for a 12-9 lead. After a series of six straight side-outs, Eckerd pushed the lead to four points and later used another three-point run to go ahead 21-15. Â EC controlled things for the remainder of the set, taking advantage of UMO errors to close a 25-18 win.
- The Tritons dominated the second set, racing to a 13-2 lead after a six-point run and a five-point run. Â UMO was unable to mount any semblance of a comeback as Eckerd continued to extend its lead and closed the set by winning five straight points. EC gave the Trojans all sorts of problems at the service line, totaling seven aces in the 25-7 set win.
- Eckerd threatened to pull away early in the third set after taking a 7-3 lead but the Trojans quickly pulled within one. The Tritons later built another sizable margin using three straight points to go ahead, 16-10. Though EC led the rest of the set, Mount Olive rallied to make it close. A run of four straight UMO points pulled the Trojans within three at 18-15 moments before three straight Triton miscues allowed Mount Olive to cut the deficit to 22-20. Eckerd regrouped, however, and won points on three of the next four rallies to complete the sweep.
Match 2
- Eckerd trailed early in the first set, 10-6, but took points in six of the next seven rallies to claim the lead following back-to-back aces from Sydney Case. Â EC's lead remained slim for a while and FMU eventually tied it at 19-19 before the Tritons closed the set by winning six of the last seven points.
- The Tritons were plagued by errors in the second set, which allowed the Patriots to build a sizable lead. Trailing the entire set, Eckerd managed to pull within a point at 10-9 but three straight errors ended the push and EC never recovered. Â FMU scored points on seven straight rallies for a commanding 23-11 lead. The Tritons made a late run taking four straight points but had dug a hole too deep as the hosts evened the match at a set apiece.
- An early four-point Eckerd lead in the third set was erased but the Tritons eventually pushed the lead back to that margin at 18-14 following three straight points. Francis Marion could only get within two points of the lead and EC wrapped the set by winning six of the last seven points for a 25-18 win and a 2-1 match lead.
- Strong play in the middle from Sarah Johnshoy and Anna Jungjohann helped Eckerd race to a 12-7 lead in the fourth set as the duo combined for four straight points. The Tritons kept the pressure on, running off four straight points to extend their lead to 19-10 and dominated the rest of the way en route to a 25-14 set win to secure the match.
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- The Tritons had a season-high 11 aces in the win over Mount Olive while hitting .395, the highest attack percentage for an Eckerd team since hitting .402 against UNC-Pembroke on September 11, 2015.
- Rachel Wisian led EC's attack in the opener with 10 kills while Sarah Johnshoy added nine; both hit over .500 for the match.
- After committing only eight attack errors against UMO, the Tritons committed 28 against Francis Marion.
- Asya Harris tied her season-high in kills with 17 against FMU, the third time in six matches to record that number of kills. Â Agata Sklepik added 10 in the victory.
UP NEXT
Eckerd plays twice tomorrow taking on Converse (S.C.) College at 11:00 AM and UNC-Pembroke at 7:00 PM.
