PORTLAND, Ore. – Ella Duggan tallied nine kills and hit a blistering .667 but the Eagles couldn't overcome Brenna Huwe's 22 kills as she led Concordia to a 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 18-25, 25-17) victory over Embry-Riddle in both team's first match of the 2016 campaign.
 
Asya Oguz added eight kills and nine digs while Paola Virella chipped in seven kills and a team-high 11 digs in her ERAU debut. Jordan Nakayama racked up 28 assists as the team's primary setter and also contributed 10 digs.
 
Concordia used a 7-1 run to take control of the first set at 19-12 and the Cavaliers would go on to a 25-14 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The second set was much closer, with ERAU scoring three straight points to tie the set at 18-18 and maintaining a level standing with CU at 20-20. The Cavaliers closed out the frame on a 5-1 spurt keyed by back-to-back service aces from Allie Spear to move ahead two sets to none.
 
After falling behind 8-5, Embry-Riddle rattled off nine of the next 11 points to take a 14-10 lead, and the Blue and Gold didn't look back, finishing off the set in convincing fashion with a 25-18 win to send the match to a fourth set.
 
A 5-0 run midway through the fourth frame put CU ahead 14-9, which proved to be a lead that the Cavaliers would not surrender. The Eagles kept the set score within six points for the duration, but Concordia would eventually win by a 25-17 score to secure the 3-1 match victory.
 
The Eagles return to the court in Portland tomorrow as they wrap up the Concordia-Portland Labor Day Tournament with a pair of matches. First up is a 12:30 p.m. contest against Missouri Science & Technology, followed by a 5:30 p.m. meeting with Western Oregon.