GAMEDAY CENTRAL
#14 Embry-Riddle (5-5, 0-0 TSC) vs. Southeastern (8-6, 0-0 TSC)
DATE: Friday, Sept. 13, 2013
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE: ICI Center
MATCH TIME: 7 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO: Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO: Stretch Internet
CURRENT STREAKS: ERAU: L1 - SEU: W3
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 5 MATCHES: 3-2
EMBRY-RIDDLE'S LAST 10 MATCHES: 5-5
EMBRY-RIDDLE AT HOME: 2-3
SOUTHEASTERN ON THE ROAD: 2-3
ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Blue and Gold are ranked 14th in the first regular season coaches' poll after being ranked 10th in the preseason 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 206-77 career record in this, her ninth season at the helm of the Eagles.
ABOUT SOUTHEASTERN
Southeastern hails from Lakeland, Fla. and is a fellow member of The Sun Conference. Terry Thomas is in his eighth season at the helm of the SEU program and own a 138-163 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 are led by junior transfer Carol Reis who has 145 kills and 49 blocks (21 solo) and senior Christi Limpert who has registered 132 kills and 48 blocks (17 solo). Reis ranks 14th and Limpert 18th in the nation in total blocks; Reis also ranks 25th in hitting percentage (.351) and 36th in total kills. Freshman Alyssa Prescott (230 assists) and sophomore Monica Lowe (201 assists) run the 6-2 offense for Southeastern while junior libero Katie Trenski anchors the defense with 275 digs, the fourth-highest total in the NAIA. Lowe and senior Laura Ackart each have 23 service aces, the 18th-best total in the country.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
Friday's match is Breast Cancer Awareness Night at Embry-Riddle. The Eagles will be wearing pink jerseys donated by Radiology Associates Imaging Centers in honor of the event. The ICI Center will serve as the venue for the Fifth Annual Daytona Beach Breast Health Symposium on Saturday. The event is part of an ongoing effort to inform, educate and empower the women of our community. Healthcare professionals will discuss breast health and answer audience questions and breast cancer survivors will speak and be honored in a survivor celebration hosted by the American Cancer Society. The event begins at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, and will continue into the early afternoon, with breakfast and lunch provided. For those attending, a suggested donation of $10 which will go to your choice of a number of cancer-related groups including the American Cancer Society and Susan G. Komen Walk for the Cure is appreciated. If you are interested in attending, you can register online at radiologyassociatesimaging.com or by phone at 386-872-3410.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Oct. 23, 2012 - The seventh-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team improved to 22-4 overall and 6-0 in The Sun Conference with a 3-0 victory at Southeastern, 25-14, 25-21, 25-18. The highlight of the night came in the second set when
Adriana Vazquez recorded her 21st assist of the match on a tip kill from
Jordan Holcomb. That assist was number 4,686 in her career, breaking Marissa Gonzales' previous record of 4,685 assists set from 2005-08.
The Eagles used a 15-3 run to break open the first set, pushing the score to 19-7. The Fire couldn't pull any closer than nine points (23-14) and
Gloria Kemp's sixth kill of the set closed the frame at 25-14 in favor of ERAU.
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Set two featured 13 ties and six lead changes, with the Eagles trailing late in the period, 20-19. A kill from
Jordan Holcomb sparked a 5-0 run for Embry-Riddle to give the Blue and Gold a set point at 24-20. Two points later, Holcomb ended the set at 25-21 with another kill, putting ERAU ahead two sets to none.
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The third set saw Embry-Riddle take an early 7-3 lead that they would never relinquish. A service ace from
Taylor Martin moved the score to 11-7 and a solo block from
Cailey Washington built the lead to 15-10. A Martin kill gave ERAU match point at 24-17 and Holcomb finished the match two points later with her 10th kill, ending the set at 25-18, and clinching the 11th sweep of the year for the Eagles.
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Kemp and Martin led the way with 11 kills apiece. Kemp led all players with a season-high .667 hitting percentage and Martin added 10 digs. Holcomb contributed 10 kills and nine digs, while
Morgan Shattuck chipped in five kills on 12 attacks. Vazquez tallied a match-high 35 assists and nine digs, while
Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 18 digs.
EAGLES DOMINANT AT HOME
Since 2008, the Eagles have made the ICI Center a difficult place for visitors to play. Embry-Riddle holds a 68-12 record at home since the beginning of the 2008 season, a winning percentage of .850. In Sun Conference play, the Eagles haven't lost since Nov. 14, 2009, when SCAD Savannah defeated ERAU in the conference championship match. Since then, the Blue and Gold have won 17 straight home conference matches.
STREAKING IN THE POLLS
When the NAIA released the first coaches' poll of the 2013 regular season on Tuesday, the Eagles found themselves at No. 14 in the rankings, a four-spot drop from the team's No. 10 preseason ranking. Embry-Riddle spent the entire 2011 season and all but one week in 2012 ranked in the top 10, a total of 24 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 39 straight 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: kills, digs and assists. Embry-Riddle is currently averaging 12.53 assists/set, the tenth-best average in the country. With 13.26 kills/set, ERAU ranks 21st in the NAIA. Ranking 29th in the nation, the Eagles have picked up 17.38 digs/set.
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 7.08 digs/set, the third-highest average in the nation. Her 276 digs are also the 15th-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 398 assists for an average of 10.21 assists/set, which ranks her 15th in the nation in that category. But she has also collected a team-leading 23 service aces, the 42nd-best total in the nation, in addition to picking up 99 digs, third-best on the team. Ferreira has also proven to be an offensive threat herself, putting down 63 kills, including a match-high 16 kills at Flagler on Sept. 11. The Barbacena, Brazil native also has 13 blocks (one solo) on the season, ranking fourth on the Eagle squad.
MILESTONE CHASE
At least one Eagle is in the hunt for a career milestone and a program record entering the 2013 season.
Emily Jacobson stands at 299 career blocks, 62 behind Susan Delahanty's 361 program record number. Jacobson has averaged 88.3 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).
Gloria 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 410-231 all-time, capturing five regular season titles, four conference tournament titles and making three appearances at the NAIA National Championship.
