MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The Embry-Riddle Eagles continued their success on the road, topping the St. Thomas Bobcats in five sets (25-16, 25-9, 18-25, 20-25, 15-9), to capture their third conference win of the season.
The Eagles jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first set, capitalizing on two Bobcat errors. The Bobcats tied the game at 2-2 after a service error and a kill by STU's Adriana Montillo, but were unable to take the lead from the Eagles, who led for the remainder of the set. The Eagles hit .357 in set one, led by Jordan Holcomb who tallied five kills.
In the second set, the Eagles produced a 0.77 side out percentage, which led the way to their 25-9 victory. The team combined for 14 kills with only one error, hitting .650 for the set.
The Bobcats stepped up their offense in the third set, with Montilla highlighting the set with seven of the team's 12 kills. The Eagles battled back and forth for the lead, but couldn't hold onto it as a kill by STU's Kaley Bueno ended the set in the Bobcats favor, 25-18.
Set four saw the Bobcats take the lead early in the set and never look back. The Eagles' Abby Hall led the Eagles with five kills, but that wasn't enough to keep the Eagles alive, as STU took set four 25-20.
The Eagles grabbed the first point of set five with a kill from Hall. Back to back errors by ERAU put the Bobcats up 3-1, but the Eagles were persistent. A service error by the Bobcats and Hall's second kill of the set saw the Eagles tie the game at 3-3. The Eagles quickly took the lead from the Bobcats, with a block from Gloria Kemp. The lead changed two more times before the Eagles took control for one final time at 7-6. Back to back kills for ERAU forced STU to call a timeout, as the Eagles led 10-7. Hall marked one more kill in the final set and the Eagles took the match, 15-9, after a Bobcat error.
Hall marked 16
kills, eight digs and two service aces, while Savannah Trakes tallied 13 kills in 30 attempts. She also had two service aces and eight
digs. The Eagles' middle hitters combined for 10 kills with Kemp recording eight and Rebecca Heller with two. Holcomb added ten kills. Adriana Vazquez had a match-high 45 assists and six kills, while Julia Frassetto tallied 16 digs. The Eagles combined for 11.5 blocks in the five set match.
The Blue and Gold will step on the court again on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Ave Maria, Fla. as they take the Ave Maria Gyrenes in their fourth match of the season. The Eagles are now 3-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
