ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. ? The Embry-Riddle Eagles (22-3, 11-1 conf.) suffered their third loss of the season on Thursday evening to the Flagler Saints (19-16) in the first annual “Dig for the Cure,” match between the two schools. The proceeds from the gate and fundraising will go to the Breast Cancer Research fund.

Flagler captured the early advantage in the first set but the Eagles began to steal their momentum as they broke the back and forth rally to lead by two at 12-10. The Saints came back going on a nine point run where they capitalized on Eagle errors to regain the lead and go up 22-13, before closing out the first set 25-15.

Early in the second set, the Eagles built a 10-6 lead with their attacks as big hits came from Abby Hall, Alana Martinez and Savannah Trakes. Flagler soon rebounded with some momentum of their own aided by Justine Burkhardt, who led the team in kills with 16 in the match. The Saints took the lead at 15-13 before head coach Joslynn Gallop took a time out. The pause in the match was followed by a kill by Hall and a service ace by Marissa Gonzales to tie the game at 15. The Saints then took advantage of their size as two key blocks recaptured the lead and carried them through the end of the set, winning 25-20.

A kill by Hall late in the third set mounted a late comeback for the Eagles. Hall marked a service ace and then followed by picking up key digs that pushed the Eagles to within two at 22-20. The Saints were able to regain the momentum and pushed through four more points to take the third set and the match 25-21.

This was the second loss in a row for the Eagles, their third of the season. Two of their losses have now come at the hands of NCAA DII institutions. The team was led by Hall who had 10 kills, eight digs and two service aces. She also assisted on three blocks. Martinez picked up three each of each block assists and kills. Trakes marked six kills.

The Blue and Gold will step on the court again on Saturday as they will host SCAD at the ICI Center at 3 p.m. The game is a crucial conference match that will serve as the determining factor in seeding for the conference tournament.