LAKELAND, Fla. – After dropping the first two sets, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team rallied to take the next two sets, but ultimately lost the match in the fifth and final set. Florida Southern won the match, 3-2 (25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 24-26, 15-10), to improve to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in conference, while ERAU falls to 8-4 and an identical 2-3 in SSC play.
The Eagles racked up season highs in kills (64), assists (62), and digs (99), led by
Erika Barbour's career-high 21 kills and
McKenna James' career-high 20 kills. Barbour's 21 kills also marks the match high for an Eagle this season.
Alyssa Rudd tallied 54 assists, a new career high and a match high for an Eagle in 2018, along with a career-best 24 digs.
Theresa Jordan tied her career high with 20 digs, while
Olivia Roa led all players with 35 digs.
Melanie Canfield chipped in with 13 kills and nine digs.
The first set was highly competitive, featuring 15 ties and nine lead changes. Embry-Riddle's largest lead of the frame was 14-11, but the Mocs rallied late, taking the lead for the final time on a Whitney Drost kill that made it 21-20. FSC would close out the set on a 5-2 spurt to win the opening frame, 25-22.
In set two, Florida Southern quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead only to see the Eagles quickly rally with a 4-0 run that featured a pair of kills each from
Erika Barbour and
McKenna James to draw even at 6-6. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that would be the closest they would come in the entire set. FSC used a 7-1 surge in the middle stages to push its lead to 16-9 and a 7-2 rally late in the frame increased the margin to 23-14. ERAU scored the next three points, but it wasn't enough as the Mocs went on to claim a 25-17 win.
Set three saw Embry-Riddle turn the tables on Florida Southern, as ERAU never let FSC take a lead at any point in the frame. The Eagles used back-to-back kills from
Sam Lanning to spark a 6-1 run that turned a 10-10 tie into a 16-11 lead. After the Mocs fought back to tie it at 20, the Blue and Gold closed out the set with a five consecutive points, including three straight kills from Barbour, to win the set, 25-20.
Embry-Riddle got off to a strong start in the fourth set, running out to an early 10-4 advantage. The Mocs chipped away at the deficit, and eventually they were able to take a 17-16 lead. FSC maintained the lead as late as 24-22, needing just one more point to clinch the match. But the Blue and Gold never gave up, getting a kill from Barbour to pull within a point followed by a Moc error that tied the set at 24. After an overpass, James terminated the next point to give ERAU a set point, which Barbour immediately capitalized on with a service ace, securing the 26-24 win that forced a decisive fifth set.
The fifth set saw FSC win six of the first seven points to take command early and the Mocs never looked back. The lead grew as large as eight points (13-5) before the Eagles went on a 5-1 spurt to cut the deficit down to four (14-10), but a service error on match point ended the contest with Florida Southern winning the set, 15-10.
