DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team suffered a tough loss to the Spartans of Tampa on Friday night, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13). The defeat moves the Eagles to 4-6 on the season and 2-5 in Sunshine State Conference play while Tampa improves to 4-10 (2-4 SSC) with the victory.
 
Melanie Canfield set a career high and led all players with 25 kills and hit .365 to go along with 12 digs. Erika Barbour had the second-most kills for the Eagles with 15. Theresa Jordan finished with 10 kills, 20 digs, and five assists in the contest. Alyssa Rudd led the way in the assist with 52 to go along with 14 digs. Olivia Roa led the team in digs with 21.
 
The Eagles fell behind early in the first set to the Spartans, trailing 6-3 before the momentum went in their favor. The Blue and Gold finally evened things up at 11-11. The teams would go back-and-forth for much of the first set until it was all even at 19-19. The Eagles put their foot on the gas pedal and finished the set on a 6-3 run to get the 25-22 win. Embry-Riddle hit an impressive .471 on their attacks in the set with 18 total kills.
 
ERAU opened the second set with a 4-0 lead, only to see the Spartans come roaring back with a 10-3 run.  Embry-Riddle countered and evened the score at 10-10. After trading multiple points in the set and with the score even at 16-all, Tampa finished the set on a 9-6 run to win 25-22.
 
Neither team was able to separate themselves on the scoreboard for much of the third set. With the score tied at 8-8, the Spartans went on a 5-1 run to regain the lead. The Eagles clawed their way out of the deficit and were within one point seven times until the Blue and Gold took back the lead at 21-20. The Eagles finished off the set nicely and won 25-21.
 
The fourth set is where the Spartans made the statement that they were not going to go quietly as they jumped out to an early 9-4 lead. Tampa was in control much of the fourth set, extending the lead to 19-12 after three straight kills. At that point, the Eagles mounted a comeback attempt, going on a 9-4 run to push the score to 23-21. Tampa thwarted the rally, winning the final two points to take the fourth set and force a deciding fifth frame.
 
The Spartans looked in control in the final set, jumping out to an early 5-0 leading and forcing the Eagles to take a timeout. Tampa was still in control in the fifth set after the quick intermission, extending their lead to 10-4 after back-to-back errors by Eagles attackers. Once the Spartans were at match point, the Eagles made their charge to extend the contest. With score at 14-9 the Eagles managed to get within one but were unable to walk away with the win as they would lose the final set, 15-13, and the match, 3-2.
 
The Eagles return to the ICI Center tomorrow with a match-up against SSC foe Florida Southern at 4 p.m.