NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team faced its toughest test of the young season on Friday. The Eagles trailed Bellarmine two sets to one and trailed set four midway through the frame, but the Blue and Gold battled back to earn a 3-2 win (23-25, 25-22, 26-28, 25-19, 15-10) to maintain a perfect record this year at 5-0.
Evelina Abdurakhmanova led the way with a match-high 26 kills to go along with 10 digs, while
Ana Pajic chipped in 11 kills and 18 digs.
Ella Duggan was a force at the net with 10 blocks (three solo) and
Erika Hinel tallied eight kills and four blocks.
Tamires Ferreira collected 42 assists and 16 digs while
Sumerr Paxton picked up a match-best 32 digs.
The first set was tight throughout, an indication of the way the entire match would be. The Eagles trailed from the outset and didn't take their first lead of the set until an attack error gave ERAU a 14-13 advantage. The Knights quickly regained the lead, and within the next dozen points Bellarmine had stretched its lead to 22-18. A service ace from
Madison Lord brought the Blue and Gold to within a point (23-22), but BU eventually took the set, 25-23.
The Knights held a slim lead early in set two, but the Eagles used a 7-0 run to jump ahead, 14-9. ERAU increased its lead to as much as six points (20-14), only to see Bellarmine come storming back with a 7-1 run to knot it up at 21. The Eagles were able to stem the tide before BU could take the lead, allowing ERAU to tie the match with a 25-22 win.
Set three was a back-and-forth affair, with the Eagles running out to three-point leads on multiple occasions, only to have the Knights rally back to tie every time. Bellarmine didn't take its first lead of the frame until 22-21, and it wasn't long before the Knights held two set points at 24-22. A kill by Ferreira and a block from Hinel kept the Eagles in it, but the Blue and Gold couldn't regain the lead and BU won the set, 28-26, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set saw Embry-Riddle fall behind early, trailing 12-8 before Gallop took a timeout to slow the momentum. A few rallies later, the Eagles went on a 7-1 run to take the lead, 17-15. ERAU pulled away from that point, going on to take the fourth set, 25-19, forcing a decisive fifth set.
After dropping the first point of set five, Embry-Riddle led the rest of the way, pushing the lead quickly to 9-4. Bellarmine fought back to make it 11-9, but a Gallop timeout reversed the momentum and the Eagles ended the match on a 4-1 run to win the set, 15-10.
ERAU returns to the court for a pair of matches at the Scott Jones Classic tomorrow. The Blue and Gold will take on host Trevecca Nazarene at 11 a.m. EDT before closing out the tournament against Oakland City at 1 p.m. EDT.
