HOOVER, Ala. – In the first match of the 2019 Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover, the Valdosta State volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision to Eckerd College.  
 
The Tritons won the first game 25-22, while taking the second game 25-19 and won the third game 25-18, as VSU fell to 11-10 on the year, while Eckerd improved to 12-5.  VSU faces Palm Beach Atlantic Friday evening at 8 p.m. ET in the second match of the day.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats for the match Friday evening on the volleyball schedule page.
 
Against Eckerd, a 4-0 run by the Blazers tied the first set at six, capped with a kill from junior Tammy Reyes Perez.  Later, a kill from junior Grace Daugherty put the red and Black up 18-17, but three-straight points from the Titans gave Eckerd a 20-18 lead.  Eckerd extended the lead to 23-19 with a 6-1 run, but the Blazers pulled within 23-22 on a miscue from Sydney Case and a timeout.  
 
Out of the break, Eckerd got a kill from Asya Harris and an ace ended the first set for the 25-22 win.  VSU hit .179 for the opening stanza, while Eckerd hit .344.  
 
In the second set, the Tritons broke a 10-10 tie with a 3-0 run and then closed the set with a 7-2 run for a 25-19 win as VSU hit .125 for the set and EC hit .250.  The third set saw VSU battle within 13-12, but a 6-0 run by Eckerd pushed the deficit to 19-12.  VSU pulled within five twice more, but was unable to get any closer, falling 25-18.  
 
For the match, senior Kayla Widera led the team with 11 kills and had one block as VSU hit .130 as a team with 31 kills.  Reyes Perez had 24 assists to lead the team, while junior Rebecca Sills had a team-high nine digs.  
 
The Tritons were led by 13 kills from Harris, while Sydney Case added 19 assists as Eckerd hit .255 for the match with 43 kills.