BRUNSWICK, Ga. - The final NAIA season for the Embry-Riddle volleyball team came to an end on Saturday with a 3-1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18) loss at the College of Coastal Georgia in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The Eagles close out 2014 with a 21-10 record while CCGA improves to 35-1 and earns a spot in the final site of the national championship in Sioux City, Iowa.
Evelina Abdurakhmanova led the Blue and Gold with 18 kills and added 11 digs while Ana Pajic chipped in 12 kills and hit .524. Tamires Ferreira racked up 49 assists and picked up seven digs. Playing in their final collegiate matches, Jennifer Beatty contributed 13 kills and seven digs and Hannah Gray collected a match-high 21 digs.
Emma Anderson led CCGA with a match-high 22 kills while Rachel Amundsen (14 kills) and Kara Neisen (12 kills, 14 digs) also reached double-figures in kills. Neisen's 11 digs were a team-high and Cayley Meiners notched a match-leading 57 assists.
Both teams were extremely efficient on offense, with the Mariners hitting .353 for the match and the Eagles hitting at a .308 clip. CCGA hit over .300 in each of its three set wins, while Embry-Riddle hit .294 or better in each of the final three frames.
Playing in front of a packed Howard Coffin Gym, the home team fed off the crowd's energy in set one, jumping out to an early 8-4 lead. The Eagles were able to cut the lead to a single point (14-13) but couldn't draw even, as Coastal Georgia pulled away late for a 25-17 win.
The Eagles started strong in set two, scoring the first four points en route to an early 11-3 lead. An Abdurakhmanova kill extended the gap to 10 points (18-8) before the Mariners began to chip away at the lead. CCGA put down four straight kills to stave off set point before Abdurakhmanova was able to terminate the final point, giving ERAU a 25-21 win and squaring the match at a set apiece.
Set three was the closest of the four frames, with neither side able to take a lead of more than two points until Coastal Georgia went on a 5-0 run to pull ahead, 19-13. The Blue and Gold answered back with four straight points to make it 19-17, but the Mariners didn't allow Embry-Riddle to get any closer, eventually taking the set, 25-20.
CCGA saved its best for last, hitting .714 in the final set with 20 kills and no errors on 28 swings. The Eagles hit .393 in the set, their highest mark of the day, but the Mariners only allowed Embry-Riddle to score consecutive points on two occasions. Coastal Georgia clinched the match on a Neisen kill to win the set, 25-18, finishing off the 3-1 victory.
The Eagle senior class of Jennifer Beatty and Hannah Gray wrap up their careers with four Sun Conference regular season and tournament championships and four trips to the NAIA National Championship. Beatty finishes her two-year career with 763 kills while Gray ends her three-year career as the program's all-time digs leader with 2,107.
