Box Score
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – With four Nova Southeastern volleyball team members getting double-digit kills, the Sharks upset the Eckerd Tritons, 3-2, in the NSU Arena Saturday afternoon.
“I think we saw some great things from this win,” said head coach Steve Wilcosky. “The biggest thing is how we responded from last night to tonight. Coming out with a clear mind set to focus on Eckerd is something that we have grown as a team and not letting our loss from last night transfer over.”
The Sharks (4-6 overall, 1-1 SSC) defeated Eckerd in sets one (26-24) and two (25-13). In sets three (20-25) and four (13-25), Eckerd fought back but NSU rebounded to pull off a victory in the final set (15-12).
The Tritons (5-6 overall, 0-3 SSC), who are receiving votes in the national poll, muscled back to even the score at 2-2 before stumbling in the fifth set. It was the first time this season that the Sharks have won in five sets.
Danielle Graham and Rachel Woodson finished with 13 kill a piece, while Molly Sigerich and Anabely Escarpita finished with 11 and 10, respectively. Jordan Pappas dished out 45 assist while libero Kathleen Yony added 32 digs.
Middle blocker Sigerich led the charge for the Sharks in the first set recording a set high six kills, recording a .600 attack percentage.
With the Tritons at set point, Wilcosky called a timeout which ended up being a game changer. Escarpita, who finished with another double-double, laid down a kill to pull within one, 24-23. A kill by Sigerich evened the score and a kill by Paola Ruiz gave the Sharks the late lead in the first.
Sigerich would give the Sharks the early 1-0 lead on her second kill in three points.
NSU would dominate the Tritons in the second set, 25-13 holding Eckerd to a .093 attack percentage. The Sharks hit at .424 for the set, the best of the night for either team.
Eckerd would not go down without a fight as they took sets three and four to even the score 2-2.
Graham had a monstrous kill in the final set to even the score, 11-11 and change the momentum in the Sharks favor. The sophomore followed with two back-to-back kills to give NSU the favor.
“The kill by Danielle Graham at 11-10 was a momentum changer and in volleyball you look for those moments, especially on your home court. It builds confidence for a player,” said Wilcosky. “Danielle is a superb player and she is capable of doing something of that caliber.”
In the crucial fifth set, the Sharks took a demanding 4-0 lead before Eckerd was forced to call its first timeout. The Tritons went on a 6-0 run to take the 6-5 lead, the first of the set. With both teams recording points back-and-forth, a kill by Eckerds’ Ariana Chinn forced Wilcosky to call his first timeout.
Woodson and Sigerich came out of the timeout blocking Taylor Whaley to even the score 10-10. Graham would then go on her rampage to extend the Sharks lead, 13-11. Paige Boivin served up an ace to put NSU at match point. Although Eckerd try to extend the game with a kill, Graham downed her fifth kill of the set to give the Sharks the win.
“Our biggest challenge right now is our consistency in our level of play,” said Wilcosky. “We are asking our older kids to step up and really be the rock for our team and I believe we saw that in the fifth game.”
The Sharks will be tested on the road against the Lynn Knights on Friday at 7 p.m. before heading north to take on Florida Tech at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
