Embry-Riddle Volleyball Captures Third-Place at the Palm Beach Atlantic Bash at the Beach Tournament After Defeating Flagler 3-2

9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM

Click for Boxscore ERAU vs. No. 4 Madonna (30-21, 30-21, 30-27)

Click for Boxscore ERAU vs. Flagler (Fla.) (30-32, 30-16, 24-30, 30-22, 15-9)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Embry-Riddle women's volleyball team bounced back from its 3-0 (30-21, 30-21, 30-27) defeat to No. 4 Madonna (Mich.) to record the Eagles' first victory against Flagler (Fla.) 3-2 (30-32, 30-16, 24-30, 30-22, 15-9) since 2002 to capture third-place at the Palm Beach Atlantic Bash at the Beach tournament Saturday afternoon.

The Eagles had lost the past four meetings and five of the last six matches against Flagler.? Snapping the streak only adds to the monumental turnaround first-year head coach Joslynn Gallop has achieved with the Blue and Gold in?2005 -?at this point in the season last year,?Embry-Riddle?was 3-15.
?
Against Flagler, Embry-Riddle lost the first game 32-30 after coming back from a 29-27 deficit to tie the game at 29-29.? The game was tied 30-30, but a service and attack error by the Eagles gave Flagler the win.?

ERAU rebounded with authority winning 30-16 in the second game behind?six kills from Janelle Marinos (Three Rivers,?Calif.) and strong defense from libero Nancy Salb?(Boise, Idaho) with six digs.

Flagler fought back to take a 2-1 lead in the match winning game three 30-24 thanks in part to a struggling offense by Embry-Riddle which hit -.049 with 10 kills and 12 errors on 41 attempts.

The offensive woes weren't a concern in the rest of the match for the Eagles as they hit .417 in game four prevailing 30-22 outscoring the Saints 9-4 in the final 13 points behind four kills from Marinos and two from Daniela Brazolino (Belo Horizonte, Brazil).

Then in the?deciding game saw the Eagles just dominated?on their attack recording 10 kills on 14 attempts to hit .714 and Marinos finished the game with six of her match-high 28 kills and added seven total blocks (two solos).? It was Marinos' fifth 20-plus kill effort of the year and hold three of ERAU's all-time single-match highs in just 17 matches wearing the Blue and Gold.?

Mia Jaramillo (Manizales, Colombia) was a perfect 3-for-3 in the final game and match her career-high for kills with eight hitting .667 for the match.? Brazolino finished with 11 kills and 19 digs, while Salb finished with 16 digs.

Against Madonna (21-0 overall), the Crusaders?captured the first game 30-21 behind the play of Kelsey Mack with six kills and .385 hitting percentage, Laura Lesko with five kills and a .333 hitting percentage and Natalja Tinina with four kills and seven digs.? The two?teams played evenly in the opening points knotted at 4-4, but Madonna surged ahead 13-6 on a 9-2 run.

ERAU closed the gap to 19-15 and 25-20, but Madonna closed out the match scoring five?of the last six points for the victory.

The second game was very similar early, but the Eagles fell behind by the largest margin of?the match trailing?by 12 points 25-13 and 26-14.? ERAU?withstood four?game points to cut the lead to 29-21, but Mack put the game away with?her 11th kill of the match.

The final game was the closest with five ties and?Embry-Riddle secured a 10-6 lead early, but Madonna outscored the Eagles 10-2 to?take a 16-12?advantage.??ERAU battled back to tie the game at 16-16 on?a kill?by Janelle Marinos, who finished with 18 in the match.

Madonna retook the lead on a kill by setter Ashley Frost who finished with three kills, 47 assists and eight digs.??Madonna never relinquished the lead from that point on and held a 29-24 lead before the Eagles scored the next three points to mount a comeback with kills from Jenni Nelsen (Titusville, Fla.) and Marinos before?Tinina?closed out the match for Madonna with her 14th kill on the day.

Embry-Riddle?returns to conference action hosting?Flagler (Fla.) on Tuesday in the ICI Center with first serve at?7 p.m. and then travel to Savannah, Ga. for the Savannah College of Art and Design Spikefest Tournament Sept. 30-Oct.?1.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories