BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Led by a combined 49 kills from seniors Jordan Holcomb and Taylor Martin, the sixth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team won a pair of matches on the final day of the Holiday Inn Express Invitational. ERAU defeated Robert Morris (Ill.) in three sets (25-18, 25-14, 25-19) before sweeping No. 22 Viterbo (25-20, 25-23, 25-21), finishing the tournament with a 3-1 record. With the wins the Eagles improve to 9-3 while RMU drops to 3-9 and Viterbo falls to 14-4.
 
ERAU 3, RMU 0
 
After falling behind 5-2 to open the first set, the Eagles rallied to take a three-point lead (11-8) on a service ace from Veera Hietala. Emily Jacobson served an ace to increase the lead to 18-12 and the Blue and Gold controlled the remainder of the set. Taylor Martin's kill closed out the set at 25-18 in favor of ERAU.
 
Embry-Riddle continued its strong play throughout the second set, jumping out to a 7-1 lead early on and increasing the margin to double-digits at 16-6. A kill from Hietala moved the score to 20-10 and Martin again finished the set with a kill, giving ERAU a 25-14 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In the third set, Robert Morris started well, holding an 8-5 lead in the early stages. But the Blue and Gold scored the next eight points to run out to a 13-8 advantage. After RMU closed the deficit to three points (14-11), Embry-Riddle went on a 5-2 run keyed by three Martin kills to take control of the set at 19-13. The two teams traded sideouts for the final 12 points of the match until Morgan Shattuck put down a kill to end the set at 25-19, clinching the 3-0 win for the Eagles.
 
Martin led all players with 14 kills while Holcomb added 10. Emily Jacobson chipped in with eight kills hitting .429 and four blocks (two solo). Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 13 digs and Adriana Vazquez tallied 31 assists as the Eagles hit .326 for the match.
 
Katie Rotkovich led Robert Morris with nine kills and Allyson Murray added seven. Myrand Cate racked up team highs in assists (19) and digs (10).
 
ERAU 3, VU 0
 
In the final match of the tournament for Embry-Riddle, the Eagles played arguably their best volleyball of the season. The first set was a back-and-forth affair featuring 10 ties and four lead changes, but the Blue and Gold rallied when it mattered most, winning the final five points of the set to win it, 25-20.
 
The second set saw ERAU take a slim 6-5 lead early on, only to have Viterbo rally back to take a 13-7 lead. An 11-3 run helped Embry-Riddle regain the lead (18-16), but VU answered back with a 7-3 run to take a 23-21 lead. After Joslynn Gallop called timeout, Taylor Martin came out with back-to-back kills to tie the set at 23, followed by back-to-back kills from Jordan Holcomb, giving the Eagles the set, 25-23, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In the third set Embry-Riddle used a 6-0 run to take control with a 15-7 lead. Viterbo showed its resiliency, fighting back to with four points at 20-16, prompting another ERAU timeout. The Eagles regrouped and closed out the set and match, winning 25-21 in the third set to complete the 3-0 sweep.
 
Holcomb led the Eagles with 13 kills in addition to 16 digs while Martin and Emily Jacobson added 12 kills apiece. Hannah Gray totaled a match-high 24 digs while Adriana Vazquez recorded a match-best 41 assists.
 
Alicia Olson led all players with 20 kills and Katie Flock added 14, accounting for 72 percent of Viterbo's scoring. Flock added 11 digs, as did Jen Krentz. Jordan Blaken picked up a team-best 14 digs while Brianna Brinkman registered 37 assists and nine digs.
 
The Eagles play just one match next week as they return to Daytona Beach to open up conference play. ERAU will host Southeastern at the ICI Center on Friday, Sept. 21 in a match slated to begin at 7 p.m.