Eagles Split in Day One of ERAU Labor Day Tournament
Daytona Beach, Fla. ? The high energy was apparent before the Eagles second game of the ERAU Labor Day Tournament, in the ICI Center on Friday evening, as the Eagles were coming off their first win of the seasons, over Mountain State. ERAU faced off aginst Morningside College in match two, fighting a long hard battle but were unable to feed off enough energy to aid them to its second win of the season, suffering defeat 3-1.
MATCH 1
The ERAU squad came out tough in the first game of the day, hitting hard and showing that the ICI center was their home court. The Eagles took game one 30-11, and kept their momentum going through the second game as they won 30-24.
In game three Janelle Marinos served five straight points early to put ERAU up 7-1, keeping the momentum in ERAU's favor. The Cougars tied the game up at 19, and the lead switched hands four more times until MSU was able to secure their lead and win the game, 32-30.
With one game under their belts, MSU was relentless in game four, but some quick serves from Marissa Gonzales and kills by Jenn Meglic allowed the Eagles to regroup, battling for the lead and pulling out their first victory of the season, match four 31-29.
Meglic led the team with 20 kills, hitting .409. Gonzales tallied 64 assists and three service aces. Alana Martinez and Janelle Marinos both charted 15 kills and 12 digs.
ERAU 30 30 31 31
MSU 11 24 33 29
BOX SCORE
MATCH 2
The Mustangs were too much for the Eagles to handle, as the squad from Iowa held onto their undefeated record, upsetting the tournament host in four games.
MC began to pull away from the back-and-forth game with the score 15-20, as Amber Jarzynka tallied three of her eight game assists in a row, giving the Mustangs the edge they held onto to complete game one, 30-25.
Savannah Trakes served the final six points for the Eagles as they won game two 30-19. Marinos charted six kills in the second game and dug 9 Mustang attacks.
The veteran Mustang squad livened up after game two, and halted every attempt the Eagles made to comeback, charting victories in both game three (30-20) and four (30-19).
The Eagles ended the game with 49 total kills, Marinos charting 17. Gonzales marked 39 more assists, while digging 17 attacks. Alana Martinez and Savannah Trakes both charted eight kills, while Martinez picked up 20 digs and three assists.
ERAU 25 30 20 19
Morn. 30 19 30 30
BOX SCORE
Embry-Riddle will return to action at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to face off against Daemen Nazarene University, on day two of the ERAU Labor Day Tournament. For complete tournament information please visit this link: ERAU Labor Day Tournament
