DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle volleyball team fell to fifth-ranked Tampa in the Eagles' first Sunshine State Conference road match of the season on Friday. The Spartans (11-1, 4-1 SSC) bested the Eagles in three sets (25-18, 25-17, 25-17) to move the Eagles' record to 9-4 overall and 3-2 in the league.
 
The Eagles were led by Jaden McBride who posted her fifth double-double of the season with 15 kills and 12 digs to go with five block assists.
 
Tampa went on a run to open the first set, scoring seven of the first nine points. The Eagles managed only eight kills and had seven errors compared to 14 kills by the Spartans who withstood a late surge by ERAU to take the first frame (25-18).
 
The second set started much like the first with the Spartans racing out to a sizeable advantage (8-2) to start the set. The Eagles put together a 7-3 run of their own and midway through the set the Tampa lead had shrunk to two (12-10). The Spartans answered by scoring seven of the next eight points and went on to win the set 25-17.
 
The score was tied five times in a tightly contested third set. After both sides traded points for a 4-4 tie, Tampa went on a 4-0 spurt to go up 8-4. The Eagles put together a 4-0 run of their own to tie the score at 8-8, but from that point, Tampa steadily pulled away and scored the last three points of the set to secure the win.
 
The Eagles will look to bounce back from Friday's loss when they travel to Eckerd for a 4 p.m. match on Saturday.