Florida Southern defeated Eckerd 3-1 on Sept. 29 at the McArthur Center in St. Petersburg, winning the first two sets and the fourth. The Moccasins took the match by scores of 25-22, 28-26, 18-25 and 25-18.
Jaiden Harris sparked Eckerd’s strongest stretch from the service line in the third set. After the Tritons trailed 15-12, Harris helped ignite an eight-point run that produced a 20-15 lead, including two aces during the surge.
Eckerd rallies before Florida Southern closes the match
Eckerd opened the first set with a 7-3 lead and later moved ahead 14-9. Elayna Rickmon’s service run included an ace, and Peyton Walker added a kill during the sequence. Florida Southern rallied to tie the set at 15-15 before winning 25-22.
The second set remained close throughout. Jaelynn Tunley’s kill pulled Eckerd even at 20-20, and Harris helped the Tritons move ahead 23-20 with an ace and a Hayden Nash kill during the run. Florida Southern answered after Eckerd held leads of 25-24 and 26-25, taking the set 28-26.
Eckerd responded in the third set after falling behind 15-12. Harris delivered two aces during the eight-point run, while Nash added three kills as the Tritons turned the deficit into a 20-15 advantage. Eckerd maintained control and won the set 25-18.
Florida Southern regained control in the fourth set with a 10-4 lead. Eckerd cut the margin to 14-11, but the Moccasins pulled away late to win 25-18 and secure the match.
Balanced production leads Eckerd
Nash and Tunley led Eckerd with nine kills each. Nash also finished with eight total blocks, while Walker recorded seven kills and hit .375.
Grace Dumont contributed 24 assists and eight digs, and Sydney Williams led Eckerd with 15 digs. Harris finished with three service aces and four total blocks. Eckerd hit .110 for the match, while Florida Southern hit .152.
Eckerd is scheduled to host Florida Tech at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at the McArthur Center.
FSB Take
Harris’ serving helped Eckerd turn a three-point third-set deficit into a five-point lead, but Florida Southern controlled the other three sets. The third-set response was Eckerd’s clearest momentum shift in the match, although it could not prevent the 3-1 loss.
Source: Original report