LAKELAND, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle women's volleyball team was unable to complete the season sweep of Florida Southern (15-13, 8-10) falling to the Mocs in four sets (25-14, 20-25, 25-20, 27-25) in a rare Monday evening match-up. Just two days after downing the Mocs in Daytona Beach, the Eagles were unable to notch a win against Florida Southern on the road, moving to 17-12 overall and 8-10 in Sunshine State Conference play.
Jaden McBride recorded her 11
th double-double with 15 kills and 20 digs, while
Jenna Bishop added 11 kills. The Eagles recorded 16 block assists led by
Dana Gibbons' match-high five.
The Eagles got off to a slow start in Monday's match. They fell behind 10-3 early in the first set and were unable to recover as a Florida Southern rolled to a 25-14 win in that frame.
The Eagles improved their hitting to .213 in the second set. The teams were tied at 13-13 until and five-point surge helped the Blue and Gold open an 18-13 advantage. The Mocs managed to pull within three (20-17), but a 5-3 scoring edge to close the set helped the Eagles tie the match at 1-1 with a 25-20 set two win.
Set three saw the Eagles out in front early at 13-9, but a 5-0 run late in the set helped the Mocs take over the lead to win 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead.
The start of the fourth set was defined by runs on both sides of the net. A 5-0 run helped ERAU to a 6-2 lead, but the Mocs put together a 7-1 run of their own to go up 9-7. From that point a back-and-forth battle ensued with the score being tied 12 times and changing hands five times. Florida Southern eventually had match point at 24-23, but a McBride kill pulled the Eagles level at 24-24. ERAU was able to stave off two more match points, but in the end, the Mocs were able to get the back-to-back points they needed to pull out the win.
The Eagles' next match is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. when they host Lynn at the ICI Center.
The 2022 Embry-Riddle volleyball season is presented by Radiology Associates.
