SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The 18th-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball suffered a tough setback on Wednesday night, losing in five sets (25-21, 19-25, 28-26, 18-25, 15-13) to No. 6 Midland on the second day of pool play at the NAIA National Championship presented by J&L Enterprises and CNOS Foundation, held at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The Eagles looked to be in control of the fifth set with a 7-2 lead, but the Warriors mounted a ferocious comeback to win the final frame, 15-13.
With the loss, ERAU fell to 22-11 on the year, while Midland improved to 35-4.
After the Eagles' loss to Midland, Grand View defeated Oklahoma Baptist in the other Pool F matchup of the day. With GVU's win, they stand at 2-0 in the pool, while OBU and MU are 1-1, and ERAU is 0-2. As a result, the Blue and Gold have officially been eliminated from contention in Pool F.
Taylor Ruiz led all players with 18 kills while
Jennifer Beatty and
Emily Jacobson chipped in 11 kills apiece. Beatty added 10 digs to register her second straight double-double while Jacobson tallied nine blocks (1 solo).
Hannah Gray led all players with 41 digs and
Caitlyn Ballard recorded her double-figures in digs (14) for the second straight match.
Tamires Ferreira tallied a match-high 48 assists while picking up 19 digs and four blocks (1 solo).
K.C. Heimann led Midland with 16 kills while Mackenzie Scheef added 11 kills. Molly Pettit led the team with 30 digs, while four other Warriors reached double-figure digs, including Megan Farley (18 digs), who led the team with 42 assists. Heather Pribyl recorded nine blocks and six kills and Ashlee Harms added seven blocks (1 solo) and six kills.
Embry-Riddle fell behind early in the first set, 14-9, and wasn't able to pull even until a 4-0 run capped by back-to-back Jacobson kills made it 21-all. Midland regained its composure to score the next four points, clinching the first set, 25-21.
After ERAU took a brief 3-1 lead in set two, MU rattled off six straight points to take a 7-3 lead. The Eagles chipped away at the deficit until a Midland error put the Blue and Gold ahead for the first time, 13-12. A block from Jacobson and
Erika Hinel grew the lead to 18-14 and the Eagles continued to increase the lead, eventually winning the stanza, 25-19.
Embry-Riddle jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the third set and carried the lead throughout most of the frame. After Midland tied the set at 19, Jacobson put down a kill to spark a 3-0 run that made it 22-19 ERAU. A block from Beatty and
Morgan Shattuck gave the Eagles set point at 24-23, but the Blue and Gold couldn't close out the set. The Warriors fought back to score five of the next seven points, winning the set, 28-26.
An 8-3 run put the Eagles in a great position in set four, leading 10-5. Midland scored the next four points to make it 10-9, but Embry-Riddle pulled away again, leading by as many as eight points (21-13). Ferreira closed out the set with one of her three kills, giving ERAU a 25-18 win and forcing a fifth set.
The Blue and Gold started strong in the fifth, scoring seven of the first nine points. The 7-2 lead eventually evaporated, as Heimann put down a kill to tie the frame at 11. After MU took a 12-11 lead, the teams exchanged three sideouts, leading to a 13-13 score. The Warriors scored the next two points on blocks, winning the set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
The Eagles will wrap up pool play at the NAIA National Championship tomorrow evening with a 6:45 p.m. EST tilt against No. 20 Grand View. Live stats and live video will be provided by the NAIA on naia.org.
