LAKELAND, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team collected wins in the No. 3, 4, and 5, draws to edge Florida Southern, 3-2, Saturday morning, snapping a losing streak in the process at the Ruthven Beach Courts. EC then fell to Palm Beach Atlantic, 4-1, in the afternoon.
Playing together for the first time, the duo of Dana Dull and Martina Melicherova breezed to a 21-12, 21-10 victory in the No. 4 draw for Eckerd's first point.
Florida Southern (0-8) collected the win in the No. 2 slot to even the score, but Manaia Rewi and Agata Sklepik quickly gave EC a 2-1 edge with a 21-8, 21-10 victory in the No. 3 position.
The Mocs evened the match once again taking the No. 1 draw, but the tandem of Sam Crankshaw and Izabela Gorys sealed the victory for the Tritons with a 21-17, 21-16 win in the No. 5 slot.
"I think the new pairings brought an excitement to the team, and this is just the beginning for us," said head coach Michelle Piantadosi-Lima. "It was nice to get a win today. We needed that momentum as we move into the last part of the season."
Eckerd (3-9) narrowly came away with the victory over Palm Beach Atlantic (6-4) in the finale. The Tritons collected the win in the No. 5 slot and barely fell in a pair of three sets thrillers in the No. 3 and 4 draws. The Sailfish also took the No. 1 and 2 positions for the victory.
The No. 4 pairing of Dull and Melicherova bounced back from an opening set loss (21-15) to take the second set 21-18 but fell in the third, 15-8.
Rewi and Sklepik in the No. 3 slot fell in a similar fashion dropping the opening set, 21-14, before taking the second, 21-18 and were edged 16-14 in the third.
Crankshaw and Gorys collected EC's only victory (21-15, 21-18) out of the No. 5 spot. The duo is now 9-3 on the season.
Eckerd faces a two week break before returning to action as they host the Battle on the Bay at the North Shore Courts on April 10-11.
Eckerd 3, Florida Southern 2
1. Haley Goodrich/Kayla Trefren (FSCBVB) def. Nicki Bechtold/Serena Baumgart (ECBVB) 21-15, 21-6
2. Celia Greco/Erica Ronda (FSCBVB) def. Anna Jungjohann/Kitana Lim (ECBVB) 21-17, 21-15
3. Manaia Rewi/Agata Sklepik (ECBVB) def. Kennedy Mathews/Sarah Crocker (FSCBVB) 21-8, 21-10
4. Dana Dull/Martina Melicherova (ECBVB) def. Mandee Eberle/Bethany Jones (FSCBVB) 21-12, 21-10
5. Sam Crankshaw/Izabela Gorys (ECBVB) def. Madelyn Grim/Olivia D'Agostino (FSCBVB) 21-17, 21-16
Ext. Curry Ward/Hanna Sifford (FSCBVB) def. Nicki Bechtold/Tiani Bello (ECBVB) 21-13, 18-21, 15-13
Palm Beach Atlantic 4, Eckerd 1
1. Jazz Schmidt/Lunden Evans (PBABVB) def. Nicki Bechtold/Serena Baumgart (ECBVB) 21-7, 21-9
2. Lyndzey Minter/Abby Devido (PBABVB) def. Anna Jungjohann/Kitana Lim (ECBVB) 21-11, 23-21
3. Olivia Finckel/Emma Pieper (PBABVB) def. Manaia Rewi/Agata Sklepik (ECBVB) 21-14, 18-21, 16-14
4. Julia Golichowski/Gabriella Aziz (PBABVB) def. Dana Dull/Martina Melicherova (ECBVB) 21-15, 18-21, 15-8
5. Sam Crankshaw/Izabela Gorys (ECBVB) def. Jessica Nodell/Sydney Wagner (PBABVB) 21-15, 21-18
Ext. Abigail Mason/Karla Cantero (PBABVB) def. Nicki Bechtold/Tiani Bello (ECBVB) 21-13, 21-17
