SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Led by a 22-kill, 13-dig performance from
Jordan Holcomb the fourth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team posted a 3-1 victory (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-16) over No. 16 Spring Hill (Ala.) in a Pool D match on Wednesday afternoon at the NAIA National Volleyball Championships in Sioux City, Iowa.
The win moves ERAU's record to 29-4 and 2-0 in the tournament while SHC drops to 38-4 overall and 0-2 in the tournament. With just one day left in pool play, the Eagles have secured one of the twelve spots in the single-elimination bracket, which begins on Friday. With two losses, the Badgers are now officially eliminated.
After falling behind 3-2 early in the first set, the Blue and Gold went on a 9-2 run capped by a pair of kills from
Gloria Kemp to take an 11-5 lead. Spring Hill fought back to close the deficit to a single point (15-14), but Embry-Riddle rallied to regain a comfortable margin, 21-16. From that point, the Badgers hit their stride, winning nine of the final 10 points of the first set, taking a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-22 win.
ERAU once again dug themselves a hole early in the second set, falling behind 8-4. A kill from
Adriana Vazquez finally got the Eagles on even ground at 11-11 and
Taylor Martin gave the Blue and Gold an 18-12 with a kill that capped a 14-4 run. The Badgers found a way to claw back into the set, but this time they couldn't get any closer than three points (21-18) as Embry-Riddle evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-19 win.
In the third set, neither side led by more than three points until the final rally of the frame. SHC started well, jumping out to a 12-9 lead, only to see ERAU eventually move ahead by a pair at 18-16. With the set tied at 20,
Abby Hall and Holcomb put down back-to-back kills to take a 22-20 lead. Two points later, Holcomb scored another kill and Hall followed with a service ace, giving the Eagles set point at 24-21. An attack error by Sha Sha Buchanan gave Embry-Riddle a 25-21 win in the set and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Eagles continued the trend of playing from behind in the fourth set, but this time they limited the early damage to just a 2-1 deficit. A 5-0 run then put ERAU ahead 6-2 and a kill from
Emily Jacobson moved the score to 9-5. The Badgers strung together five straight points to take a 10-9 lead, but the Eagles bounced right back with a 7-1 run of their own capped by a block from Hall and Kemp to give the Blue and Gold a 16-11 advantage. This time, ERAU didn't allow Spring Hill to close the gap late, as Embry-Riddle closed out the match with a 25-16 win in the set, clinching the match, 3-1.
Holcomb led the Eagles with a match-high 22 kills (.500 hitting percentage) to go along with 13 digs and four blocks. Hall added 15 kills, seven digs and a match-high three service aces, while Martin chipped in with 11 kills. Vazquez collected a match-high 47 assists as the Eagles hit .287, and
Nina Kontrec anchored the defense with a match-high 26 digs.
Yiting Cao led the Badgers with a match-high 22 kills in addition to picking up 11 digs, while Cassandra Marchand-Stewart recorded 13 kills (.379 hitting percentage) and nine digs. Taryn Nash tallied 41 assists and Meredith Donald registered a team-high 16 digs.
The Eagles will conclude pool play tomorrow afternoon with a match against No. 9 Biola (Calif.) at 3:15 p.m. CST. Both teams bring a 2-0 pool play record into tomorrow's match, meaning the winner of the match will also win Pool D. If Embry-Riddle wins, it will guarantee a bye for the Eagles in the first round of the single-elimination tournament, which gets underway Friday morning.
