LIVONIA, Mich. – The seventh-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team won a pair of matches at the BLT Sportswear Crusader Classic on Friday, including its second victory of the season over No. 19 Madonna. The Eagles took down Trinity International in three sets (25-15, 25-13, 25-19) and closed the day with a 3-1 victory over the host Crusaders (27-25, 18-25 25-23, 25-20). TIU fell to 7-23 with the loss, while MU dropped to 26-6.
 
ERAU 3, TIU 0
 
The Blue and Gold got the tournament off to a great start, hitting a blistering .373 against Trinity International while holding the Trojans to a -.023 hitting percentage in the match. The Eagles broke the first set open with a 10-0 run that included five Trinity errors, pulling ahead 18-8. Embry-Riddle ended the set on a 4-0 run with the final three points coming via TIU errors, two of which were ERAU blocks.
 
The Eagles used a 15-3 streak in set two to run away from the Trojans, turning a 6-4 score into a 21-7 lead. Cailey Washington's kill closed out the set at 25-13, giving ERAU a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The third set was the most competitive of the three, featuring 10 ties and six lead changes. Trinity led by as many as three points (10-7), but a Gloria Kemp service ace gave ERAU the lead at 14-13. The two teams exchanged the lead four times over the following 10 points until a 5-0 run pushed the Eagles' lead to 22-18. The Blue and Gold scored the last three points of the match, two coming on Kemp kills, to finish off the Trojans, 25-19 in the final set.
 
Jordan Holcomb led all players with 11 kills and six blocks (one solo), in addition to picking up five digs and hitting .409. Taylor Martin added nine kills and a match-high four service aces. Kemp (.667) and Morgan Shattuck (.571) each hit over .500 and collected four blocks apiece. Hannah Gray tallied a match-high 11 digs while Adriana Vazquez recorded a match-high 24 assists to go along with five kills and a .714 hitting percentage.
 
Rebecca Campbell led TIU with eight kills and seven digs. Samantha Stoller was the only Trojan to hit above .000 as she collected five kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Allison Boggs ran the offense, registering 20 assists.
 
ERAU 3, MU 1
 
The Eagles' second match of the day was a much closer affair, featuring a pair of top-25 teams. ERAU and Madonna battled back and forth throughout the first set, exchanging the lead five times and pulling even with each other 15 different times. Most of the ties came towards the end of the set, as the score was tied at 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25. Embry-Riddle ended the frame scoring three straight points, capped by a kill from Jordan Holcomb and a block from Morgan Shattuck and Taylor Martin, giving the Eagles a 27-25 win.
 
The second set saw MU run out to a 12-6 lead before ERAU rattled off six consecutive points, including two kills apiece from Holcomb and Shattuck, to tie the set at 12. An 8-2 Crusader run put the set out of reach for the Eagles at 22-16, and Madonna took the set, 25-18.
 
In set three, Embry-Riddle got the early jump, taking an early 10-5 lead. But MU fought back to tie the set at 11 and kept it close for the remainder of the stanza. A late 4-1 run put the Eagles in front, 22-18, but Madonna rallied back once again to trim the deficit to a single point at 23-22. Three points later Martin put down a kill to end the set with ERAU winning, 25-23, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Eagles maintained the momentum in the fourth set, building a 14-8 lead. The Crusaders chipped away at the lead, but the margin never dipped below two points (18-16). The two teams exchanged sideouts for the final seven points of the match with Holcomb and Shattuck combining for a double block to close out the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-1.
 
Martin and Holcomb each tallied a team-high 17 kills, with Martin adding 17 digs and Holcomb 14 digs. Gloria Kemp chipped in with 11 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 34 digs and Adriana Vazquez totaled 48 assists and eight digs.
 
Nastija Baranovska recorded a match-high 18 kills while Samantha Geile contributed 15 kills and 13 digs. Stacey Catalano chipped in with 12 kills and 12 digs and Emilie Freeman also added 12 kills. Breanna Geile tallied a team-best 21 digs and Evia Prieditis registered a match-high 56 assists to go along with 17 digs.
 
The Eagles return to the court tomorrow morning for a 9:30 a.m. match against Siena Heights. Embry-Riddle will wrap up the tournament with a 1:30 p.m. contest against Daemen. Live stats for both matches will be available at www.erauathletics.com.