FORT WORTH, Texas – The tenth-ranked Embry-Riddle volleyball team displayed its perseverance on Friday, fighting back to force a fifth set against No. 3 Texas at Brownsville before falling 3-2 (25-7, 22-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-6). A few hours later the Eagles rebounded from the tough loss by sweeping the host Texas Wesleyan Rams 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-19).
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The day's results moved the Blue and Gold's record to 3-4 on the year, while UTB's win improved their mark to 5-0 and TWU's loss dropped their record to 6-3.
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The Eagles fell behind early against Brownsville, due in large part to a -.188 hitting percentage in the first set. The Ocelots hit .308 in the frame to run away with a 25-7 win, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
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ERAU got off to a much better start in the second set, using a 4-1 spurt to take an early 7-5 lead. After UTB had regained the advantage, 16-15, the Blue and Gold scored three consecutive points to move ahead, 18-16, forcing the Brownsville Head Coach Todd Lowery to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Ocelots scored five straight to take a 21-18 lead. A pair of sideouts made it 22-19 before a Jennifer Beatty kill helped turn the tide in favor of the Eagles. Beatty's kill sparked a 6-0 run capped by back-to-back blocks from Morgan Shattuck and Cailey Washington that closed out the set at 25-22, knotting the match at one set apiece.
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Set three couldn't have started much worse for the Eagles as UTB jumped out to an 8-0 lead before ERAU finally got on the board with a Taylor Ruiz kill. Caitlyn Ballard put down a kill to pull the Blue and Gold to within six (16-10), but that was as close as Embry-Riddle would get, as Brownsville took the set, 25-16, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
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The fourth set was easily the most competitive and best played set of the day, and it was the best example of why the NAIA selected the match as the National Match of the Week. The teams combined for 33 kills and only six errors in the set; ERAU outhit UTB, .516 to .379 in the frame, which featured 17 ties and three lead changes. The final lead change came late, as Embry-Riddle used a 4-0 run to go from trailing 22-20 to leading 24-22. After a service error gave the serve back to Brownsville, Ana Guerra sent an attack into the net for an error, giving the set to the Eagles, 25-23, sending the Match of the Week to a decisive fifth set.
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The Ocelots came out firing in the fifth set, taking a commanding 7-1 lead early on. A Ruiz kill brought the Blue and gold back to within four (8-4), but UTB went on a 7-2 run from that point, taking the fifth set, 15-6, to win the match, 3-2.
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Ruiz led all players with 18 kills and added nine digs, while Morgan Shattuck and Caitlyn Ballard each chipped in with 10 kills and a team-leading three blocks. Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 18 digs while Tamires Ferreira registered a match-best 44 assists.
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Danica Markovic and Vanja Joksic each recorded a team-high 15 kills, with Markovic contributing eight digs and Joksic tallying five blocks. Guerra led all players with eight blocks (one solo). Heather Meeuwsen picked up a team-leading 16 digs and Xiao Yu "Jade" Guo totaled a team-best 42 assists. |
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Stats Comparison |
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Kills |
55 |
52 |
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Errors |
16 |
33 |
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Total Attacks |
132 |
147 |
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Attack Pct. |
.295 |
.129 |
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Assists |
50 |
47 |
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Digs |
55 |
54 |
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Blocks |
13 |
6 |
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Service Aces |
10 |
1 |
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Stat Leaders |
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Markovic/Joksic |
15 |
Kills |
18 |
Ruiz |
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Guo |
50 |
Assists |
44 |
Ferreira |
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Meeuwsen |
16 |
Digs |
18 |
Gray |
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Guerra |
8 |
Blocks |
3 |
Three players |
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Guo |
4 |
Aces |
1 |
Ferreira |
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