ORLANDO, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team capped off a perfect 3-0 weekend at the South Region Volleyball Crossover presented by Junior's Catering with a 3-1 win (25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 25-16) over Lee on Saturday afternoon. With the win, ERAU moves to 9-7 on the year, while LC drops to 8-10.
In a rematch from Sept. 9 that saw the Eagles earn a 3-1 win on the strength of 17.5 total team blocks, the Blue and Gold followed the same playbook on Saturday, racking up an identical 17.5 total team blocks in the victory. Embry-Riddle hit .286 with 11 attack errors, compared to the Flames' .160 hitting percentage and 33 attack errors.
Amanda Saunders was dominant in September's meeting and put up another strong performance on Saturday, leading all players with 19 kills and hitting .378 with eight digs and seven blocks.
McKenna James chipped in 11 kills while hitting .556 with seven blocks and
Ella Duggan added 10 blocks (two solo) and six kills.
Olivia Roa led all players with 21 digs while
Jordan Nakayama (22 assists) and
Alyssa Rudd (19 assists) shared the setting duties.
In set one, Embry-Riddle used a 10-1 run to turn a 7-4 deficit into a 14-8 lead, a run that included four blocks. The Flames fought back with six straight points to tie the set at 14-14 and the frame stayed close from that point on. A kill from
Alex Reese sparked a quick 3-0 run that put ERAU in front, 23-20, and a kill from
Theresa Jordan gave the Eagles a 25-22 win.
Set two followed a near-identical blueprint as the first, with ERAU going on a 10-3 run to take a 15-9 lead only to see Lee rally back to eventually draw even at 21-21. Reese came up with another big kill, putting the Eagles on set point at 24-22, and she also punctuated the set with yet another kill, ending the frame at 25-23 and giving the Blue and Gold a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set saw Lee find it's footing a little bit better than the first two sets. The Flames went on an 8-2 run to pull out to a 17-11 lead, but ERAU turned the tables and clawed back to within a point at 21-20. An attack error brought the Eagles to level footing at 23-23, but Lee got a pair of kills to end the set with a 25-23 win.
After the Flames jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set four, Saunders took over. She registered three kills and two blocks as part of a 7-0 Eagle run to give Embry-Riddle a 7-5 lead. The Blue and Gold increased its lead to 14-9 and never looked back, eventually running away with a 25-16 win. In the set, Saunders accounted for 12 points – nine kills, two blocks and an ace, while hitting .818 (9-0-11).
The Eagles land back at home Tuesday, Oct. 18 to host Rollins in the second meeting between the two schools this year. ERAU defeated the Tars on the road last month, 3-1. Tuesday's match is set for a 7 p.m. start.
