ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Eckerd beach volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on senior day against Florida Southern, both by a score of 3-2 on Sunday morning at the North Shore Courts.
Florida Southern (17-5) narrowly took the No. 3 and 4 draws in the opener, but EC rallied to take the top two draws before falling by default in the No. 5 slot.
The pairing of Mariana Olivares-Cely and Sophia Romigh narrowly fell in the No. 3 draw, 21-19 and 21-15. Nicki Bechtold and Tiani Bello played a thrilling three-set match out of the No. 4 slot, dropping the opening set 21-19, but bouncing back in the second 21-14, before ultimately falling 15-10 in the pivotal third set.
Eckerd rallied as Dana Dull, and Anna Jungjohann cruised to a 21-13 first-set win in the No. 1 draw, capturing EC's first point of the day with a close 22-20 second-set win. The No. 2 pairing of Joelle Coulter and Nicole Perekhodko also won their matchup, 21-16 and 21-15, before Eckerd lost the fifth set by forfeit.
In the second match, the Tritons again won two points. This time, fortune favored Bechtold and Bello in the No. 4 draw, as they won their match 21-16 and 21-19 to give Eckerd its first point. Dull and Jungjohann again got the job done in the No. 1 position, besting FSC's Celia-Rae Greco and Erica Ronda 21-17 and 21-18. Olivares and Romigh barely dropped the first set of the No. 2 matchup, 23-21, before falling in the second 21-16. Coulter and Perekhodko also lost a close first set 23-21 and fell in the second 21-13.
The Tritons (1-13) move to the AVCA Small College Championships, beginning on Friday.
Game One
Florida Southern 3, Eckerd 2
1. Dana Dull/Anna Jungjohann (ECBVB) def. Celia-Rae Greco/Erica Ronda (FSC) 21-13, 22-20
2. Joelle Coulter/Nicole Perekhodko (ECBVB) def. Sarah Crocker/Kennedy Mathews (FSC) 21-16, 21-15
3. Olivia D'Agostino/Haley Goodrich (FSC) def. Mariana Olivares/Sophia Romigh (ECBVB) 21-19, 21-15
4. Bethany Jones/Abby Knoop (FSC) def. Nicki Bechtold/Tiani Bello (ECBVB) 21-9, 14-21, 15-10
5. Haley St. Martin/Curry Ward (FSC) def. No player/No player (ECBVB), by forfeit
Game Two
Florida Southern 3, Eckerd 2
1. Dana Dull/Anna Jungjohann (ECBVB) def. Celia-Rae Greco/Erica Ronda (FSC) 21-17, 21-18
2. Sarah Crocker/Kennedy Mathews (FSC) def. Joelle Coulter/Nicole Perekhodko (ECBVB) 23-21, 21-16
3. Olivia D'Agostino/Haley Goodrich (FSC) def. Mariana Olivares/Sophia Romigh (ECBVB) 23-21, 21-13
4. Nicki Bechtold/Tiani Bello (ECBVB) def. Bethany Jones/Abby Knoop (FSC) 21-16, 21-19
5. Haley St. Martin/Curry Ward (FSC) def. No player/No player (ECBVB), by forfeit
