SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The fourth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team opened the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championships with a 3-0 sweep over No. 25 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in a Pool D match on Tuesday afternoon at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa. The Eagles improve to 28-4 on the season while FHU falls to 28-9 overall.

Making their second consecutive appearance at the National Championships, the Eagles got off to a strong start, winning the first four points of the match. The Lions weren't rattled, rallying back to tie the set at four. With the scored tied at six, Jordan Holcomb put down a kill to spark a 6-1 run that gave ERAU a comfortable 12-7 advantage. An attack error by FHU extended the margin to 15-9 and a service ace from Abby Hall pushed the lead to 20-13. The Lions fought back to within two (22-20), but a pair of kills from Gloria Kemp followed by another FHU attack error closed out the set at 25-20 in favor of the Eagles.

The second set proved to be a much tighter contest than the first, with both sides showing their resiliency. The Eagles held an 11-8 lead early on, but Freed-Hardeman quickly rattled off seven out of eight points to take a 15-12 lead. ERAU fought back to tie the set at 15 only to see FHU regain the lead, 17-15. Adriana Vazquez utilized the setter dump attack to earn a kill and spark a 6-0 run, helping the Blue and Gold take back the lead, 21-17. The Eagles had four set points with a 24-20 lead, but the Lions would fend off all four, tying the set at 24. Holcomb put down a kill to give ERAU another set point at 25-24, only to see the Lions stay in the set with a kill from Fernanda Ferreira. A service error gave ERAU a 26-25 lead and Morgan Shattuck closed out the set with a kill, giving the Eagles a 27-25 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.

After winning a hard-fought second set, the Eagles jumped out in front early in the third and never looked back. A kill by Taylor Martin put Embry-Riddle in front 5-2 and another Martin kill moved the advantage to 15-5. Shattuck put down a kill to extend the margin to 19-10 and Martin recorded yet another kill to give the Eagles match point at 24-13. A ball handling error called on Renata Ferreira ended the match with ERAU winning 25-13 in the final set.

Martin led the Eagles with 15 kills and three service aces, both match-highs, to go along with nine digs. Hall racked up 12 kills and six digs while Emily Jacobson totaled 10 kills and a .474 hitting percentage. Vazquez ran the offense, collecting a match-high 38 assists as well as picking up eight digs. Nina Kontrec led the defense with a team-high 12 digs.

Fernanda Ferreira led the Lions with 12 kills (.370 hitting percentage) and a match-high four blocks while Sydney Rice tallied 10 kills and a team-high .409 hitting percentage. Amber Turner led the team with 12 assists while Sandra Montoya recorded a match-high 18 digs.

The Eagles will continue Pool Play at the National Championships with a 1 p.m. CST match against No. 16 Spring Hill (Ala.). The Badgers dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 9 Biola (Calif.) on Tuesday, 25-17, 25-18, 25-13.