DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Despite 20 kills from Melanie Canfield and 17 kills from Erika Barbour, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team came up a few points short against visiting Nova Southeastern on Friday night. The Eagles (3-3, 1-2) looked strong in the second and third sets, but NSU (3-2, 1-0) was able to eek out three two-point set wins to earn the match victory, 3-2 (26-24, 16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 16-14).
 
Olivia Roa led all players with 22 digs and Alyssa Rudd had a match-high 44 assists as well as a season-high 13 digs.
 
The Sharks started quickly, opening up a 7-2 lead early in the first set. A kill from Theresa Jordan got the Eagles going, sparking a 7-1 run that gave the Blue and Gold its first lead at 9-8. NSU rallied back quickly to regain the lead and pushed it back to a four-point margin at 14-10. Embry-Riddle chipped away at the deficit, eventually pulling even at 24-24 on a Shark hitting error. But the Eagles couldn't carry the momentum any further as NSU took the next two points to win the opening set, 26-24.
 
ERAU bounced back with a solid effort in set two, hitting .267 with just five attach errors. The Eagles jumped out to an early 6-2 lead and before long the lead had grown to 19-12. Embry-Riddle cruised from that point to a 25-16 win, tying the match at a set apiece.
 
The Blue and Gold put together another strong frame in the third set, outhitting NSU .243 to .108 while committing just four attack errors. A strong start put ERAU in the driver's seat with a 10-5 lead and the Sharks were never able to get any closer than three points the rest of the way as ERAU won the set, 25-19, taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set four started out like the previous two, with Embry-Riddle quickly opening up an 8-3 lead. The Sharks then decided to switch to a 6-2 offense, and the coaching decision paid off rapidly. NSU went on a 7-1 run, which also included four blocks, to take a 10-9 lead. The Blue and Gold were able to rally back, and after an 8-2 spurt, the Eagles found themselves ahead by a 20-16 margin. After trading sideouts, ERAU looked to be comfortably in the lead at 23-19, but Nova Southeastern went on a furious rally to score six consecutive points, keyed by a pair of aces, including the set-winner, to take the set, 25-23, pushing the match to a fifth set.
 
In the fifth, the Sharks continued to ride their wave of momentum to an early 5-2 lead. But ERAU quickly tied things up thanks to three straight NSU errors, and the Eagles took a 6-5 lead on a kill from Canfield. Embry-riddle extended the lead to 10-8 and six points later found themselves just two points away from a win for the second straight set, leading 13-11. Just as they did in set four, the Sharks rallied late, scoring two straight points to tie it at 13. A Barbour kill gave Embry-Riddle match point, but NSU was once again able to fend off the impending loss, scoring two points with two straight Denvyr Tyler-Palmer kills, before clinching the match on a miscommunication by the Eagles that led to an error.
 
The Eagles return to the ICI Center court tomorrow at 4 p.m. when they host Barry in another Sunshine State Conference match.