ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs volleyball team completed its trip to the Sunshine State Monday with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-26, 30-21) loss to the Eckerd Tritons at the McArthur Center.

The Mountain Lions went 1-4 on the trip, going 1-3 against nationally-ranked opponents. Eckerd, the only non-ranked team on the opening schedule, qualified for the Southern Regional Tournament in 2006 and returned one first-team all-region player and two first-team all-Sunshine Conference players.

"We have faced some great competition here; that's why we came down," said UCCS coach Jessica Wood. "Eckerd's a great team. They're going to have a wonderful season.'

Brooke Akers led UCCS with 11 kills, while Diane Sheldon added seven and Lauren Orth had six. Andrea Weedman had a team-high 15 digs, while sister Cortney Weedman had 19 assists and five digs.

As had been the case in previous matches, the Mountain Lions struggled with the service game. Eckerd recorded 12 aces and just three service errors while UCCS had four aces and 12 errors.

"We have some adjustments to make," said Wood. "Now we know what they are."

Eckerd scored the match's first two points on consecutive blocks. Ineffective passing by UCCS allowed the Tritons to extend the advantage to 7-1. Marin Gibson, Lydee Benoit and Keisha Carter combined for 14 kills to compliment the Tritons' five service aces as Eckerd rolled to a 30-16 win in Game 1.

UCCS opened Game 2 with three consecutive points, which proved to be the largest lead enjoyed by either team until a 9-0 Eckerd run served by Megan Golovkin and featuring two kills and two blocks by Leigh Badoyen put the Tritons up 23-15. Down 28-19, the Mountain Lions mounted a four-point rally served by Laura Meeter but Eckerd held on for a 30-26 win.

Akers had four kills and four blocks in the game for UCCS.

Three kills by Akers helped UCCS open Game 3 with a 9-8 advantage, but Eckerd answered with a 8-2 run. Down 23-15, the Mountain Lions got kills from Akers and Stephanie Laband and an ace by Andrea Weedman to cut the gap to 24-19, but that's as close as they would get. Eckerd completed the three-game sweep with a 30-21 win.