DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Evelina Abdurakhmanova hit .600 and pounded out 25 kills to lead the Embry-Riddle volleyball team to a 3-2 (25-19, 19-25, 23-25, 25-17, 15-4) upset victory over No. 20 Coastal Georgia on Wednesday night. The Eagles improved to 9-6 on the year and extended their winning streak to seven matches, while the Mariners suffered their first loss of 2014, dropping to 17-1.
 
Jennifer Beatty chipped in with 13 kills while Ana Pajic had 11 kills, eight digs and four blocks. Cheye-Anne Savage tallied eight blocks, which is a single-match high for the Eagles this year. Tamires Ferreira racked up 54 assists and 19 digs while Hannah Gray collected a match-high 27 digs.
 
Allie Shannon led CCG with 14 kills and six blocks while Rachel Amundson (11 kills, five blocks) and Kara Neisen (10 kills, 10 digs) also reached double-figures in kills. Jennifer Johnson led the team with 13 digs and Cayley Meiners registered 42 assists, 10 digs and four blocks.
 
Embry-Riddle got off to a start, taking an early 9-2 lead in the first set. ERAU wasn't really tested in the first frame, limiting the Mariners to a -.026 hitting percentage. Coastal Georgia used a 4-0 run late to trim the deficit to 21-19, but the Blue and Gold scored the next four points, including two blocks and a kill from Savage, giving ERAU a 25-19 win.
 
The Mariners broke open the second set with a 9-1 run to move ahead, 14-7. Embry-Riddle was able to cut the lead down to as few as three points but couldn't get any closer than that; CCG hit .225 en route to a 25-19 win to tie the match at one set apiece.
 
The third set was the most tightly-contested frame of the match, featuring 12 ties and six lead changes. The Eagles had a 14-11 lead, which proved to be the biggest lead of the set, and stayed in front until a kill from Emma Anderson pushed the Mariners in front, 19-18. Erika Hinel answered with a kill and an Anderson error quickly put the Eagles ahead again, 20-19, but that would be the last time ERAU led in the set. ERAU committed three errors in the final eight points of the set, helping Coastal Georgia to a 25-23 win that gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
CCG held a slight lead early in the fourth (5-3) before the Eagles rallied for an 8-1 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Blue and Gold continued to hit with increased efficiency as the set went on, leading to a .412 hitting percentage for the team in the frame. Abdurakhmanova punctuated the set with a kill to give the Eagles a 25-17 win and force a decisive fifth set.
 
Embry-Riddle dominated the fifth set from start to finish, accumulating eight kills with just one error in 11 attacks, good for a .636 hitting percentage. On the other side, Coastal Georgia had just three kills with three errors in 11 attacks, equaling a .000 hitting percentage. Abdurakhmanova terminated four of the first six points with three kills and a block as ERAU ran out to a 6-0 lead. CCG broke up the shutout with a kill from the setter Meiners, but Beatty responded with a kill and back-to-back service aces. Abdurakhmanova killed the next ball to make it 10-1 Eagles and got her 25th kill a few points later to spark a 4-0 run that pushed ERAU to match point at 14-3. Two points later, Amundson tried to swing on an overpass, but her attack went into the net, clinching the set at 15-4 for the Eagles.
 
Next up for the Eagles is an exhibition match at home on Friday, Oct. 3 against Broward College at 7 p.m. The next regular season match for Embry-Riddle is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m., when the Blue and Gold will travel to St. Petersburg to face NCAA II Eckerd, a future Sunshine State Conference foe.