DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The seventh-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team swept both of its matches on Saturday at the ERAU Tournament inside the ICI Center. The Eagles took down South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 in the morning; later the Blue and Gold defeated Bethel (Tenn.), 25-12, 25-14, 33-31. Embry-Riddle finished the tournament 3-0 and Jordan Holcomb was named the tournament MVP while Adriana Vazquez earned All-Tournament honors.
 
ERAU 3, SDSMT 0
 
The Eagles found themselves trailing the Hardrockers 12-8 before a kill from Taylor Martin and two kills from Holcomb trimmed the margin to one point (12-11). SDSMT extended the lead to 17-13 before ERAU battled back to take the lead on a Holcomb service ace (17-16). A Martin service ace pushed the lead to 22-19 and a Gloria Kemp service ace closed the first set at 25-20 for the Eagles.
 
Martin put down back-to-back kills to put ERAU ahead 8-4 early in the second set, prompting SDSMT to take a timeout. A 5-0 run keyed by two kills and a block from Holcomb built the lead to 13-6 and another 5-0 spurt that included three kills and a block from Holcomb moved the score to 19-12. Erika Hinel put down a kill to end the set at 25-18, giving Embry-Riddle a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Kemp collected another service ace early in the third set that gave ERAU a 4-1 lead. An attack error by SDSMT's Janelle Strampe pushed the margin to 9-4 and a block from Kemp and Martin extended the lead to 14-8. The Hardrockers rallied to cut the deficit to just a single point (21-20) but three SDSMT errors on the next five points gave Embry-Riddle set point at 24-22. After a Hardrocker score, Emily Jacobson ended the match with a kill, securing a 25-23 win in the frame a 3-0 sweep of the match for the Eagles.
 
Holcomb led all players with 21 kills (.327 hitting percentage) and added 11 digs and three service aces. Martin chipped in with eight kills and nine digs, while Morgan Shattuck (7 kills, .462) and Kemp (6 kills, .357) hit very efficiently from the middle blocker position. Hannah Gray picked up a team-high 19 digs and Veera Hietala added 11. Vazquez tallied a match-high 41 assists and 12 digs.
 
Justine Blade, an all-tournament selection for SDSMT, led the Hardrockers with 11 kills and hit .310. Carsyn Garcia finished one kill shy of a triple-double, recording nine kills (.692), 26 assists and 19 digs. Rachel Pekarek also added 19 digs for SDSMT.
 
ERAU 3, BU 0
 
The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders against Bethel, running out to a 9-5 lead after a quick 5-0 run early in set one. Jordan Holcomb tallied kills on three out of five points to extend the margin to 15-8 and the Blue and Gold closed out the set with six straight points to win the frame, 25-12.
 
The second set was nearly as dominant for Embry-Riddle. The Eagles scored five consecutive points to jump out to 14-8 lead midway through the stanza. ERAU led 18-14 before finishing the set with seven straight points, including three kills from Taylor Martin, winning the frame, 25-14, to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Embry-Riddle led 16-14 in the middle stages of the third set but the Wildcats scored four straight points to take an 18-16 lead. Three straight BU errors put ERAU back in front (19-18), but Bethel would fight back to take a 20-19 lead. Back-to-back blocks for the Eagles gave Embry-Riddle a 23-21 lead, but Adrianna Bo Gonzalez scored two straight kills to tie the set at 23. The next 10 points were sideouts, including five match points for ERAU that the Wildcats fended off. A block for Mareike Birmele and Stefanie Mahaley gave BU a set point at 29-28, but Holcomb put down a kill to tie it at 29. A Holcomb error gave Bethel another set point, but she came back with two straight kills to put the Eagles one point from victory (31-30). A service error tied the set at 31, but ERAU caught a break on a BU service error, giving Embry-Riddle yet another match point at 32-31. This time the Eagles closed out the Wildcats as Martin put down a kill on an out-of-system play to finish the set, 33-31, and the match, 3-0.
 
Holcomb recorded a match-high 18 kills and added 13 digs while Martin tallied 16 kills and 15 digs. Hannah Gray collected a match-high 24 digs and Adriana Vazquez registered a match-best 39 assists to go along with 10 digs.
 
Sashalee Wallen led the Wildcats with 11 kills while Pollyanna Vitel, an all-tournament team selection, added 10 kills and 11 digs. Rebecca Jobst compiled a team-high 19 digs and She Shappard totaled a team-best 24 assists.
 
The Eagles hit the road for a pair of TSC matches next weekend. Embry-Riddle will face off against Webber International on Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. in Babson Park, Fla. Saturday, Oct. 13 the Eagles will take on Warner in Lake Wales, Fla. Live stats for both matches will be available at www.erauathletics.com.