Wayne, Neb. — #4 Wayne State wraps up the Eckerd College Tournament with a 4-0 record after defeating host school Eckerd College in four sets. The Tritons took the first set from the Wildcats, 25-19. WSC bounced back in sets two and three, winning those 25-20 and 25-14. The fourth and final set was a back-and-forth battle of trading kills before the ‘Cats gained an advantage late and won 25-22. Senior Taya Beller led the Wildcats with 17 kills and four blocks. Maggie Brahmer and Channatee Robles added double figure kills (11 & 10) in the matchup as well.
Eckerd College put down 17 kills in the first set and held WSC to just seven kills to win 25-19. Beller had four kills in the opening set to start the contest to along with one block. Brooklyn Kusler served up two service aces in the opening set, but the Tritons came out on top in the first set.
Set two favored the ‘Cats as they won 25-20, edging the Tritons 16-13 in kills. Wayne State opened with a 7-3 run and forced Eckerd to take a timeout. The Tritons would come within one point at the 17-16 mark and WSC would take a timeout before they put the second set away. The All-American duo of Beller and Brahmer combined for 10 kills, six and four respectively, to help the ‘Cats take the second set.
The Wildcats took advantage of four service aces and eight attack errors by the Tritons to win the third set 25-14. WSC used a seven-point run midway through the set to keep Eckerd out of reach. Brahmer put down four kills in five swings in the third set to give the ‘Cats the 2-1 set lead. The Wayne State defense edged out Eckerd with 21 digs to their 17.
In the fourth set, the teams traded points back and forth with six lead changes and 11 ties, never seeing a larger than four points for either team. WSC would use a timeout after Eckerd tied the score up at 18-18 and would be able to put the match away 25-22 behind three kills from Robles late.
WSC held a slight advantage in attack percentage, but the Tritons had two more kills than the ‘Cats. The defense had big numbers in the four-set contest with 79 digs and 14 blocks.
Beller led with her 17 kills, Brahmer added 11 of her own, and Robles was in double digits with 10 kills. Brooklyn Kusler served four aces to go with her seven kills. Brooke Peltz led with 25 digs and freshman Molly Romano had 13 digs and 43 assists.
The Wildcats will be back in action next Friday, September 13th, in the Colorado Premier Challenge facing Chaminade University and Wheeling University.
