Lady Flames battle NCAA DII competition in Florida, finish weekend 1-3

Friday, March 14

St. Petersburg, FL

12:30 PM

Liberty University Club Sports

Eckerd College

Liberty finished 1-3 last weekend at Eckerd College. (Photos by Carson Gobble)

Lady Flames battle NCAA DII competition in Florida, finish weekend 1-3

3/18/2025 6:00:00 PM | Women's Beach Volleyball

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Liberty notched one victory against Polk State University in first competition after Spring Break

By: News

Gallery: (3-18-2025) women's volleyball

Liberty University's women's beach volleyball went 1-3 in this past weekend's Triton Invite at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., falling to high-level NCAA DII opponents.

The Lady Flames (9-7) opened Friday's matches with a 5-0 loss to the DII host Tritons, with Liberty's No. 3 pair of seniors Brenna Rae Bentley and Taylor Bates earning an opening 21-17 set victory to avoid a straight-set sweep.

"We were kind of going into competition not knowing what to expect, but expecting to play at our highest level and do our best," Head Coach Payton Carter said, noting that Liberty was unable to play Eckerd in the fall due to hurricanes. "Starting out against Eckerd, we really didn't play our best and the girls know that. They were frustrated with their play. It just wasn't us."

Liberty responded to the beatdown with a 5-0 turnaround win over Polk State, dominating the Eagles in straight sets.

On Saturday, the Lady Flames again faced tough competition in NCAA DII Florida Southern and dropped all five games against the Moccasins.

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The weekend concluded with a hard-fought battle against DII Saint Leo. Liberty's No. 1 pairing of seniors Brooke Elliott and Grace Cropper earned a three-set victory against the Lions with the No. 4 pairing of sophomore Avaree Kellert and freshman Jo Malone notching a dominant straight-set win. The Lady Flames failed to complete the upset, however, and were forced to settle for a 3-2 setback against the Lions.

"Averee and Jo really played consistently and their best volleyball they've played all season in the match against St. Leo. I was proud of them," Carter said.

Liberty's squad entered the weekend fresh off a week-long hiatus due to Spring Break. Carter noted that the rest may have contributed to the Lady Flames' slow start. Despite the rough weekend, Carter said she appreciated the opportunity for her team to compete against high-level NCAA teams.

"It's a lot, but it's worth it. We are a high-level club program, so we're great when we get to play against each other. But playing against other programs exposes your strengths and your weaknesses," she said, noting the Lady Flames traveled their entire roster for the tournament. "It's a totally different game. When you're playing against DI and really good DII programs, you play at a higher level. A lot of times, players play to their level of competition. Of course, we try not to do that and always try to play our best, but sometimes when we play lower-level teams, we get surprised by random plays."

"When we play against high-level competition like we did last weekend, it's a lot of fun," she added. "It really shows you what you need to work on and what you can get better at. A lot of girls learned a lot. We progressively got better as the weekend went on, which was good."

The Lady Flames now prepare for upcoming matchups in North Carolina against NAIA opponent Salem and DII host Wingate.

Liberty 0, Eckerd 5