WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - At the hands of the FSC/Region XIV Setter of the Year, Marissa Gonzales led the Eagles to a 3-1 victory over Warner Southern in the first round of the Region XIV Tournament on Friday, November 16 (30-16, 30-20, 27-30, 30-19).
Gonzales began the game serving eight straight points for the Eagles building up the ERAU momentum. She had two service aces in the first eight points, and was aided by two kills from Jenni Nelsen and a kill a peice from Lauren Anastase and Alana Martinez. After a Warner timeout the Royals began to climb back into the game, getting to within three of the Eagles at 13-10. Anastase won back the ball on a kill the following play. Gonzales then served the team to a 20-11 lead, bringing home the first game for ERAU.
The Eagles took the momentum from game one into game two, hitting .297 in the second game with 16 kills. They shutdown the Royals hitters, allwoing them only 10 kills hitting just .049.
Game three was a back and forth battle between the two teams. Poor hitting plagued the Eagles as they gave up the sweep in three, moving to game four. In game four both teams came out with fire, as the score was tied early in the game but the Eagles were able to harness their heat and move to an 13-6 lead, never looking back. Warner came to within six of the Eagles after they took the lead but a key timeout brought the team back to the court, movign into the semi-finals of the Region XIV Tournament.
Gonzales had eight service aces on the day, she accompanied her serving stats with 51 assists and two kills. Savannah Trakes led the Eagles in kills with 18, she also marked 13 digs. Martinez was perfect on the swing completing 13 of 23 with no hitting errors. Nelsen chalked up 12 kills, seven of which came in the first game where she hit .462. Corey Dobridnia came up big on the block, holding Warner to a .128 hitting average, and charting five solo blocks. Rachel Ridder led the team defensively with 21 digs.
The Eagles will play their semi-finals match against Webber International at 4:00 p.m. today.
