GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 10 Embry-Riddle (2-3) vs. No. 3 Texas at Brownsville (4-0)
*NAIA National Volleyball Match of the Week*
DATE: Friday, Sept. 6, 2013
CITY: Fort Worth, Texas
SITE: Sid Richardson Center
START TIME: 3 p.m.
No. 10 Embry-Riddle (2-3) vs. Texas Wesleyan (6-2)
DATE: Friday, Sept. 6, 2013
CITY: Fort Worth, Texas
SITE: Sid Richardson Center
START TIME: 8 p.m.
No. 10 Embry-Riddle (2-3) vs. Rocky Mountain (6-0)
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013
CITY: Fort Worth, Texas
SITE: Sid Richardson Center
START TIME: 12:30 p.m.
No. 10 Embry-Riddle (2-3) vs. Texas Wesleyan (6-2)
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 6, 2013
CITY: Fort Worth, Texas
SITE: Sid Richardson Center
START TIME: 5:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Blue and Gold are ranked 10th in the preseason poll after reaching the NAIA National Tournament Final Site for the third consecutive season in 2012. Head Coach
Joslynn Gallop is the winningest coach in program history, owning a 203-75 career record in this, her ninth season at the helm of the Eagles.
The Eagles have been solid defensively, ranking seventh in the NAIA in digs/set with 20.11. Junior libero
Hannah Gray leads the defense with 7.79 digs/set, good for second in the nation. Sophomore setter
Tamires Ferreira ranks 11th in the country with 10.63 assists/set and ERAU as a team is 12th with 12.63 assists/set. Also ranking in the top 50 individually are
Jennifer Beatty with 3.68 kills/set, 28th in the NAIA, and
Emily Jacobson with 1.05 blocks/set, 46th nationally.
ABOUT TEXAS AT BROWNSVILLE
Texas at Brownsville is an NAIA program that hails from Brownsville, Texas and the Red River Athletic Conference. Todd Lowery is in his fifth season at the helm of the UTB program and owns a 138-9 record with the Ocelots. In 2012, UTB finished 30-2 overall and 11-0 in league action, winning the conference regular season and tournament titles. Texas at Brownsville advanced as far as the national semifinals before falling to Columbia (Mo.) at the NAIA National Tournament final site.
The Ocelots have been dominant at the net, averaging 3.27 blocks/set, the third-highest average in the NAIA. Ana Guerra (1.54, 4th) and Vanja Joksic (1.15, 33rd) are each ranked in the top 50 individually in blocks/set. As a team, UTB is hitting .295 and averaging 14.38 kills/set, both ranking fourth in the nation. Joksic is hitting .377, putting her 18th in the country in that category.
ABOUT TEXAS WESLEYAN
Texas Wesleyan is an NAIA program that hails from Fort Worth, Texas and the Sooner Athletic Conference. Christy Clawson is in his eighth season at the helm of the Texas Wesleyan program and owns a 131-121 record with the Rams. In 2012, TWU finished 19-15 overall and 6-4 in league action in its last season in the Red River Athletic Conference, finishing fifth in the conference.
The Rams rank in the top 50 in three categories: total service aces (54, 29th), kills/set (12.36, 40th) and total blocks (55.5, 41st). Individually, Lauren Hutchinson ranks 19th in total service aces (17) and total digs (149), while Katherin Rosenbuch is 14th in hitting percentage (.389) and Abigail Zipoy is 44th in service aces (14).
ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Rocky Mountain is an NAIA program that hails from Billings, Mont. and the Frontier Conference. Laurie Kelly is in her seventh season at the helm of the Rocky Mountain program and owns a 138-77 record with the Battlin' Bears. In 2012, RMC finished 14-18 overall and 8-8 in league action, finishing sixth in the conference.
The Battlin' Bears are averagin 2.31 blocks/set, good for 23rd in the nation. RMC also ranks 34th in assists/set with 11.54 and 46th in kills/set with 12.21. Yang Yang is listed in the top 25 in three categories: blocks/set (1.33, 9th), kills/set (3.96, 19th) and hitting percentage (.363, 23rd).
ABOUT LEWIS-CLARK STATE
Lewis-Clark State is an NAIA program that hails from Lewiston, Idaho and the Frontier Conference. Latoya Harris is in her third season at the helm of the LC program and owns a 16-10 record with the Warriors. In 2012, Lewis-Clark State finished 16-10 overall and 11-4 in league action, finishing tied for first in the conference before suffering a second-round loss to the Montana State - Northern in the FC Tournament.
The Warriors are among the nation's best in five major categories, including total digs (563, 16th), total assists (363, 26th), total blocks (62, 29th), total kills (381, 31st) and total service aces (48, 39th). Chelsea Shears is 14th in total digs with 159 while Chelsea Strong is 27th in total blocks with 32.
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.
BACK IN THE TOP 10
When the NAIA released the 2013 preseason poll on Aug. 20, the Eagles found themselves at No. 10 in the rankings, a three-spot improvement from the team's No. 13 ranking at the end of the 2012 season. 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 (more specifically the top 13) for 38 straight polls, the fifth-longest active streak in the NAIA.
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.
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 285 career blocks, 76 behind Susan Delahanty's 361 program record number. Jacobson has averaged 88.3 blocks per season over her three seasons since stepping on ERAU's campus.
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 407-229 all-time, capturing five regular season titles, four conference tournament titles and making three appearances at the NAIA National Championship.
