ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Closing the 2017 season, the Eckerd Tritons (17-11, 10-10 SSC) outhit Florida Tech (9-17, 4-16 SSC) .235-.132, and defeated the Panthers in their last conference game on Saturday night at McArthur Center.

As a team, the Panthers collected 40 kills, five service aces, 65 digs and 34 assists. In the night outing, Florida Tech tabbed an 11-10 edge on the Tritons for blocks, posting three block solos and a match-best 16 block assists.

At the net, junior Olivia Hersey led the offense with a team-best .348 clip on nine kills. Junior Tania Kottke notched a team-high ten kills, followed by junior Heather Bowersox with six.

Setter Kiersten Rosa was two kills shy of her second triple-double of the season, as she recorded eight kills to go with 18 assists and 10 digs. The Mims native also registered a team-high 3.5 blocks, tallying one block solo and five block assists.

Defensively, freshman Roxana Carpio notched a season-high 14 digs, combined with four assists and one service ace.

During the first set, Florida Tech started the match with a two-point run on a kill by Bowersox and a service ace by Sheila Villagrasa. However, the Tritons quickly turned the score around, tying the game and taking a five-point streak to overlap FIT, 10-5. For the remainder of the set, the Panthers struggled to find the bottom of the Eckerd hardwood and eventually fell, 25-15.

In the second set, both teams traded points until Eckerd went on a six-point run to move ahead, 11-5. The Tritons never looked back and took a double-digit lead to close the second stanza, 25-13.

Returning from intermission, Florida Tech rallied back with Bowersox first closing the gap by one, and then Rosa and Reeves combining in a block to tie the score at 15-15. The frame saw nine more ties before the Crimson and Gray tabbed two back-to-back points to close the third set 28-26, and force the match into the fourth.

The fourth set saw FIT break through the score with a 4-2 lead, but Eckerd immediately balanced the score after knocking down three consecutive kills to move past the Panthers, 6-4. After the Panthers fought back to close the deficit by two, the St. Petersburg lineup breached through the net to take a five-point run and close the match, 25-20.

Florida Tech will return to the hardwood next year for the 2018 season.

For more info, please visit FloridaTechSports.com!