TAMPA, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team opened the first day of the Tampa Invitational splitting a pair of tight contests both by scores of 3-2. The Tritons topped Jacksonville in the opener Friday morning before narrowly falling to Mercer (Ga.) in the afternoon.
In the first match, the Tritons took points in the No. 2, 4, and 5 draws for the victory over Jacksonville (2-2).
Tiani Bello and
Nicole Perekhodko picked up a win via forfeit in the No. 5 slot. The tandem of
Sam Crankshaw and
Izabela Gorys breezed to a straight-sets (21-15, 21-14) victory out of the No. 4 draw.
The duo of
Manaia Rewi and
Martina Melicherova dropped the opening set, 21-19, in the No.2 slot, but bounced back to take the second set 21-14 before taking the decisive third set, 15-10, to give the Tritons the victory.
Eckerd (2-2) grabbed the first point over Mercer (3-3) as
Agata Sklepik and
Dana Dull cruised to a 21-15, 21-6 victory in the No. 4 slot.
The Bears grabbed the next point in the No. 2 draw, evening the match at 1-1. However, Eckerd collected the next point as the No. 5 pairing of Crankshaw and Gorys took a straight-sets victory.
Mercer grabbed the next point to even the match once again before taking the match following a three-set win out of the No. 1 draw.
Eckerd faces a quick turnaround as they head back to the Tampa Invitational tomorrow for two matches. They play Tampa at 10:00 AM and Florida Gulf Coast at 4:00 PM.
Eckerd 3, Jacksonville 2
1. Morgan Dees/Shaylee Befus (JU) def.
Serena Baumgart/
Anna Jungjohann (ECBVB) 21-13, 21-12
2.
Manaia Rewi/
Martina Melicherova (ECBVB) def. Rina Mitchell/Olivia Szyszkiewicz (JU) 19-21, 21-14, 15-10
3. Giao Huynh/Kathryn Wristen (JU) def.
Dana Dull/
Agata Sklepik (ECBVB) 21-12, 21-18
4.
Sam Crankshaw/
Izabela Gorys (ECBVB) def. Kari DeYoung/Kaitlyn Sereda (JU) 21-15, 21-14
5.
Tiani Bello/
Nicole Perekhodko (ECBVB) def. No player/No player (JU), by forfeit
Mercer 3, Eckerd 2
1. Gracie Garanich/Emilee Wissmach (MER) def.
Anna Jungjohann/
Serena Baumgart (ECBVB) 19-21, 21-12, 15-3
2. Elli Merchant/Olivia Boeve (MER) def. Katana Lim/
Joelle Coulter (ECBVB) 21-17, 21-17
3. Maddie Nunley/Kacy Ogden (MER) def.
Martina Melicherova/
Manaia Rewi (ECBVB) 21-19, 21-14
4.
Agata Sklepik/
Dana Dull (ECBVB) def. Elena Sanfrey/Emily Leonard (MER) 21-15, 21-6
5.
Sam Crankshaw/
Izabela Gorys (ECBVB) def. Ellie Miller/Hana Robertson (MER) 21-11, 21-15
