ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team collected two more victories on Saturday, giving ERAU its first 4-0 start since the 2015 season. The Eagles knocked off West Georgia (3-5) in four sets, 21-25, 25-23, 25-14, 30-28, before closing out the tournament with a five-set win over the host Flagler Saints (5-3), 19-25, 28-26, 19-25, 25-21, 15-9.
 
Against West Georgia, Melanie Canfield led all players with 21 kills and hit .405, while Jordan Schumacher tallied 18 kills and Kristin vom Schemm added 16 kills and 10 digs. Camden Bitter picked up 12 digs while Olivia Roa had a match-high 37 digs and Alyssa Rudd racked up 55 assists, one shy of matching her career best.
 
The Eagles only held the lead for a total of two points in the first set, with the latest being a 12-11 advantage after a 4-0 run. The Wolves answered back with a 6-1 run to take a 17-13 lead and stayed in front for the rest of the frame. A Jenna Bishop block got the Blue and Gold within a point at 21-20, but UWG closed out the set on a 4-1 run to win it, 25-21.
 
West Georgia scored the first five points of the second set and quickly pulled out to a 10-3 lead. ERAU battled back and finally drew even at 16-16 after a Canfield/Schumacher block that capped a 5-0 spurt. After UWG briefly took a one-point lead, Embry-Riddle rattled off four more consecutive points to take the lead, 20-17. The Wolves came back late to tie things up at 23, but a service error gave the Eagles set point and Bishop put down a kill for the 25th point, clinching a 25-23 win to tie the match at a set apiece.
 
The Blue and Gold fell behind 4-2 in the third but quickly righted the ship, scoring six straight points to go up 8-4. A Canfield kill built the lead up to 12-6 and a Schumacher kill pushed the margin to nine points at 20-11. The set came to a close with ERAU winning five of the last six points, including back-to-back vom Schemm kills to end it at 25-14.
 
After a back-and-forth opening to the fourth set, the Eagles used a 4-0 run to take a 14-10 lead. UWG fought back and eventually took the lead 20-19, only to see Embry-Riddle score the next three points to pull ahead, 22-20. The Wolves proved to be resilient, using a quick 3-0 run to take the lead, 24-23. Bitter and Canfield came up with a big double block to stave off the first set point and tie the set at 24-24, ensuring that extra points would be necessary. West Georgia got the next point to earn another set point, but this time Schumacher scored a clutch kill to extend the set further. Canfield followed with a kill to give ERAU its first match point at 26-25, but the Wolves kept the match going, fighting off that match point and two more. With the set all tied at 28, vom Schemm put up a solo block to earn a fourth match point, and a UWG attack error finally ended things with the Eagles taking the set, 30-28, to clinch the match, 3-1.
 
In the evening match, Schumacher led the team with 17 kills while Bitter and Canfield each chipped in with 11 kills and vom Schemm and Theresa Jordan each added nine kills. Bitter also collected 13 digs to record a double-double, while Roa had a match-leading 26 digs and Rudd tallied a match-high 52 assists.
 
Flagler used a 4-0 run to take a 7-4 lead in the early stages of set one, but the Eagles would eventually move in front, 14-13. Three straight Saint errors increased the margin to 18-15, but the Eagles would return the favor, committing six errors as part of an 8-0 run for the Saints that put the home team in front, 23-18. A Canfield kill ended the streak, but back-to-back Flagler kills ended the set at 25-19 in favor of the Saints.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth affair, featuring seven total lead changes, four of which came in the first 21 points. Flagler used a 5-0 run to pull ahead, 18-13, but the Eagles quickly bounced back with a 7-1 run to retake the lead, 20-19. A kill from Theresa Jordan gave ERAU set point at 24-22, but it would take extra points before the Eagles could finish off the set win. Bitter came up big with consecutive kills to give the Blue and Gold a 28-26 win, tying the match at one set each.
 
Set three saw Flagler jump out to a 5-0 lead that quickly grew to 8-2. A service ace from Jordan got the Eagles as close as they would get at 17-15, but the Saints pulled away from there, taking the set by a score of 25-19 to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Eagles got off to another slow start in the fourth, falling behind 5-1. It didn't take long for ERAU to reverse the trend, using a 7-1 run to take the lead, 8-6. The two sides traded leads four more times before Embry-Riddle took command of the set with a 5-0 spurt keyed by three straight Bitter kills to pull ahead, 19-14. FC got back to within a point at 20-19, but an Eagle timeout stopped the momentum as ERAU ended the frame winning five of the last seven rallies to win it, 25-21, sending the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
Embry-Riddle came out and dominated the fifth set, scoring the first three points and quickly taking a commanding 7-1 lead. The Saints never closed the gap any closer than four points as the Blue and Gold cruised to a 15-9 win to take the match, 3-2.
 
The Eagles return to action next Friday when they open Sunshine State Conference play on the road at Rollins at 7 p.m.