DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team fell to 12-8 on the season with a tough five-set loss to the visiting Eckerd Tritons on Friday night at the ICI Center. The Eagles fell 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12) despite outhitting Eckerd .198 to .120 and eclipsing the 100-dig mark as a team for just the second time this season.
 
Evelina Abdurakhmanova led all players with 26 kills while Amanda Saunders notched a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs playing on the outside for the first time this season. Tamires Ferreira tallied 46 assists to go along with 24 digs and seven kills while Caitlyn Ballard picked up a career-high 40 digs.
 
Eckerd opened up the match on a 9-3 run, but an Erika Hinel kill sparked a 12-2 run that pushed the Blue and Gold into the lead, 15-11.  The Tritons fought back to regain the lead at 20-18, and although the Eagles briefly regained the lead (21-20), EC closed out the set scoring five of the last six points to win the frame, 25-22.
 
The second set was a close affair through the early stages until a 9-2 run put the Eagles comfortably ahead at 21-13. Embry-Riddle maintained a sizable advantage en route to a 25-19 victory that tied the match at a set apiece.
 
The Tritons got off to a blistering start in the third set, taking an early 7-1 lead. ERAU bounced back quickly, tying things at 9-9 before pulling slightly ahead, 15-13. After EC scored three straight points to take a 16-15 lead, the Blue and Gold scored six straight points, four of which were Abdurakhmanova kills, to pull ahead, 21-16. The teams essentially traded sideouts for the rest of the set as ERAU won the frame, 25-20.
 
The trend of Eckerd starting strong continued in the fourth set as the Tritons took an early 7-3 lead. Embry-Riddle clawed back to within a point (9-8) before EC rattled off seven in a row to extend its lead to 16-8. With Eckerd ahead 18-9 and looking to be fully in control of the set, the Eagles battled back to make it a one-point frame (21-20). Unfortunately for the home team, the Tritons didn't allow ERAU to get any closer than that as the visitors took the fourth set by a 25-23 score, setting up a decisive fifth set.
 
Embry-Riddle could not have gotten off to a worse start to the fifth set, falling behind 7-0. But, just as quickly as they dug themselves a hole, the Eagles climbed right back out of it, going on a 6-0 run to trim the deficit to a single point (8-7). That would prove to be the closest the Blue and Gold would get in the fifth frame as Eckerd held on for a 15-12 win.
 
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow afternoon when they host Saint Leo at 4 p.m. inside the ICI Center.