ST. PETERSBURG -- The Eckerd Tritons volleyball team made it a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Eckerd Classic after picking up a pair of wins on Saturday. The Tritons battled to a 3-2 win over the Maryville Saints before closing out the night with a sweep of the Bemidji State Beavers.
In match one, Eckerd opened the first set with a strong defensive stand, highlighted by
Peyton Walker and
Seiler Hruska's block to score the first point. Despite a back-and-forth early exchange, Eckerd capitalized on a series of well-executed plays, including a service ace by
Hayden Nash and kills from
Nyla Muskovin and
Kinga Michalska to build a 16-8 lead. The Saints surged back to tie the score and eventually earn their own lead at 21-19, but a 6-2 run from the Tritons sealed the first set. Muskovin had five kills and a block in the opening frame, including the game-winning kill to put Eckerd up 1-0.
After another back-and-forth set resulted in a two-point win for the Saints, the Tritons broke away from an early tie in the third to build an 11-8 advantage. Maryville responded with the next six rally wins and eventually posted a 19-17 lead late in the frame. The Tritons answered with a 4-0 scoring spurt, which included consecutive service aces from Muskovin. The Saints fought off two set points, but Walker's kill at 24-23 moved Eckerd back out in front in the match. The fourth set belonged to the Saints as the visitors collected a 25-19 win to force a fifth and final game.
In the decisive fifth set, Eckerd took immediate control with a 3-0 start, highlighted by a kill and service ace from
Kinga Michalska. After Maryville got within a point at 4-3, the Tritons rattled off four straight scores and eventually pushed the differential out to seven at 11-4. The Saints hung around with three of the next four points going their way, but three kills by Michalska helped Eckerd close out the match.
Four Tritons were in double figures in the kills category, led by Muskovin and
Hayden Nash with 13 apiece. Walker was close behind with 12 and Michalska was next with 11.
Gabi Jedrzejczak contributed a career-high 54 assists and also added 18 digs.
In the night cap vs. the Beavers, Eckerd started with a quick 4-1 run before the game quickly drew even moments later. The first set was filled with several lead changes and ties, all the way up to a 17-17 score after each team exchanged 5-0 scoring runs. The Tritons broke away with four of the next five points and held on to a 25-21 victory after seeing seven kills account for their final seven points. Eckerd battled back from an early 4-1 deficit in the second to mirror its first-set score of 25-21 and make it a 2-0 score in the match.
In the third, the Tritons won the race to 10 points and never lost the lead the rest of the way. Trailing by as many as six, the Beavers cut it to three at a score of 20-17, but Eckerd countered with a 3-0 run of its own to extend the cushion back out. An attack error from the visitors halted their comeback threat as the Tritons completed the sweep with a final of 25-22.
Michalski notched a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs, while Muskovin also reached double figures with 10 kills.
Maggie Turner posted a match-high 15 digs in the win.
Eckerd now sits at 4-0 on the season. The team will be back in action next weekend for the UNC Pembroke Invite.
