SAVANNAH, Ga. - The 12th-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team swept Warner University in three sets (27-25, 25-22, 25-16) in The Sun Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night at Demere Gymnasium on the campus of Savannah Country Day School in Savannah, Ga. The Blue and Gold will move on to play the host SCAD Savannah Bees on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the conference final.
The Eagles dug themselves a hole in the first set, falling behind 7-2, forcing head coach Joslynn Gallop to take an early timeout. The short break ended Warner's momentum, and ERAU rattled off five straight points to tie things up at 7-7. The Blue and Gold continued to push, using back-to-back kills from Gloria Kemp to take an 11-9 lead. A solo block from Kemp extended the margin to 15-10, and a kill from Emily Jacobson made it 18-12. But with the Eagles leading 24-20, the Royals fended off four straight set points to knot things up at 24-all. A kill from Abby Hall gave Embry-Riddle another set point, but the Royals responded again to tie it at 25-all. After another Hall kill put the Eagles on the verge of taking the set, Jacobson and Jordan Holcomb clinched it with a block to give ERAU a 27-25 win and a 1-0 lead in the match. Kemp and Hall led the Eagle attack with six and five kills, respectively.
The second set was a tight affair from beginning to end, with neither side gaining a lead of more than three points. A block from Kemp and Adriana Vazquez put the Eagles ahead 9-7, but a 3-0 run by WU quickly erased that lead. Trailing 19-18, the Blue and Gold went on a 4-0 run capped by a block from Hall and Jacobson, putting ERAU in command with a 22-19 advantage. Another Eagle block, this time from Jacobson and Lauren Anastase, ended the set at 25-22, giving Embry-Riddle a 2-0 lead. Kemp and Hall again led the way with five kills apiece in the set.
In the third set, ERAU came out and dominated from the get-go, opening up a 5-1 gap early thanks to back-to-back kills from Vazquez. The lead ballooned to 11-3 on a block from Holcomb and Jacobson, and a kill from Hall put things virtually out of reach at 21-9. But the Royals wouldn't go down quietly, rallying to within seven points (22-15), but the margin was too great to overcome, and the Eagles went on to take the set, 25-16, sweeping the match. Hall dominated the set, collecting seven kills and six digs.
Hall led all players with 17 kills (.333 hitting percentage) to go along with seven digs, while Kemp added 11 kills (.400 hitting percentage) and three blocks (one solo). Holcomb chipped in with 10 kills, eight digs and four blocks, and Jacobson led all players with nine blocks (two solo). Nina Kontrec anchored the defense with a match-high 25 digs, and Vazquez collected a match-high 44 assists as the Eagles hit .293 for the match.
Joelle Warring led the Royals with 11 kills while Aysha Nickels recorded team-highs in assists (32) and digs (19).
The Eagles will play for the conference championship tomorrow afternoon when they take on the host school, SCAD Savannah. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m.
