DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Evelina Abdurakhmanova (20 kills) and Jennifer Beatty (17 kills, 13 digs) led the Embry-Riddle volleyball team to a 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-12) victory at St. Thomas on Friday night, handing the Bobcats their first conference loss on the season. ERAU now stands at 13-9, 7-1 in league play, while STU is 17-7, 8-1 in The Sun Conference.
Tamires Ferreira racked up a match-high 50 assists to go along with 11 digs while Hannah Gray picked up a match-high 32 digs.
Marisa Markus and Carly Durr each led the Bobcats with 14 kills, while Markus chipped in 14 digs as well. Whitney Battoe added 13 kills for STU. Dana Nowaczyk tallied 47 assists and Sydney Maynard registered a team-high 22 digs.
Just as they did in their first meeting, the Eagles and Bobcats played a tightly-contested match. This time around, the two teams combined for 32 tie scores and 14 lead changes. Each of the first three sets were decided by just two points, with ERAU taking the first and third frames.
The Eagles started strong, running out to a 17-6 lead in the first set. STU trimmed the deficit to just four points (17-13) thanks to a 7-0 run, and eventually drew even at 22-22. The Bobcats served three errors in the next five points and Ana Pajic pounded a kill to clinch the set for ERAU, 26-24.
St. Thomas held a 15-11 lead in set two before the Blue and Gold rattled off eight of the next nine points to move ahead, 19-16. Embry-Riddle had a 23-20 lead, but the Bobcats rallied to win five straight points to win the set, 25-23.
The Eagles used a mid-set run again in set three, scoring six straight points to take a slim 14-12 lead. The teams traded the lead back and forth until the Bobcats looked to be in control with a 23-20 advantage. Just as STU did in set two, ERAU took the final five points to win the set, 25-23, taking a 2-1 lead.
The Blue and Gold jumped out to a 7-1 lead in set four but St. Thomas came back to tie it at 8-8 very quickly. The Bobcats used a 6-0 run to take a 16-12 lead and never looked back, taking set four, 25-19, to force a fifth set.
ERAU took an early 3-0 lead in set five and never trailed, though STU kept it close throughout. The Bobcats tied it at 6-6, only to have the Eagles rattle off four straight points to take a 10-6 lead. St. Thomas clawed back to tie it at 11-11, but Embry-Riddle finished off the Bobcats, winning four of the next five points to clinch the set, 15-12, and the match, 3-2.
Embry-Riddle returns to action tomorrow afternoon when they face Florida Memorial. The match will be held at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami, Fla. at 1 p.m.
