VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Eckerd volleyball team remained undefeated on the weekend following a pair of 3-1 victories over Arkansas - Fort Smith and Albany State (Ga.) on the second day of the VSU Classic on Saturday.
The pair of wins were historic for head coach, Michelle Piantadosi-Lima, giving her 146 program victories to become Eckerd's all-time wins leader.
UAFS and EC swapped leads for most of the first set in the opener, but the Lions used a 7-2 run to take the opening set, 25-20. In the second set, the Tritons held a steady favor, but the Lions used a late 8-2 run to even the set at 26-26. However, Eckerd used a Joelle Coulter kill and a Lions error to take the set, 28-26. The Tritons used a late 14-2 run to take the third set, 25-18. The final set remained tight throughout, but EC capped the set with a 4-1 run to take the match, 25-23.
Eckerd opened its match with Albany State on a 13-1 run before cruising to take the set, 25-12. ASU opened the second set on a 7-2 run and remained in front the rest of the way to take the set, 25-17. After a tight start to the third set, EC used an 8-1 run to distance themselves mid-set before taking the third, 25-21. The Tritons maintained a slight edge throughout the final set before taking the match, 25-19, following a Golden Rams error.
HOW IT ENDED
Game One
FINAL: Eckerd 3, Arkansas- Fort Smith 1 (22-25, 28-26, 25-18, 25-23)
Game Two
FINAL: Eckerd 3, Albany State 1 (25-12, 17-25, 25-21, 25-19)
RECORDS: Eckerd 7-1, Albany State 1-4, Arkansas - Fort Smith 5-3
NOTES AND NUMBERS
- Four Tritons recorded double-digit kills in the opener: Ranya Mehta (12), Rachel Wisian (10), Agata Sklepik (10), and Coulter (10).
- Coulter recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 15 digs against the Lions. She added seven kills and a team-high 18 digs in the finale.
- Krysten Garrison flirted with a triple-double for the third time this year with 43 assists, eight kills, and seven digs versus UAFS.
- Anna Jungjohann collected eight kills against UAFS while committing zero errors for a .500 hitting percentage.
- Wisian led EC in the finale with 14 kills while hitting at a .522 percent clip. She finished the tournament with 39 kills and hitting .413 percent.
- Garrison ended the tournament averaging 10.23 assists per set.
- Piantadosi-Lima tied Courtney Draper's wins record at 145 in the opener before breaking the record against the Golden Rams.
- The 4-0 weekend extends EC's win streak to six matches.
QUOTABLE
"We were really proud of the team this weekend because we were in tough situations and numerous close sets, but the team stayed steady and confident. We saw them pull through at the end of close sets more and more, which shows a lot of confidence from our team," said Piantadosi-Lima. "Krysten [Garrison] has been doing an incredible job running the offense efficiently and making excellent decisions while being an offensive threat herself. We are really happy with where we are at, and of course, we see the things that need to improve moving into SSC play."
UP NEXT
Eckerd returns to the McArthur Center on Friday for its SSC opener against No. 7 Tampa at 7:00 PM.
