DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team split matches on day two of the Bahama House Invitational, taking a three-set win from Faulkner (Ala.), before picking up its first loss of the season to No. 12 ranked Madonna (Mich.), 3-1.

The Eagles dominated their opening match of the day, winning three straight sets (25-20, 25-22, 25-10). Senior Abby Hall marked 12 kills, contributing to the team's .231 hitting percentage. Freshman Taylor Martin saw ample time on the court, picking up eight kills and two service aces, while Alana Martinez converted seven of her 12 attempts for the Eagles. Lauren Anastase led the defensive end, picking up 11 kills in just two sets and Adriana Vazquez notched 36 assists in the win.

Match two proved to be the Eagles' toughest opponent they have faced thus far in the season. Set one opened up with the Eagles and Crusaders battling back and forth for an advantage, highlighted by Hall and Jordan Holcomb's six kills each. Madonna's Mary McGinnis led all hitters with nine kills in the first set, guiding the Crusaders to a 25-22 win in game one.

Back-to-back kills from Hall and Holcomb opened up the second set, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead over the Crusaders. Two Madonna attack errors and a service ace by Julia Frassetto put the Eagles up 5-2, but the Crusaders continued to fight back, coming within one of the Eagles. The Blue and Gold's intensity did not falter, as they notched three straight kills and two service aces to increase the gap to six points. ERAU ran with their offense, tallying eight more kills in the set, highlighted by Martin's four and closed out the set 25-12.

The Eagles started out a bit shaky in the third set with two straight attack errors, but got back into the swing of things as Martin picked up her fifth kill of the match and Holcomb connected on a set from Adriana Vazquez. Madonna's Liz Dempsey put two straight balls to the floor, giving the Crusaders a 9-4 lead. ERAU came within two at the 14-12 mark, but failed to regain the lead for the remainder of the set, as Madonna took set three, 25-18.

The Crusaders took charge in the fourth set, claiming the first four points, led by two McGinnis kills, until a kill by Martin put the Eagles on the scoreboard. Holcomb served up an ace for ERAU to pull the Eagles within one, but the Crusaders were relentless, as they tallied four kills and capitalized on the Eagles' attack errors. MU's Inta Grinvalds served four points , aided by two kills from her team to pull ahead 20-11. A kill from the Crusaders' Marie Martin put MU at 24 on the scoreboard, as the Eagles attempted to fight back at 15. Martin stepped to the serving line for the last four points of the contest, but a Crusader kill in the middle of the Eagles' court secured the match for Madonna, 25-18.

Holcomb led the Eagles' offense with 17 kills and 10 digs, while Hall charted 16 kills and 11 digs on the night. Martin notched eight kills and seven digs, while Vazquez recorded 44 assists.

Hall and Vazquez were named to the All-Tournament team, in addition to Madonna's Inta Grinvalds and Karie Altman, Evangel's Brittni Jessen, and Northwest Ohio's Katie Luebke. Mary McGinnis of Madonna was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player.

The Eagles are now 7-1 overall and remain 4-0 in conference play. They will be back in action this weekend, as they host Webber International and Warner University on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.