FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In a matchup of two of the five remaining unbeaten NCAA II volleyball teams on Thursday, the Embry-Riddle Eagles came up just short, falling to No. 23 Nova Southeastern in five sets, 25-18, 25-17, 21-25, 24-26, 15-12. With the loss, ERAU falls to 13-1 on the season, 5-1 in conference play, while NSU improves to 12-0 and 5-0 in SSC matches.
Jaden McBride led the Eagles with 12 kills and tied for the team lead with 10 digs.
Cameron Gilleland added 10 kills and six digs, while
Sam Lanning had eight kills (.538 hitting %) and a match-high nine blocks (one solo).
Tamzen Wilson picked up 10 digs to tie for the team lead and
Emily Weaver (18 assists, 8 digs) and
Devyn Petrowski (17 assists, 5 digs) shared the setting duties.
The first set saw seven ties, as the Eagles stayed close for the first half of the set. A 4-0 NSU run gave the home team a 16-11 lead, and another 4-0 spurt increased the lead to 23-16 as the Sharks took the opening frame, 25-18.
Nova Southeastern took an early 7-3 lead in set two and never trailed, using a 13-4 rally to build a 17-7 advantage. The Blue and Gold went on a late 4-0 run to trim the deficit to 21-14, but the Sharks stayed out in front and ended up with a 25-17 win to go up 2-0 in the match.
After NSU scored the first point of the third set, ERAU rattled off six consecutive points to pull ahead 6-1. Nova Southeastern answered back with a 5-0 run to tie it and eventually took the lead a few points later at 8-7. The Eagles maintained contact, never trailing by more than a point, and worked their way back in front at 13-12 on back-to-back NSU errors. Embry-Riddle went on an 8-3 run to extend the lead to 19-15, but the Sharks fought back and drew even at 20. A Gilleland kill put ERAU back in the lead and sparked a 4-0 run to make it 24-20. After a service error, Gilleland put down the clinching kill to win the third set, 25-21.
Nova Southeastern jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in set four, but the Blue and Gold again showed its resiliency, fighting to get back on level terms at 10-10. A few points later the Sharks rattled off seven straight points to take what looked like a commanding 18-11 lead. Undeterred, ERAU responded with an 8-1 spurt that tied things at 19. An
Aly Freeland service ace gave the Eagles set point at 24-23, and a few points later a Petrowski ace closed the door with Embry-Riddle winning the set, 26-24, sending the match to a fifth set.
The Blue and Gold scored the first three points of the fifth and maintained the lead until NSU tied it up at seven. The Sharks took their first lead of the set at 9-8, but the Eagles tied it up at 11 just a few minutes later. From that point, Nova Southeastern scored three straight, setting itself up with three match points at 14-11. A Gilleland kill saved one of those points, but the Sharks got the kill they needed on the next rally, giving NSU a 15-12 win in the fifth set to win the match.
The Eagles will have a bit of a break before returning to the court on Friday, Oct. 8, when they host Eckerd in another SSC contest. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside the ICI Center.
