WINTER PARK, Fla. –
The Rollins College Tars volleyball team fell to Sunshine State
Conference foe Eckerd, 3-0 (27-25, 25-15, 25-11), Saturday night at
Warden Arena.
Rollins (14-8, 1-5 SSC) came out in the first set poised and ready
as it started the match on an 8-2 run. The Tritons (12-7, 3-3)
fought back to cut the defect to three at 9-6 with a pair of kills
from Allegra Shaw and Ariana Chinn. Eckerd eventually tied the
match at 14, but would fall behind by three points at 20-17 after
an attacking error. With the three point advantage, the Tars
couldn't deny the Triton pursuit as it scored three-straight
points.
Tied at 20, the Tars received a kill from senior outside Stephanie
Nichols, but the lead was short lived as Eckerd answered with a
kill from Keisha Carter. Tied at 23, the Tars couldn't capitalize
on a Nikki Hartman kill, which led to a set point.
Eckerd again countered and eventually put the match away on a
Carter kill.
In the first frame, the Tars hit .244 and was led by Hartman's six
kills and .429 attacking percentage. Senior setter Lacey
Malarky registered 12 digs in the first set, while Nichols
paced the team with five digs.
In the second and third stanzas, Eckerd's offense exploded with a
.393 attacking percentage in the second, which preceded a .571
hitting percentage in the final frame.
Nichols' 11 digs was a team-high and also tied for the team's top
spot in kills with nine, joining Hartman. Malarky finished with 26
assists and five digs.
For Eckerd, Lydee Benoit was the match-high with 11 kills, while
Keisha Carter ended with nine kills, but with an attacking
percentage of .533. Defensively, libero Kristy Busse led the
Tritons with a match-best 14 digs and also chipped in offensively
with three aces.
The Tars return to action, Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in a
non-conference match against Palm Beach Atlantic.
