ST. PETERSBURG -- Kinga Michalska became the new single-season record holder for service aces on Friday, earning her 73rd of the season in the team's thrilling 3-2 comeback win over the visiting Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish.
The Sailfish took a commanding 2-0 lead in the match following a pair of 25-19 victories. In the third, PBA appeared to take control early with the game's first three points, but an error from the visitors and a service ace by
Sydney Williams jumpstarted a 6-2 scoring run for the Tritons to move them out in front. The two teams traded points and the Sailfish regained the lead after winning the race to 10 points to grab a 10-9 advantage. Following kills by Michalska and
Kaitlyn Dohs, the Tritons remained in the lead for the rest of the set, building an advantage of as many as seven on three different occasions. Palm Beach Atlantic threatened late and got within three at 23-20 and even closer at 24-22, but Michalska's kill gave Eckerd the win and extended the match to a fourth set.
In the fourth, both teams saw time in front early on, but neither held a lead of more than three points until
Gabi Jedrzejczak's second service ace of the set gave Eckerd an 18-14 advantage. The cushion increased to five moments later at 20-15 to force a PBA timeout, but the Sailfish secured five of the ensuing seven points to pull within two at 22-20. Dohs' kill on the next rally halted the momentum, and back-to-back kills from Michalska sealed the 25-22 triumph to force a fifth and final set.
Michalska grabbed another kill to give Eckerd a 1-0 lead in the fifth, but the team was met by three straight scores from the visitors. The Tritons answered with a 3-0 run of their own and grabbed three of four rally wins following a 4-4 tie to take an 8-5 lead into the switch. Leading 9-6, Eckerd saw consecutive kills from
Natalie Aniol to push the differential out to five, eventually grabbing the final three points of the contest on a pair of kills by Michalska and a block from Jedrzejczak. Eckerd hit .318 in the final frame with 10 kills and held PBA to an even 0.00 offensively.Â
Michalska tied a career high in an Eckerd uniform with 22 kills on .328 efficiency. She also added 10 digs, three aces, and a block. Her final service ace in set two gave her 73 for the season, breaking the previous single-season record of 72 set by Regiane Silva in 2008.Â
Peyton Walker and Dohs also grabbed double-digit kills, with Walker tallying 12 on 22 attempts. Dohs contributed a team-high 16 digs to go with her 10 kills. Jedrzejczak had 47 assists, 15 digs, and four blocks.
With the win, the Tritons improve to 18-12 overall and 8-11 in the SSC. The team will close out the regular season tomorrow vs. Nova Southeastern for Senior Night.
