GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 3 St. Thomas (14-13, 7-4 TSC) vs. No. 2 Southeastern (20-13, 8-3 TSC)
WHAT: Sun Conference Semifinal match
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 - 4 p.m.
WHERE: Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center
No. 5 Webber International (18-11, 6-4 TSC) vs. No. 1 Embry-Riddle (19-9, 11-0 TSC)
WHAT: Sun Conference Semifinal match
WHEN: Friday, Nov. 15, 2013 - 7 p.m.
WHERE: Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center
Semifinal 1 winner vs. Semifinal 2 winner
WHAT: Sun Conference Championship match
WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013 - 2 p.m.
WHERE: Daytona Beach, Fla. - ICI Center
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO (Saturday only): Stretch Internet
ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Blue and Gold are ranked 18th in the ninth regular season coaches' poll after being ranked 19th in last week's poll. The Eagles reached the NAIA National Tournament Final Site for the third consecutive season in 2012. Head Coach Josylnn Gallop is the winningest coach in program history, owning a 220-81 career record in this, her ninth season at the helm of the Eagles.
ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN
Southeastern hails from Lakeland, Fla. and earned the No. 2 seed after finishing the regular season with an 8-3 record in league play. Terry Thomas is in his eighth season at the helm of the Southeastern program and owns a 150-170 record with the Fire. In 2012, SEU finished 9-26 overall and 3-7 in league action, finishing fifth in the conference before suffering a first-round loss to Warner in the TSC Tournament.
The Fire lead the conference in kills (1452), assists (1281), blocks (243.5) and digs (2423). Carol Reis has been the most valuable player for the Fire, leading the conference in hitting percentage (.361), kills (394) and blocks (102). Her .361 hitting percentage ranks 18th in the NAIA. Alyssa Prescott leads the team with 859 assists while Monica Lowe leads the way in digs with 520.
ABOUT ST. THOMAS
St. Thomas hails from Miami Gardens, Fla. and earned the No. 3 seed after finishing the regular season with an 7-4 record in league play. The Bobcats swept sixth-seeded Ave Maria, 3-0, in Tuesday's first round match. Callaway Mefford is in her second season at the helm of the STU program and owns a 30-19 record with the Bobcats. In 2012, STU finished 16-7 overall and 8-2 in league action, finishing third in the regular season conference standings and reaching the conference championship match, where they lost to Embry-Riddle, 3-0.
As a team, St. Thomas averages 11.8 kills/set, third-best in the conference, and 11.4 assists/set, good for second in the league. Dana Nowaczyk (6.83, 4th) and Sydney Maynard (4.70, 8th) are both in the top eight in the league in assists/set. Nicole McInnis has been the top offensive threat, averaging 3.78 kills/set, which is tops in the conference and ranks her 28th in the country. Marisa Markus is third in the conference with 3.11 kills/set as well. Jordan Wiese leads the team and is 10th in the conference with 299 digs while Rosa Viera is 11th in the league with a team-leading 52 blocks (four solo).
ABOUT WEBBER INTERNATIONAL
Webber International hails from Babson Park, Fla. and earned the No. 5 seed after finishing the regular season with a 6-4 record in league play. The Warriors earned a trip to the semifinals after sweeping Warner, 3-0, in the first round on Tuesday.
Brian Goodhind is in his second season at the helm of the WIU program and owns a 37-23 record with the Warriors. In 2012, WIU finished 18-12 overall and 9-2 in league action, finishing second in the regular season conference standings and reaching the conference semifinals, where they lost to St. Thomas, 3-1.
The Warriors rank third in The Sun Conference with 11.40 assists/set, led by Katie Lindstrom's 9.86 assists/set, ranking her second in the conference and 31st in the country. Jessika Hester is seventh in the league with a .213 hitting percentage, while Taylor Eiker has averaged 3.06 kills/set, fifth-best in the conference. Michelle Einzinger is listed fifth in The Sun Conference with an average of 0.73 blocks/set and Hayley Bennett is 12th with 2.94 digs/set.
STREAKING IN THE POLLS
When the NAIA released the ninth coaches' poll of the 2013 regular season on Tuesday, the Eagles found themselves at No. 18 in the rankings, up one spot from the team's previous ranking of No. 19. Embry-Riddle spent the entire 2011 season and all but one week in 2012 ranked in the top 10, a total of 25 weeks, including a trio of weeks at No. 2 (Sept. 20 - Oct. 4, 2011). In total, the Eagles have been ranked in the Top 25 for 47 consecutive polls, the fifth-longest active streak in the NAIA.
BLUE AND GOLD AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
The Eagles have shown early in 2013 that they are among the best in the NAIA in three of the most important facets of the game: assists, kills, digs and hitting percentage. Embry-Riddle is currently averaging 12.07 assists/set, the 21st-best average in the country. With 13.03 kills/set, ERAU ranks 27th in the NAIA. Ranking 40th in the nation, the Eagles have picked up 16.88 digs/set. The Blue and Godl are hitting .219 as a team, which is listed 42nd-best in the country.
GRAY DOMINANT DEFENSIVELY
Junior libero
Hannah Gray has proven that she is one of the best defensive players in the country with her stellar play this season. Gray, last year's Sun Conference Libero of the Year, is currently averaging 6.44 digs/set, the second-highest average in the nation. Her 625 digs are also the 24th-highest total in the NAIA.
FERREIRA DOING IT ALL
Sophomore setter
Tamires Ferreira is out to prove that setters can do more than just rack up assists. She has done a great job circulating the ball while running the 5-1 offense for the Eagles, recording 941 assists for an average of 10.01 assists/set, which ranks her 27th in the nation in that category. But she has also collected a team-leading 53 service aces, 34th-best in the NAIA, in addition to picking up 261 digs, second-best on the team. Ferreira has also proven to be an offensive threat herself, putting down 152 kills, including a match-high 16 kills at Flagler on Sept. 11. The Barbacena, Brazil native also has 48 blocks (three solo) on the season, ranking third on the Eagle squad.
MILESTONE CHASE
At least one Eagle is in the hunt for a career milestone and a program record during the 2013 season.
Emily Jacobson stands at 357 career blocks, just four behind Susan Delahanty's 361 program record number. Jacobson has averaged 89.25 blocks per season since stepping on ERAU's campus.
REPLACING THE BEST CLASS IN EAGLE HISTORY
Following the 2012 season, Gallop lost four seniors that were arguably the best class in program history.
Jordan Holcomb and
Taylor Martin (now volunteer assistant coaches for the Eagles) rank No. 3 and No. 4 respectively on the all-time kills list (
1,000-Kill Club), while
Adriana Vazquez shattered the career assist mark (5,035) while collecting four straight Sun Conference Setter of the Year honors (
1,000-Assist Club). Glorida Kemp also graduated after compiling 672 kills, a .276 attack percentage and 237 blocks in her four-year career.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
The Sun Conference coaches selected the Eagles to top the league's preseason poll, released earlier this month. Embry-Riddle garnered six first-place votes and 48 total points to claim the No. 1 spot in the poll, while St. Thomas came in second with two first-place votes and 43 total points.
19 SEASONS OF EAGLE VOLLEYBALL
The 2013 season marks the 19th edition of Eagle volleyball. Embry-Riddle is 424-235 all-time, capturing six regular season titles, four conference tournament titles and making three appearances at the NAIA National Tournament.
