TAMPA, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team fell in three sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-17) at Tampa on Thursday evening. With the loss, the Eagles are now 12-11 on the year, while UT stands at 19-4.
 
Evelina Abdurakhmanova and Amanda Saunders each led the Eagles with six kills, while Saunders had eight digs and two blocks. Erika Hinel led the team with five blocks and Sumerr Paxton had a team-high 13 digs. Tamires Ferreira tallied 15 assists, five kills, five digs and three blocks.
 
The Spartans led throughout the first set, but ERAU never allowed the defending national champs to run away with it. UT had a 9-5 lead before ERAU fought back to within a point at 12-11. The lead grew as large as six points (20-14), but the Blue and Gold rallied to close the gap to 22-19 before Tampa closed out the frame with a 3-1 run to win, 25-20.
 
The Blue and Gold held a slim 3-2 lead early in the second set before the Spartans went on an 8-4 spurt to take the lead, 10-7. An Ashley Humphrey kill capped a 3-0 run that tightened the gap to 14-13 but UT answered back with a 4-1 run to regain its four-point lead (18-14). Tampa slowly increased the margin as the set wound down, eventually winning by a 25-18 score.
 
The third set saw Embry-Riddle score on the first two balls, but the Spartans scored on the next four rallies to take an early 4-2 lead. The Blue and Gold fought back to tie it at 8, but Tampa never let ERAU back in front. UT turned the 8-8 tie into an 18-8 lead on the strength of a 10-0 run that included kills from five different Spartans. The Eagles scored four straight points to make it a 19-13 score, but the fifth-ranked team in the nation proved to be too much to handle as Tampa won the set, 25-17.
 
The Eagles return home on Tuesday to begin a five-match home stand when they host Rollins at 7 p.m.