SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Despite having three hitters record double-digit kills, the 11th-seeded Embry-Riddle women's volleyball team had their season cut short with a 3-1 defeat (20-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25) at the hands of sixth-seeded Point Loma Nazarene on Friday afternoon in the first round of single-elimination playoffs at the NAIA National Championship. The Eagles finish the season with a 33-4 record, while PLNU improves to 22-12 and will face No. 3 seed Fresno Pacific in the quarterfinals Friday night.
ERAU continued the recent trend of falling behind early in the first set, as the Sea Lions won the first four points of the match. A service error broke the string, and the Blue and Gold stormed back to tie the set at 4-4 and then take their first lead at 7-6 on a block from Jordan Holcomb and Emily Jacobson. Point Loma came back to tie it at 10, and would regain the lead at 12-11 on an attack error. The lead bounced back and forth for the next few minutes, with neither side extending the margin to more than a single point. That was until a 4-0 run gave the Sea Lions a 19-16 edge, only to see the Eagles rattle off three consecutive points to tie it again at 19. With the set tied at 20, PLNU took the final five points of the set, including two service aces from Nicole Eiler, to win the set, 25-20.
After trading points for the first eight points of the second set, Embry-Riddle strung together four straight to take an 8-4 lead. The Blue and Gold maintained a multiple-point advantage until a quick 3-0 burst from the Sea Lions cut the deficit to just a point (16-15). The Eagles wouldn't surrender the lead, however, as they closed out the set on a 5-1 run keyed by two kills from Gloria Kemp, taking the second set, 25-20, to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Eagles struggled with their passing early in the third set, quickly falling behind 10-3. The margin continued to expand, growing to as many as nine points at 23-14. Despite the large deficit, the Blue and Gold didn't give up, rattling off four straight points to trim the lead to 23-18. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they couldn't come any closer, dropping the set by a score of 25-19.
The fourth set saw ERAU win the first two points only to drop 11 of the next 15 points to fall behind 11-6. The Blue and Gold rallied back for a 4-0 spurt that closed the gap to just one (11-10), and were able to maintain contact with the Sea Lions for the next 15 points. A 3-0 run gave Point Loma a bit of breathing room at 21-17, and the closest the Eagles would get from then on was two points (22-20), as the Sea Lions went on to take the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
Taylor Martin led the Eagles with 14 kills and two blocks, while Kemp chipped in with 10 kills and four blocks. Abby Hall added 12 kills and nine digs, while Julia Frassetto contributed nine digs. Nina Kontrec anchored the defense with 23 digs, and Adriana Vazquez racked up a match-high 40 assists.
Tabitha Henken recorded a match-high 20 kills along with 12 digs for the Sea Lions. Maddie Dahms added 13 kills and Nicole Eiler tallied 21 digs.
The Eagles finish the 2010 season with a 33-4 record and a perfect 12-0 mark in Sun Conference Play. The Blue and Gold captured their third consecutive Sun Conference regular season championship, as well as The Sun Conference tournament championship. Embry-Riddle made their first-ever appearance in the NAIA National Championship, picking up a win over Union (Ky.) in the Opening Round and wins over Southern Oregon and Briar Cliff (Iowa) in pool play at the National Championship final site.
