ST. PETERSBURG – The Eckerd volleyball team opened the 2026 campaign with a split on the first day of the Eckerd Classic Friday at the McArthur Center. The Tritons cruised past the Wilmington Wildcats in straight sets before falling to Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Janes in a five-set battle Friday night.

Eckerd won the first match with a 25-20, 25-17, 25-14 sweep of Wilmington. The Tritons hit .304 in the match while holding the Wildcats to a .077 clip, finishing with advantages of 42-20 in kills, 10-3 in aces, and 7-3 in blocks.

The Tritons jumped out quickly in the opening set, building an 11-3 advantage in the first set behind a balanced attack and strong serving. Wilmington worked its way back into the frame, but Eckerd held off the rally for a 25-20 victory. The Tritons then hit .382 in the second set and held the visitors to a negative hitting percentage in the third to complete the sweep.

Seiler Hruska paced the offense with 11 kills while hitting .296. Hayden Nash and Peyton Walker added seven kills apiece, with Nash hitting .500 and Walker recording a .667 attack percentage. Nash also delivered six aces and four blocks. Grace Dumont dished out 32 assists, while Jaelynn Tunley and Maggie Turner each collected nine digs.

Eckerd returned to the court later in the night against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, falling in five sets, 25-19, 15-25, 22-25, 25-23, 16-14.

After dropping the opening set, Eckerd answered with back-to-back wins to claim a 2-1 advantage. A close fourth game followed, with Eckerd holding a 23-21 lead late following a block from Walker and Hruska and an ace from Hruska. Mayaguez closed the frame with the final four points to force a fifth and final frame.

After UPRM notched the first two points of the fifth, neither team held a lead of more than a point until the Janes used a late 3-0 spurt to go in front 12-9. The Tritons stormed back and evened the the game at 13-13 and again at 14-14, but the visitors sealed the match with two straight points. 

Hruska ended with 21 kills on a .327 hitting percentage to go with 10 digs and four blocks. Natalie Aniol added 10 kills and four blocks, while Walker finished with eight kills and five blocks. Dumont registered 42 assists, and Sydney Williams led the back row with 25 digs. Turner added 14 digs, while Jaiden Harris recorded four service aces.

Eckerd finished the night with 10 blocks and eight aces against Mayaguez.

The Tritons will face Pittsburg State and North Greenville tomorrow afternoon.