SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The 12th-ranked Embry-Riddle women's volleyball team lost for just the third time on Thursday night, and for the second time their defeat came at the hands of No. 1 Lee (Tenn.). The Lady Flames swept the Eagles back on Oct. 15 at the SCAD Invitational, and on Thursday night Lee defeated ERAU in four sets (18-25, 20-25, 25-23, 20-25) to win Pool A at the NAIA National Championship. Despite the loss, the Blue and Gold earned the No. 2 position in Pool A, advancing to tomorrow's single-elimination playoff bracket as the No. 11 seed and a first-round match against sixth-seeded Point Loma Nazarene at 12:30 p.m. CST.
Just as they did in their previous two pool play matches, the Eagles found themselves falling behind quickly in the first set, forcing head coach Joslynn Gallop to take a timeout with her team trailing 7-2. After the break, Embry-Riddle got on a bit of a roll, closing the gap to 8-7 on a Nina Kontrec service ace. But the Lady Flames answered back to regain a five-point lead at 17-12, prompting Gallop to take her second timeout of the set. This time the Eagles weren't able to close the gap, and Lee would go on to take the first set, 25-18.
The Blue and Gold turned the tables on LU in the second set, jumping out to a 7-3 lead on a kill from Jordan Holcomb. But a 5-1 Lee run quickly erased the deficit, knotting things up at 8-8. A few minutes later, the Lady Flames rattled off four straight points to take a 15-13 lead, their first lead of the set. After an Embry-Riddle timeout, the Eagles put together a short run, regaining the lead at 17-16 on a block from Holcomb and Emily Jacobson. But the lead would be short-lived, as Lee closed out the set on a 9-3 run to take the second set, 25-20, and gain a 2-0 lead in the match.
With their backs against the wall, ERAU came out in the third set with an increased sense of urgency, opening up a 6-2 lead in the early going. The Eagles maintained that lead until a 5-1 LU run tied the set at 12. The two teams then alternated sideouts to 15, when Lee broke the trend by winning two points on their own serve, taking a 17-15 lead and prompting an Embry-Riddle timeout. The Eagles turned things around coming out of the timeout, using a 6-1 run keyed by two kills from Abby Hall to take a 21-18 lead and force Lee to take a timeout. The Lady Flames battled back to tie things at 21 and even take a lead at 23-22. But a Holcomb kill quickly tied the set at 23, and a Holcomb-Jacobson block gave ERAU their first set point of the night. On the next point, Rachael Cunningham's attack sailed wide, giving the point and the set to the Eagles, 25-23, sending the match to a fourth set.
Embry-Riddle continued to build on the momentum of the third set win, jumping out to a 10-5 lead in the fourth. But the Eagles just couldn't quite pull away from Lee, and the Lady Flames would draw even at 13-all. From that point, a pair of Hall kills sparked a 4-0 ERAU run, giving the Eagles a comfortable 17-13 lead. After a Lee timeout, the Lady Flames quickly rallied, winning six of the next seven points to take a 19-18 lead, causing Embry-Riddle to take a timeout of their own. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the break in action wasn't enough to stifle Lee, and the Lady Flames finished the match on a 12-3 run, taking the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
Holcomb led all players with 17 kills to go along with nine digs and five blocks. Hall registered a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs. Kontrec recorded a match-high 27 digs and Julia Frassetto added 15 digs.
Kayla Carlisle led the Lady Flames with 12 kills and a match-high eight blocks (one solo). Arlene Ferreira (10 kills, 14 digs), Kelsey Leffew (23 assists, 18 digs) and Gretchen Higdon (19 assists, 13 digs) each tallied double-doubles for Lee.
The Eagles will now move on to the single-elimination playoff bracket as the No. 11 seed, and open play with a first-round match against sixth-seeded Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. CST. If they win, ERAU will then take on No. 3 seed Fresno Pacific tomorrow night at 8 p.m. CST.
