SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team dropped a five-set match to No. 23 Bellevue (26-28, 25-20, 18-25, 25-11, 15-13) on the first day of pool play at the NAIA National Championship Final Site presented by CNOS Foundation Tuesday night. The Eagles fall to 28-5 on the season while the Bruins improve to 36-9.
ERAU, the top seed in Pool E, will continue in pool play with a match against No. 18 MidAmerica Nazarene at 5:45 CST, the third seed in the pool.
The Blue and Gold jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, but an 8-0 run midway through the set helped BU take a 15-11 lead. A 5-1 run brought the Eagles even with the Bruins at 21-all, the third of nine different ties that occurred in the first set. Embry-Riddle fought off two Bellevue set points and clinched the set on back-to-back Bruins errors, winning the frame, 28-26.
ERAU took another early lead in the second set, scoring the first four points. A 5-1 run for BU put the Bruins in front, 7-6, and they would not relinquish the lead for the rest of the stanza. Once Bellevue established a six-point edge at 15-9, the Eagles couldn't close the gap to any fewer than four as the Bruins went on to win the set, 25-20, knotting the match at one set apiece.
Just as they did in the first two sets, the Eagles ran out to an early lead set three; this time it was a 6-0 lead, and this time they did not allow Bellevue to claw back into the set. A Bruin attack error pushed the lead to 23-14, the largest lead of the match at any point for ERAU.
Taylor Martin put down one of her 22 kills to close out the set, 25-18, putting Embry-Riddle ahead, two sets to one.
The fourth set was a completely different story as Bellevue turned the tables on the Eagles and took an early 12-5 lead. The Bruins never looked back, running away to a 25-11 victory that tied the match at two sets apiece, forcing a decisive fifth set.
The Blue and Gold looked good early in the final set, securing a 5-1 lead thanks to three BU errors and two Martin kills. The lead grew as large as five points at 12-7, with the Eagles appearing well on their way to win. But a kill from Caitlyn Rueth sparked a 6-0 spurt for the Bruins that catapulted them into the lead, 13-12. Another Martin kill stemmed the tide momentarily, but back-to-back Bellevue kills finished the set at 15-13, giving the Bruins a 3-2 win.
Martin led all players with 22 kills to go along with eight digs and two service aces.
Jordan Holcomb chipped in with 13 kills, 15 digs and a match-high three service aces. Adriana Vaz quez tallied a team-high 44 assists and
Hannah Gray collected a team-leading 26 digs.
Annie Benson put down a team-high 20 kills and added 12 digs for the Bruins, while Sunny Bell contributed 14 kills and a .346 hitting percentage. Sydney DeBoer recorded 10 kills and a match-high six blocks. Jordan Broady led all players with 51 assists while Meghan Evans picked up a match-high 28 digs.
