ASHLAND, Ore. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team captured what is perhaps one of the biggest wins of head coach Joslynn Gallop's six-year career, toppling 13th-ranked Southern Oregon 3-1 (25-18, 25-17, 28-30, 25-12) on the Red Raiders' (2-1) home floor on Friday evening. The win was the second of the day for the Eagles (2-0) who are in Oregon competing in SOU's Paul Elliot Invitational and marked the Eagles' first against an opponent ranked as high as the Red Raiders.

Junior Abby Hall led the team with a match-high 21 kills, 13 digs, three total blocks and two service aces. Jordan Holcomb hit .600 (18-0-30) on the night to go with eight digs, two block assists and two service aces, while Taylor Martin led all players with 17 digs and four service aces.

The match was tight to start resulting in a slim 9-7 lead for the Red Raiders in the first set. A kill by Martin ignited an Eagle comeback and with Nina Kontrec serving, the Eagles went on a 9-2 run to move ahead, 16-11. From that point, ERAU never relinquished the lead and took the set 25-18.

The second set saw the Red Raiders take a 2-0 lead off the serve of Renee Yomtob, but the effort was in vain as Yomtob was penalized for being out of rotation, resulting in both points being taken from the SOU tally and one point being added to the Eagles' score. The Red Raiders wasted little time in getting those points back as they quickly overtook ERAU 3-1. The Eagles maintained their composure and after a period of back-and-forth play where neither team led by more than one point, they surged ahead 18-12 on three service aces from Emily Jacobsen and two by Abby Hall. After a Jacobsen kill made the score 22-16 in favor of the visiting Eagles, the freshman served two more balls that the Red Raiders were unable to return and Hall put away an Adrianna Vazquez (48 assists) set to give the Blue and Gold the 25-16 win in game two.

The Red Raiders came out strong to start the third set taking a 6-1 lead. ERAU steadily chipped away at the lead and eventually, back-to-back kills by Hall knotted the score at 22-22. Martin's ace gave the Eagles a one-point advantage, but SOU came back with two straight points to take a 24-23 lead. Both teams had opportunities for match point and in the end it was Southern Oregon that kept its hopes alive by winning the set 30-28.

Both teams were knotted at 7-7 to start the fourth set, but any momentum the Red Raiders may have had going into the fourth set quickly vanished as, with Holcomb serving, the Eagles surged ahead 17-7. A rattled Red Raider line-up was unable to overcome the deficit and ERAU went on to seal the win with a 25-12 decision.

The Eagles return to the court at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday to take on Oregon Tech. They wrap up play in the Paul Elliot Invitational against top-ranked, defending national champion Fresno Pacific at 3:30 p.m.