ORLANDO, Fla. – For the second consecutive year, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team earned a pair of wins on the first day of the South Region Crossover presented by Junior's Catering. The Blue and Gold swept West Georgia 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-20) before downing Mississippi College 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-18).
With the victories, ERAU improves to 8-7 on the year, while UWG drops to 4-15 and MC falls to 8-13.
ERAU 3, UWG 0
The Eagles, opened up the tournament against West Georgia for the second straight season. The Blue and Gold were the better team throughout the match, outhitting the Wolves .393 to .140
McKenna James led all players with 11 kills while
Paola Virella added 10 and
Amanda Saunders chipped in with nine.
Jordan Nakayama and
Alyssa Rudd each tallied 17 assists while
Olivia Roa picked up a match-high 13 digs.
The Blue and Gold used an early 12-1 run to open up a 16-5 lead in the first set and never looked back. Duggan recorded back-to-back blocks to close out the set with ERAU winning the frame in dominant fashion, 25-10.
Set two saw UWG take a slim 6-4 lead early on, but the Eagles quickly went on a 12-3 spurt that gave the Blue and Gold command of the set at 16-9. The Wolves fought back to eventually draw even at 17-17, but ERAU ended the frame on an 8-1 run to win 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was close throughout, with neither side leading by more than two points until the late stages. Tied at 18, Embry-Riddle scored three straight points as part of an 8-2 run to close out the match, with ERAU taking the final set by a 25-20 score.
ERAU 3, MC 1
In the day's second and final match, ERAU racked up 14.5 blocks while limiting the Choctaws to an .087 attack percentage.
Virella and
Alex Reese each registered a team-high 11 kills and Duggan contributed nine while hitting .400. Rudd (24 assists, 10 digs) and Nakayama (21 assists, 10 digs) ran the 6-2 offense and Roa (19 digs) anchored the back row once again for ERAU.
In the first set, Mississippi College led throughout the early and middle stages, holding a three-point lead as late as 16-13. A 7-1 Eagle run turned the three-point deficit into a three-point advantage (20-17) and ERAU went on to claim a 25-20 win to take a 1-0 lead.
Set two was close throughout most of the frame, and much like the first set, ERAU used a late push to earn the win. The Blue and Gold scored eight of the final 10 points of the set to win 25-18, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set continued the trend of close battles, with a total of 12 ties and eight lead changes. The Blue and Gold led as late as 21-20, but MC scored four straight points after that to go ahead, 24-21. James scored on a kill and a block to make it a one-point deficit (24-23), but Ashton King put down a kill to give the Choctaws a 25-23 win, extending the match to a fourth set.
Embry-Riddle finally was able to close out the match in set four, taking a 15-15 tie and rattling off 10 of the next 13 points to win the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.
The Eagles will close out the South Region Crossover tomorrow at 2:30 with a match against Lee.
