TAMPA, Fla.  – The University of Tampa Spartans traveled to St. Petersburg, as they faced off against the Eckerd College Tritons in a Sunshine State Conference matchup. The Spartans and the Tritons battled hard for five sets, as the Spartans came out victorious. With the win, UT is now 17-6, 10-2 SSC, and EC is 16-7, 7-5 SSC.

HOW IT HAPPENED    

The Tritons were the first team on the board following a kill by Rachel Wisian. The two teams were close throughout the set as UT held 19-15 lead over EC. Eckerd was able to pull within one at 19-18. With the Spartans holding a 23-20 advantage, the Tritons used a 5-0 run to win the set by a final score of 25-23.

The Spartans jumped on the Tritons early in the second set, as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The Tritons were able to battle back in the set as they took over the lead at 10-9. Following a UT timeout, Tampa went on a 9-3 run to take back the lead at 18-13. EC would score the next three points to pull within two. Tampa would close the set out with a 25-22 victory after a kill by Kamari Potter.

Tampa again started strong in the third set, as they raced out to an early 9-2 lead. The Spartans would not let the Tritons gain any momentum as the closest they were able to get was five at 14-9. A kill by Melissa Elias would close the set out for UT with a final score of 25-18. As a team, the Spartans hit .366 in the set.

Eckerd was able to jump out to an early lead over Tampa as they scored the first four points of the set. The Spartans would then bounce back scoring the next four to tie the game up. The Tritons then went on another run, scoring the next five-point to go up 9-4. The two teams would go back-and-forth the remainder of the set as EC would take the set by a final of 25-19.

In the fifth and decisive set, the two teams would trade points early on as the two teams were tied at seven. Tampa would then go on to dominate the remainder of the set as they would go on to score eight of the next nine points to claim the victory, 15-8.

INSIDE THE STATS

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• UT now improves to 95-2 all-time against EC.
• Tampa has now swept the regular-season series.
• This was the sixth time UT has played five sets, as they now hold a 4-2 record in such matches.
• The win extends the Spartan win streak to 12 games.
• The victory also concluded a perfect month for UT, as they went 11-0 in October.

UP NEXT

The Spartans will be back in the Martinez Center on Friday night as they welcome in the Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish. The contest is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

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