DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Led by a 20-kill, 21-dig effort from Amanda Saunders, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team returned to the win column on Tuesday night, taking down visiting Florida Southern in five sets, 23-25, 25-22, 26-24, 16-25, 15-10. The Eagles even their season mark at 14-14 with the victory, while FSC drops to 19-10. The win also marks the Blue and Gold's first win over Florida Southern in program history.
 
Saunders led all players with 20 kills and added 21 digs and five blocks. Asya Oguz tallied 11 kills while McKenna James registered a match-high six blocks to go along with four kills. Olivia Roa returned to the starting lineup and responded with a team-high 22 digs, while Jordan Nakayama (25 assists, 12 digs) and Alyssa Rudd (14 assists, 15 digs) handled the setting duties.
 
The Eagles dug themselves a quick hole in set one, falling behind 11-5 early on. A kill from Oguz sparked a 4-0 run that brought the Blue and Gold to within a point (13-12), and a later 5-0 run keyed by two Paolo Virella kills put ERAU ahead, 21-19. The Moccasins answered by winning six of the last eight rallies of the set to steal a 25-23 victory.
 
Embry-Riddle got off to a better start in set two, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but FSC responded quickly and a 5-0 run pushed the visitors to the lead, 7-5. After the Mocs extended the lead to as many as four points (12-8), ERAU began to pull itself back into the set, and eventually a Theresa Jordan kill tied things up at 14. A 4-0 Eagle spurt pushed the home team to the lead (18-16), but Florida Southern quickly took it back with a 3-0 spurt of their own (19-18). The Blue and Gold took the lead for good on a Saunders kill that came in the midst of a 3-0 run which put the Eagles up 22-20. Embry-Riddle would eventually clinch the set on a Nakayama service ace, 25-22.
 
The Mocs looked to be in control of set three, as a 7-0 run put FSC ahead by a 15-6 score. The Blue and Gold bounced back with a 6-0 run to cut it to 15-12, and a few minutes later, ERAU found themselves tied at 21 with the Mocs. Florida Southern scored the next two points, but the Eagles showed their resiliency, scoring the next three to earn set point sat 24-23. After FSC staved off one set point, Saunders put down kills on the next two rallies to end the set at 26-24, giving the Blue and Gold a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Florida Southern quickly ran out to a 9-4 lead in set four, but unlike its previous early leads, the Mocs held on to this one. The closest Embry-Riddle got was 13-10 as FSC methodically pulled away for a 25-16 set four win, knotting the match up at two sets apiece.
 
Just moments into the fifth set ERAU found itself with a 3-0 lead, thanks to a service error, service ace, and ball handling error on the second touch of the third point. Florida Southern came back with three straight points of its own to tie the frame at 3-3. After four consecutive sideouts, Virella put down a kill that sparked a 4-0 Eagle run, pushing ERAU in front 9-5. Back-to-back Oguz kills increased the margin to five points (11-6), which would prove to be enough of a cushion for the Eagles. FSC came back to within three at 13-10, but a Saunders kill followed by a Laina Blanton ace sealed the 15-10 win and the 3-2 victory, ERAU's first-ever win over Florida Southern in volleyball.
 
The Eagles are back at home this weekend to close out the 2016 season. ERAU welcomes Barry on Friday night for a 7 p.m. contest, with Lynn slated to visit the ICI Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.