ERIE, Pa. – The Eckerd volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of the Gannon Tournament on Saturday, sweeping Malone 3-0 before falling to host Gannon 3-1. Eckerd (5-3) cruised past Malone in straight sets, 25-14, 25-11, and 25-18. Gannon closed the day with a 25-18, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18 victory.
The Tritons jumped on Malone early and never looked back, hitting .398 for the match while holding the Pioneers to just a .070 clip. Eckerd committed only eight attacking errors over the three sets and held sizable advantages in kills (41-20), aces (10-0), blocks (6-1), and digs (47-28).
Eckerd took control of the opening frame behind an early surge. After leading 9-5, the Tritons rattled off four straight points to stretch the margin to eight. They continued to pull away en route to the 25-14 victory while hitting .435 in the set.
The Tritons were sharper offensively in the second set, producing 16 kills against just one error for a .500 hitting percentage in a dominant 25-11 win. Eckerd completed the sweep with a 25-18 victory in the third while limiting Malone to a negative hitting percentage in the frame.
Kaitlyn Dohs led the attack with nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage while adding three blocks. Natalie Aniol followed with eight kills at a .500 clip, while Peyton Walker put away five kills on six swings for an .833 hitting percentage. Lilli Weber dished out 20 assists, and Grace Dumont added 12. Sydney Williams paced the back row with nine digs and also delivered three of Eckerd's 10 service aces.
In the final match of the weekend, Gannon grabbed the opening set 25-18 before the Tritons responded in the second. Eckerd raced out to a 9-4 advantage and remained in front through a back-and-forth finish. With the teams tied at 21, a Seiler Hruska kill and Dumont ace helped push the Tritons ahead before Dumont finished the frame herself with a kill for the 25-22 victory.
The third set remained tight throughout. Eckerd battled back to even the frame at 7-7 and the teams continued trading points deep into the set, but Gannon eventually edged the Tritons 25-23 to regain the match lead. The Golden Knights then closed the contest with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
Aniol led Eckerd with nine kills, while Hayden Nash and Dohs each added seven. Nash hit .313 for the match, and Dumont produced an all-around performance with 30 assists, five kills, four blocks, seven digs, and two aces. Walker anchored the Tritons at the net with eight blocks.
The Tritons will return home to host the Triton Invite on Firday.
