DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball extended its season-long winning streak to four matches on Tuesday with a dominant performance against Florida Tech, sweeping the visiting Panthers 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-13). The win moves ERAU above the .500 mark to 8-7 overall and 3-6 in SSC play, while FIT falls to 7-8 and 2-7 in conference matches.
Theresa Jordan led the offense with 13 kills and added a team-high five blocks to go along with eight digs.
McKenna James chipped in with a season-high 10 kills and hit .421 while
Melanie Canfield contributed eight kills and 10 digs and
Paola Virella registered seven kills and nine digs.
Olivia Roa racked up a match-leading 23 digs and
Alyssa Rudd ran the Eagle offense, tallying 36 assists.
The Blue and Gold led from the start, jumping out to a 5-0 lead and quickly extending it to 13-2 after an 8-0 run that featured four kills and two blocks from Jordan. The Panthers were able to trim the margin to seven, but never really challenged the Eagles for the remainder of the set as ERAU cruised to a 25-17 win.
Embry-Riddle quickly ran out to an 8-2 lead in set two, but FIT managed to quickly regain its footing and get to within two points at 8-6. The Eagles answered back with another sustained rally, scoring nine of the next 11 points to pull out to a commanding 17-8 lead. As in the first set, Florida Tech couldn't get themselves close enough to challenge the Blue and Gold and ERAU went up 2-0 in the match after another 25-17 victory.
FIT started the third frame much better than it had in the two previous sets, leading 3-2 early on. But a pair of 4-0 runs for the Eagles quickly turned the tide and put the home side well out in front, 11-5. The Panthers got to within three (13-10), but a service error gave the momentum back to Embry-Riddle, who didn't waste it, rattling off 10 points in the next 11 rallies to push its advantage to 23-11, the largest at any point during the match. Four points later, Roa clinched the set and the match with her team-leading 28th service ace of the season, giving ERAU a 25-13 win and a 3-0 sweep.
The Eagles continue this three-match home stand on Friday when they host No. 25 Saint Leo at 7 p.m.
