BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The fourth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team split a pair of matches on Friday, the first day of the Scorpion Invitational. ERAU swept No. 23 Oklahoma Baptist in the first match of the day, then lost a hard-fought five-set match to top-ranked Texas at Brownsville.

The day's results move the Eagles' record to 8-1 on the season, while Oklahoma Baptist falls to 11-8 and UTB improves to 12-0.

Embry-Riddle dropped the first two points of the match to Oklahoma Baptist, but after tying things at 2-2, the Eagles would not trail for the remainder of the set. Back-to-back service aces from Jordan Holcomb gave the Blue and Gold a 9-6 advantage, but the Bison rallied back to tie the set at 11-11. Leading by just two points (21-19), the Eagles took four of the final five points of the set on the strength two kills apiece from Holcomb and Abby Hall to win the set, 25-20.

ERAU got off to a much better start in the second set, opening up a 6-2 advantage early. Once again, OBU showed their resiliency, battling back to eventually tie the set at 19-all. After trading sideouts, Holcomb stepped up with a kill followed by two straight service aces to give the Blue and Gold a 23-20 lead. The teams would again trade points, with Gloria Kemp putting down a kill to finish the set, 25-22.

The third set saw Oklahoma Baptist take their first and only lead of more than two points, rattling off four straight to take a 7-4 lead, prompting Joslynn Gallop to take a timeout. That broke the Bison momentum, as the Eagles would win the next six points to take a 10-7 lead. Embry-Riddle would later use a 4-0 run keyed by a pair of blocks from Kemp to pull away at 19-13. Back-to-back kills from Hall would close out the match with ERAU taking the third set, 25-18.

Hall led the Eagles with 12 kills and added eight digs, while Holcomb contributed 18 digs, seven kills, five blocks and five service aces. Taylor Martin recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 15 digs, and Nina Kontrec picked up a team-high 19 digs. Adriana Vazquez tallied 30 assists to go along with seven digs.

Kristin Pressley paced the Bison with nine kills and 15 digs, while Cami Weimer registered a match-high 22 digs. Sabra Clark ran the OBU offense, recording 30 assists as well as picking up 12 digs.

The nightcap featured two top-five teams in the NAIA Match of the Week, with No. 4 Embry-Riddle taking on No. 1 Texas at Brownsville in front of a packed gymnasium. The Eagles started slowly in the first set, falling behind 8-3. The Scorpions continued to impress throughout the first set, building the lead up to 16-9. ERAU fought back, and a service ace from Vazquez trimmed the lead down to three points at 20-17. But UTB rallied back for a 5-2 run to close out the set, 25-19.

The second set looked like it was going to be more of the same, as the top-ranked team in the NAIA once again ran out to a 16-9 lead. Once again, Embry-Riddle proved to be a resilient club, fighting back with a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to just three points at 19-16. After the Scorpions pushed the lead to 23-18 and then to 24-21, many in the gym felt they were on the brink of taking a commanding 2-0 lead. But the Eagles had other ideas, fighting to win the next three points and tie the set at 24-all. UTB had another set point at 25-24, but the Blue and Gold got a kill from Hall and an attack error from the Scorpions to surge ahead, 26-25. After trading four straight sideouts, Kemp finally finished off the set with a thundering kill to give ERAU a 29-27 win, tying the match at one set apiece.

The Eagles gained a big momentum boost from the second set win, and that would continue into the third set. Trailing 6-5, Embry-Riddle rattled off 10 consecutive points, including four blocks from Kemp, to take a 15-6 lead. The Scorpions tried to claw their way back, using a 6-2 run to move to within three points (19-16), but ERAU wouldn't let them get any closer, closing out the set with a 25-19 win, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

The fourth set saw Texas at Brownsville bounce back, as they got the jump on the Eagles, taking an early 9-4 lead. The Blue and Gold never got any closer than four points (14-10) for the remainder of the set, as UTB used runs of 5-1 and 5-2 in the latter stages to win the set, 25-17.

With the match all square at two sets apiece, both squads moved on to play a fifth set for the first time this season. The Eagles started strong, getting a pair of kills from Hall and one from Kemp to take a 4-2 lead. A kill from Holcomb moved the score to 6-5 ERAU, and another Holcomb kill knotted things up a t 8-8. But at that point, the Scorpions picked their game up and went on a 6-0 run, taking a 14-8 lead and serve for the match. Embry-Riddle held them off for two points, but a kill from Ana Guera sealed the match for the home team, 3-2.

Despite the loss, ERAU is the first team to have taken No. 1 Texas at Brownsville to five sets this season. Prior to Friday night's match, the Scorpions had dropped just two sets in their first 11 matches. The Eagles have also been dominant, as UTB is the first and only team to have won a set against Embry-Riddle this year.

Hall once again led the Eagles with 20 kills and Kemp chipped in with 11 kills and a team-high five blocks. Holcomb nearly had a 20-20 match, recording 19 kills and 23 digs. Kontrec anchored the defense, picking up a match-high 29 digs, and Vazquez recorded 51 assists to go along with seven digs and three blocks.

Danica Markovic led the Scorpions with 20 kills along with 15 digs, while Guera registered 16 kills (.406 hitting percentage) and a match-high eight blocks. Amber Brooks tallied a match-high 55 assists to go along with 15 digs, and Paula Barros contributed 24 digs to lead the team.

Embry-Riddle returns to action tomorrow afternoon as they take on Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) in the Eagles' final match at the Scorpion Invitational. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. EDT).