ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons volleyball team won its first two games of the annual Eckerd Classic on Friday, defeating the Puerto-Rico Mayaguez Tarzans in straight sets before knocking off the Ohio Dominican Panthers in five.
In match one against Puerto-Rico Mayaguez, the Tritons boasted an efficient offensive showing with a hitting percentage of .367 and excelled at the service line with nine aces.
Eckerd surged to a 9-2 lead in the opening frame with a series of consecutive points, including three kills from
Hayden Nash during that span. Despite a mid-set rally by UPRM, Eckerd maintained its lead and closed the set decisively at 25-18 with
Peyton Walker's kill to seal the win. The Tritons quickly established a lead with a series of three straight points to begin the second and eventually owned a 6-1 advantage early on after
Kinga Michalska notched a couple of kills. Later in the set, Michalska delivered a streak of three consecutive service aces to extend the Tritons' advantage to 14-4 and the team maintained its double-digit differential to a 25-15 victory.
Nyla Muskovin collected three kills in a row to begin the third and the Tritons led all the way through to the end, winning 25-20 to complete the sweep.
Michalska led the charge with 10 kills on 19 attempts, boasting a .526 hitting percentage, and contributed five service aces. Muskovin added eight kills on 15 swings, hitting .533, and served one ace. Nash recorded eight kills with a .571 hitting percentage, while also contributing two blocks.
Gabi Jedrzejczak set up the offense with 21 assists and added nine digs.
The victory was good for the Tritons' fifth straight season-opening win.
In the second contest of the day vs. Ohio Dominican, the Tritons fell behind following a 25-16 loss in the first set and a 25-19 setback in the second. After falling into a 6-1 hole in the third, Eckerd used a 5-0 run of its own to even the score at eight points apiece. From there, the two teams went back and forth, with the Tritons eventually extending the match with a close 25-22 victory.
It was all Eckerd in the fourth, seeing four kills from Michalska early on to propel the team to a 10-2 advantage. The Panthers got within six at 14-8, but a pair of 3-0 scoring spurts moved the margin out to its largest of the game at 23-12. Despite the three of the next four rallies going Ohio Dominican's way, a block by Muskovin notched the fourth game and pulled the Tritons even to force a fifth and deciding set.
The Panthers grabbed three of the first four points scored in the finale, but kills by Nash and Michalska highlighted a 5-1 scoring run for Eckerd to put the team out in front at 6-4. The Tritons never lost the lead the rest of the way and secured the win with the final three points scored, capitalized by
Jaelynn Tunley's kill to capture the 15-10 victory.
As a team, the Tritons hit .235 while holding the Panthers to just .196. Michalska led the attack with 17 kills and also was the team leader in digs at 15, while Tunley added 13 kills and 12 digs. Jedrzejczak contributed 41 assists and Walked posted a pair of blocks.
With the win, Eckerd sits at 2-0 after day one of the Eckerd Classic and will face Maryville and Bemidji State tomorrow.
