WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Despite dropping games three and four, ERAU nabbed a Florida Sun Conference victory over Northwood on Thursday night, winning 3-2 by scores of 30-20, 30-26, 23-30, 29-31 and 15-13.
With the score tied up at 9-9 in game one, ERAU (14-13, 8-3 FSC) went on a 6-0 run behind the serving of
Janelle Marinos and did not look back as Northwood (16-15, 8-4 FSC) could not decrease the Eagles' lead to below five for the remainder of the game.
The Seahawks came out strong to begin game two, taking a 17-9 lead at the start of the game. After a kill by
Corey Dobridnia, the Eagles rallied for nine straight points, including three service aces by
Rachel Ridder. NU came back and balanced the score at 19. The score met up again at 23 but then the Eagles claimed the lead and the victory thanks to a 7-3 run.
The first 36 points of game three were evenly dispersed between the two teams with seven ties and four lead changes before the Seahawks grabbed onto the lead at 19-18 and did not let go, winning the game 30-23.
Game four was a battle for the Eagles, as they fell behind by as many as six points. The Blue and Gold were relentless however, fighting hard to even the score before Northwood could get to 30. ERAU succeeded in doing so when a kill by
Jenni Nelsen tied the game at 29 but the Seahawks added two more points to their score and won the game.
The match came down to game five and Northwood did not want to disappoint the senior night crowd. The score was knotted up six times in the game, heightening the intensity of the teams and crowd. With the score at 13 all,
Alana Martinez took a pass from
Marissa Gonzales and scored ERAU's 14th point of game five. An attack error by Northwood gave the Eagles the 15-13 victory.
In the five-game match, Gonzales had a match-high 54 assists while
Savannah Trakes was the match leader in digs with 28 and Dobridnia had the most blocks in the match with four solo blocks and four assisted blocks. Trakes also led the Eagles in service aces with four and kills with 17.
The Eagles head to Florida Memorial on Friday night at 7 p.m.
