DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Embry-Riddle volleyball team celebrated its final Sun Conference match on its home court on Saturday by defeating the visiting Ave Maria Gyrenes 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-16). With the win, the Eagles (19-9) claimed a share of The Sun Conference Regular Season Championship with a 13-1 league record. ERAU and St. Thomas both finished with identical 13-1 marks, but by virtue of winning the tiebreaker on head-to-head points, STU will host The Sun Conference Tournament next weekend.
Cheye-Anne Savage led all players with 10 kills while senior Jennifer Beatty chipped in eight kills. Tamires Ferreira had a solid all-around match, racking up 35 assists, five kills, five digs, four blocks and four service aces. Senior libero Hannah Gray tallied 19 digs to lead all players.
Marie Mendez, Katelyn Healy and Lexy Smith all recorded a team-high six kills for AMU. Jessica Schein had 13 assists and Mary Eckard picked up a team-leading nine digs.
The Eagles used an early 6-2 run to take an 8-5 lead in set one, prompting an Ave Maria timeout. The Gyrenes kept it close but ERAU scored the final five points of the frame, capped by back-to-back aces from Gray, to win the first set, 25-17.
Embry-Riddle wasted no time building a big lead in set two, running out to a 13-5 advantage. The Gyrenes cut the deficit to four points (17-13) only to have the Eagles close out the set scoring eight of the last nine points to win the frame, 25-14.
Ave Maria held a slim 10-9 advantage in set three before the Blue and Gold rattled off nine consecutive points to build a comfortable 18-10 lead. The Eagles maintained a sizable margin as they claimed a 25-16 win, completing the 3-0 sweep.
The Eagles will travel to Miami Gardens for The Sun Conference Tournament next weekend, where they will be the No. 2 seed. ERAU will face the winner of the Warner-Northwood match at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14. St. Thomas will play the winner of the Southeastern-Webber International match at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14, with the two semifinal winners meeting in the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
