DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Led by 23 kills from freshman
Melanie Canfield, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team pulled off a 3-1 upset of 25th-ranked Saint Leo on Friday night, knocking off the Lions 25-19, 25-15, 17-25, 25-23 to earn the program's first-ever win over SLU. The Blue and Gold also extended its winning streak to a season-high five matches, improving to 9-7 overall and 4-6 in conference play, while Saint Leo drops to 12-5, 6-3 in league matches.
Canfield's 23 kills were far and away the most in the match, with
Paola Virella the only other player in double-figures with 10. Canfield also added 18 digs, while Virella picked up nine.
Ella Duggan hit .538 with seven kills and no errors on just 13 attacks; she also had five blocks, three of which were solo.
McKenna James and
Theresa Jordan also tallied five blocks apiece, with James chipping in seven kills with a .429 hitting percentage.
Olivia Roa led the Eagles with 22 digs and
Alyssa Rudd racked up a match-high 44 assists.
The Eagles got off to a fast start, scoring the first four points of the match. That set the tone for the first set, which would prove to be a frame in which ERAU never trailed. A Jordan kill extended the lead to five points (7-2) before Saint Leo clawed back with a 9-5 run that cut the deficit to one (12-11). After trading sideouts, the Eagles rattled off six consecutive points to begin what would be a 9-1 run that included three straight kills from Duggan, pushing the lead back to a comfortable 22-13. The Lions scored the next four points but the Eagles didn't allow them any closer, taking the first set by a score of 25-19.
Set two started out much closer, with the two teams sharing tie scores six times in the first 16 rallies. With the score tied at eight, Rudd earned a kill that sparked a furious 14-1 spurt for the home side, which essentially decided the set. Even a late 6-1 run for Saint Leo didn't put much of a scare into the Eagles as ERAU cruised to a 25-15 win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
In the third set, the Lions used an early 4-0 run to take a 6-3 lead, which was the first time all match that SLU had a lead at any point. A Rudd service ace cut the margin to just one (10-9), but Saint Leo ran away with it from that point, winning seven of the next eight points to build a 17-10 advantage, which would prove to be insurmountable. A pair of Eagle errors ended the frame with SLU winning by a 25-17 score, sending the match to a fourth set.
Saint Leo took a slim 3-1 lead early in the fourth set, but the Eagles didn't allow the Lions to run away with anything this time. A quick 4-1 response put ERAU in front, 5-4, and a 7-0 spurt turned the slim lead into a sizeable one at 14-6. The Lions mounted a late rally, closing the gap to two points at 23-21 and then just one point at 24-23. But the Blue and Gold held strong and secured the match-winning point on a kill from James to win the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.
The Eagles will look to extend their five-match winning streak tomorrow when they play host to Eckerd at 4 p.m.
