SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The fifth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team fell victim to the 18th-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-23) on Wednesday night, day two of pool play at the NAIA National Championship Final Site presented by CNOS Foundation inside the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena. The Eagles fall to 28-6 on the year while MNU improves to 27-4.
 
With the loss, the Blue and Gold are currently in fourth place in Pool E with an 0-2 record, trailing MNU (2-0), Hastings (1-1) and Bellevue (1-1). If Embry-Riddle defeats Hastings tomorrow night and MidAmerica Nazarene defeats Bellevue, it will create a three-way tie for second place in the pool with ERAU, HC and BU all tied at 1-2. In that event there will be two tiebreaking sets played tomorrow night. The team with the highest percentage of sets won in pool play will receive a bye, while the other teams will play in the first 25-point tiebreaking set. The winner of that set will then play the team that received the bye in another 25-point tiebreaking set, with the winner earning a spot in the single-elimination bracket on Friday.
 
The Eagles took an early lead in the first set, but it would prove to be short-lived. Morgan Shattuck's kill gave ERAU a 3-1 lead, which would end up as the largest lead of the set for Embry-Riddle. The Pioneers used a 5-0 run to take a 14-11 lead and continued to build upon it, pulling away to a 25-19 victory in the first set.
 
Set two saw the Blue and Gold fall behind early and never fight their way back into the set. MNU went on a 9-2 run to run out to a 14-6 advantage midway through the frame. A kill from Jordan Holcomb capped a 5-1 Eagle run to trim the deficit to four (15-11), but the Pioneers wouldn't allow ERAU to get any closer, as they went on to take the second set, 25-17.
 
In the third set, MNU once again got the jump early, taking an 11-6 lead. Embry-Riddle showed some resiliency and clawed its way back, using a 6-0 run to turn a 17-14 deficit into a 20-17 lead. A kill from Taylor Martin put the Blue and Gold out front, 23-20, and the Eagles appeared on their way to forcing a fourth set. But after a kill from Linjun Ji, ERAU committed three straight hitting errors followed by a match-ending kill from Molly Brewster, giving MidAmerica Nazarene a 25-23 win and a 3-0 sweep.
 
Martin and Holcomb each tallied a match-high 11 kills and Martin added eight digs. Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 15 digs while Adriana Vazquez tallied a match-best 35 assists.
 
Ji and Megan Hayes led the Pioneers with 10 kills apiece, while Brewster added nine kills. Becca Valdez led the team with 12 digs and Taryn Salum collected a team-high 31 assists.