WINTER HAVEN, Florida - The Embry-Riddle volleyball team was in search of a bounce-back type of day on Saturday after dropping its opening match of the 2021 South Region Crossover on Friday, and that's exactly what the Eagles got as they swept both Mississippi College (25-12, 25-16, 25-22) and Shorter (25-15, 25-7, 25-13) to improve to 18-4 overall and finish the non-conference portion of the 2021 regular season slate at 10-1.

Embry-Riddle moved to 16-2 all-time in the South Region Crossover after Saturday's victories, sending the Choctaws to 5-12 and the Hawks to 14-9.

In the Eagles' first match of the day, the Blue and Gold rode a torrid comeback run in the first set and carried that momentum throughout the match to sweep the Choctaws.

MC started hot, taking an 8-4 lead over the Eagles on an ace from Kendall Platt, but an error on her next serve was the first point of an incredible 21-4 run for ERAU, including a 6-0 run to start things off. Jaden McBride tallied two kills in that initial 6-0 run, and after it was momentarily broken on a service error to make it 10-9 Eagles, Embry-Riddle put on another run, this time going 10 straight points without breaking serve to take a commanding 20-9 lead.

Cameron Gilleland put down a kill to make it 21-9 and got another a few moments later as ERAU went up 22-11 and Amelia Hartnett ended the set with a kill from an Emily Weaver pass as the Eagles took set one, 25-12.

Set two began much like set one with MC scoring three straight points, but the Eagles quickly turned things around, reeling off five points, in large part to three attack errors by the Choctaws. A kill by Gilleland made it 9-6, and another Gilleland kill following a McBride ace put the Blue and Gold up 11-6.

A slew of kills by the Eagles in the middle of set two nearly put the match out of reach as Sam Lanning, Hartnett, Gilleland, and McBride all had at least one in a five-point span as ERAU enjoyed an 18-10 lead.

Up 21-12, ERAU was able to close the set out a few moments later with kills from Melanie Canfield, Weaver and Amia Owolabi for a 25-16 final.

The third and final set was a true back-and-forth affair for the Eagles and Choctaws as neither team led by more than four until late. ERAU was down 6-3 before a block from Canfield and McBride stopped the MC rally, and ERAU was able to get within 9-8 on an attack error by MC.

The Choctaws led 11-8 before a 4-0 run for the Blue and Gold gave it a lead for the first time since very early in the set. A Gilleland kill made it 13-12 a little later and ERAU went up 16-14 on a McBride kill.

Leading 21-18, ERAU got a kill from Lanning and Owolabi to move within two points of the taking the match, and the Eagles would do that on back-to-back kills from McBride for the 25-22 final score.

ERAU out-hit the Choctaws .271 to .111, racking up 40 kills to just 24 for MC. Gilleland led the match with 12 kills, while McBride had 10 kills, 12 digs, four aces and a block assist for a match-high 14.5 points. 

Weaver finished with 32 assists, her 13th match of the year with at least 30 helpers, while Tamzen Wilson had 12 digs defensively for the Blue and Gold.

In their final match of the weekend, the Eagles made quick work of Shorter, dispatching the Hawks in straight sets for the second time this season. Back-to-back kills from Canfield and McBride gave ERAU its first lead of set one at 4-3, and the Eagles would go up 9-5 on a Gilleland kill just a little later.

Embry-Riddle held a comfortable lead for most of the first set, leading 17-13 before ending the set on an 8-2 run, featuring two kills each from Gilleland and Lanning, the last of which from Lanning made it a 25-15 final in the opening set.

The second set was just as one-sided with the Blue and Gold racing out to an 11-2 advantage early and never relenting. Weaver registered four assists in ERAU's first 11 points as Hartnett and McBride each had a pair of kills.

Up 15-5 after a McBride kill, the Eagles used that as a spark and went off for an 11-2 run, punctuated by another Gilleland kill that finalized the set, 25-7. That marked the first set in 2021 the Eagles held their opponent to single-digits.

The third set held more of the same for the Eagles and Hawks with the Blue and Gold going up 7-1, three early points coming from McBride kills.

Embry-Riddle led 10-5 and went on a 5-1 spurt, capped by a Weaver kill from a Wilson pass as the Eagles enjoyed a 15-6 advantage. However, the Hawks had one final run left in them, cutting the ERAU lead to 16-10. A Lanning kill stopped the run and was the catalyst for the Eagles' own 6-0 scoring spree.

After Shorter scored a point to make it 21-11, Embry-Riddle finished the set with a 4-2 run, ending the match, fittingly, on a McBride kill.

McBride led the Eagle attack with 18 kills on 24 attempts as the Blue and Gold hit a season-best .519 while holding Shorter to just a .062 hitting percentage.

Gilleland had 10 kills, while Lanning added nine of her own. Weaver's 35 assists were the most in the match

Embry-Riddle has nearly a week off before jumping right back into Sunshine State Conference play when Joslynn Gallop and her team travels to South Florida to take on Palm Beach Atlantic (Oct. 29) and Lynn (Oct. 30).

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The 2021 Embry-Riddle Volleyball season is presented by Radiology Associates.