Tritons Down No. 22 Central Oklahoma to Cap Opening Weekend

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Yesterday was about getting more comfortable playing together.

Today was about an upset.

The Eckerd volleyball team closed its annual invitational with a four-set win over No. 22 Central Oklahoma to cap a 3-1 start to the season on opening weekend.  Freshman Agata Sklepik's outstanding performance set the tone for the Tritons, whose fast-paced and hard-hitting attack caused more than a few problems for their opponents throughout the day.

Eckerd began the afternoon with a sweep of West Liberty (W.V.) before ending the day with its first win over a ranked team since 2017.

HOW IT ENDED
Game 1
Final: Eckerd 3, West Liberty 0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-15)
Records: Eckerd 2-1; West Liberty 1-3

Game 2
Final: Eckerd 3, #22 Central Oklahoma 1 (25-18, 25-19, 13-25, 26-24)
Records: Eckerd 3-1; UCO 3-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
Game 1

• In the first set, the Tritons rarely trailed but still had to fight a valiant comeback effort by the Lady Hilltoppers who rallied from 23-20 down to extend the set into extra points. After a kill by WLU's Olivia Baumoeher tied things at 24-24, Eckerd got kills from Anna Jungjohann and Rachel Wisian to seal the set win.
• The next two sets were much less dramatic. Trailing 9-8 in the second, Eckerd methodically pulled in front and then pulled away using a four-point run to take a 20-15 lead and West Liberty did not threaten for the remainder of the set. The third set saw Eckerd build leads of 8-3 and 13-5 which proved to be too much for WLU to overcome as the Tritons finished the sweep.

Game 2

• The Tritons dominated the first two sets against the No. 22 Bronchos, pulling away late in both to take a 2-0 match lead. In the first set, EC won points on eight straight rallies turning a one-point lead into a 22-13 advantage. A Sklepik kill and two aces by Dana Dull helped get the run started before four straight UCO errors continued to extend Eckerd's lead.
• Eckerd again pulled away late in the second set after seeing a four-point lead trimmed to one at 16-15. The Tritons didn't put together a lengthy run but rather pulled away steadily, due in part to getting four consecutive side-outs, and took a 2-0 match lead.
• In the third set, the Bronchos returned the favor with a 25-13 win despite four of the first five points going to Eckerd. UCO used a seven-point run and a five-point run to build an insurmountable lead and extend the match to a fourth set.
• While the first three sets weren't close, the fourth came down to the wire. After a series of ties and lead changes, UCO reached set point at 24-22. The Tritons, however, held firm to fend off set point twice via kills from Asya Harris and Sklepik and used strong defense to set up kills by Sklepik and Johnshoy on the next two rallies to complete the 3-1 win. 

NOTES AND NUMBERS

• Eckerd's win over Central Oklahoma was its first over a top-25 team since defeating No. 23 West Florida on October 14, 2017, in five sets.
• The Tritons hit .370 in the win over WLU, their best in a match since hitting .383 against UNC-Pembroke on September 2, 2016.
• Sklepik was outstanding in the final game with 19 kills and a .437 attack percentage as well as 12 digs.  Harris, meanwhile, carried the load in the first game with 17 kills. Harris also had 12 kills against UCO while Jungjohann had 10 kills and five blocks.
• Libero Luana Rezende made a highlight-reel play against West Liberty with a kick save on the third touch to keep a rally alive, which eventually led to a point for Eckerd.

UP NEXT
The Tritons head to Florence, South Carolina, for the Francis Marion Invitational on September 13-14 where they will play four matches over the course of two days.