BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team saw its season come to an end on Thursday evening with a 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) to Saint Leo in the NCAA South Region quarterfinals. The Blue and Gold wrap up the 2019 season with a 19-9 record, while the Lions improve to 22-10 and advance to tomorrow's regional semifinals.
 
Melanie Canfield led the Eagles with 12 kills and a .391 hitting percentage, while Kristin vom Schemm and Amelia Hartnett each tallied nine kills. Alyssa Rudd led the team with 29 assists and Olivia Roa picked up a team-best 13 digs.
 
ERAU got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-1 in the opening set. The Eagles got back to within two at 7-5, but the Lions pushed the margin to six at 15-9. Embry-Riddle was finally able to draw even after a 7-1 run made it 17-17, and an SLU error put the Eagles in front for the first time, 19-18. Unfortunately for the Blue and Gold, Saint Leo responded with four straight points and the Lions eventually closed out the set on a 7-2 run to take the opening frame, 25-21.
 
Set two saw the Lions take an early 3-1 lead and later they would use a 5-0 spurt to expand the margin to 15-9. Embry-Riddle kept battling and back-to-back Hartnett kills brought the Eagles to within two points at 23-21, but Saint Leo won the final two points to win the set, 25-21.
 
In the third set, Saint Leo took an early 5-1 lead and built it quickly to a 10-3 advantage. ERAU had a 3-0 run that cut the deficit to 15-9 and later got to within five points at 17-12, but that was as close the Eagles would get. The Lions won five of the final six points to claim a 25-15 win in the set, completing the 3-0 victory.