DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team got the 2018 season off to strong start on Friday, sweeping both matches it played on the day to move to 2-0. The Eagles took care of Westminster, 25-22, 25-19, 25-23, before dispatching Shaw in the nightcap, 25-16, 25-18, 25-20. Both the Griffins and the Bears fell to 0-2, respectively.
 
ERAU 3, WC 0
 
The Blue and Gold got 11 kills from Erika Barbour and 10 kills from Melanie Canfield to lead the offense in ERAU's first match of the day. Olivia Roa picked up a match-leading 29 digs while Canfield and Theresa Jordan each tallied 10. Alyssa Rudd racked up 36 assists as the quarterback of the offense.
 
Embry-Riddle found themselves trailing 14-11 in set one before going on a quick 5-1 spurt to take a 16-15 lead. The set remained close, with Westminster regaining the lead at 17-16 and again at 18-17, but the Eagles were able to wrestle back the lead for good on a McKenna James kill that put the home side up 19-18. A few points later, Canfield put down a kill to close out the frame at 25-22.
 
ERAU got off to a much better start in the second set, running out to a 12-4 lead early on. The lead ballooned to double-digits at 17-7 and peaked at 13 (20-7). The Griffins showed their resilience in fighting back to within five points, but ultimately the lead was too large to overcome as the Eagles claimed a 25-19 set win.
 
The third set was the most competitive of the match, as Westminster rallied late to take a 20-19 lead after not having led since 11-10. ERAU briefly moved back in front at 22-21, but the Griffins responded with back-to-back scores to take a 23-22 lead. Canfield scored a big-time kill to tie it at 23, and WC committed two straight attack errors to end the match with ERAU taking the final frame, 25-23.
 
ERAU 3, SU 0
 
Canfield was the only player with double-figure kills in the second match, totaling 14, while Barbour added nine and Jordan chipped in with eight. Sam Lanning had a match-high five blocks while Roa had a match-high 12 digs and Rudd racked up a match-best 38 assists.
 
ERAU jumped out to a 9-4 lead early in set one, though the Bears fought back to tie it at 10. The set was tied at 15 when the Eagles went on a tear, closing out the frame on a 10-1 run to win it, 25-16.
 
The second set saw the Blue and Gold start strong once again, running out to an 8-2 advantage. Shaw battled back again, eventually taking a 12-11 lead. ERAU then scored 12 of the next 15 points to take control at 23-15, and the Eagles would go on to claim the set, 25-18.
 
Embry-Riddle used three separate 3-0 runs in the third set to methodically pull ahead, 17-10. The Bears would close to within three at 23-20, but a bad set and a Jordan kill ended things at 25-20, giving the Eagles their second sweep of the day.