MELBOURNE, Fla. –
Jaden McBride had a season-high 22 kills to lead the Embry-Riddle women's volleyball team past Florida Tech, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-23) in both teams' Sunshine State Conference opener, Thursday at the Clemente Center. The Eagles are now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in the SSC, while the Panthers fall to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
McBride had a solid all-around performance, tallying seven digs, three assists, two service aces and one block assist for ERAU.
Tamzen Wilson led all players with 13 digs, while
Sierra Scanlan and
Devyn Petrowski split the setting responsibilities, finishing with 11 assists each.
The Panthers scored the first point of the match and after a back-and-forth affair, Florida Tech went on a 4-0 run to go up 14-10. The Eagles answered with four straight points of their own to tie it a 14-14, but the Panthers were able to retake the lead.
Jenna Bishop won the next point for the Eagles, bringing McBride to the service line. The sophomore took control of the game with four kills and two service aces in a 10-2 Eagle run that capped a 25-17 win for the Eagles in the first set.
In the second set, the Eagles hit .324 compared to just .185 by the Panthers. Despite the discrepancy, the set was close throughout. ERAU took an early lead and held a four-point advantage before the Panthers tied the score at 13-13. Trailing by one (17-16), the Eagles capitalized on a service error, two attack errors and an
Amia Owolabi kill to go up 20-17. The Eagles did not relinquish the lead and their 25-21 second-set victory gave them a 2-0 cushion heading into the third set.
In a set that featured 10 ties and four lead changes, the battle to be the first to reach 25 was fierce. An early run in the third staked the Blue and Gold to a 5-1 lead, but Florida Tech was able to make it a one-point (7-6) game. The Eagles built the lead back up to as many as three points, but once again, the Panthers fought back and eventually led 18-17. Both sides traded points leading to a 23-23 tie. McBride registered a kill to put the Eagles up 24-23 and delivered an unreturnable serve to give ERAU a 25-23 win in the third set and the first conference win of the year.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday when they travel to conference foe Saint Leo for a 4 p.m. contest against the Lions.
The 2022 Embry-Riddle Volleyball season is presented by Radiology Associates.
