Kyrin Mayfield

Volleyball Prepares for Familiar Foe in NCAA II Tournament Opener

12/5/2024 6:53:00 PM | By: Kyrin Mayfield

No. 4 Embry-Riddle (20-9) vs. No. 5 Florida Tech (20-9)

DATE: Friday, Dec. 6, 2024
TIME: 4:30 p.m.
CITY: Boca Raton, Fla.
VENUE: de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center
LIVE VIDEO: SSC Digital Network
LIVE STATS: eraustats.com

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Embry-Riddle Volleyball is all too familiar with its opening-round opponent in this year's NCAA II National Tournament. The fourth-seeded Eagles took to the court for practice on Thursday afternoon ahead of the team's meeting with fellow Sunshine State Conference member fifth-seeded Florida Tech on Friday.

It will be the third time in 2024 these two programs face off after a nail-biting season series that saw the Blue and Gold hang on to win both matches in five sets. However, it is the first time both squads go head-to-head in the postseason. Embry-Riddle leads the all-time series 19-16, and the Eagles have won 13 of the last 14 meetings.

About the Eagles
ERAU is among the 64-team field of the NCAA II National Tournament for the fourth time in program history and the third time in the last four years after posting a 20-9 record, going 13-7 in conference play to finish fifth in the standings. The Eagles made waves this season after upsetting multiple ranked opponents in the same season for the first time in the program's NCAA II era. ERAU took down both No. T-24 Nova Southeastern and No. 18 Barry in straight sets.

Once again, the outside hitter duo of senior Jaden McBride and junior Isabella Rujano pace the Eagles on the attack. The two earned AVCA All-Region and All-SSC nods for the second consecutive season and were among the South Region's leaders in points and kills per set. Rujano landed third in the region with 4.82 points and 4.19 kills per set while McBride tallied 4.54 points and 3.95 kills per set, ranking sixth.

On the defensive side, Dana Gibbons (1.08 blocks/set) and Haley Manjack (1.05 blocks/set) finished inside the top-10 in the SSC in blocks in sixth and tenth, respectively, while Gabriela Pagan racked up the digs with 3.79 per game, the fourth-most in the SSC.

About the Panthers
Florida Tech has been the story of the year in the SSC. The Panthers were predicted to finish 10th in the league's preseason poll, and they took that personally. Head coach Jordan Willis completely turned the program around in just his second season, going from a 9-21 mark in 2023 to 20-9 one year later. Now, FT is making its first NCAA II Tournament appearance in the program's 47-year history. Along the way, the Panthers stunned four ranked opponents, beating No. 17 Lynn (twice), No. 21 West Florida, and most notably, No. 4 Tampa.

The Panthers' strength lies on the defensive side as Florida Tech ranks first in digs per set (16.83) and fourth in blocks per set (2.49) in the South Region. A large chunk of those rejections belong to Lilian Muszynski as she averages 1.26 per set, ranking third in the region.

However, FT also possesses a star attacker in Cordelia Kearns. The sophomore ranks second in the region in points (4.88) and kills (4.36) per set to earn spots on the D2CCA All-Region, AVCA All-Region and All-SSC First Teams.

About the Tournament
Embry-Riddle and Florida Tech are two of the six SSC programs that earned a bid to the South Regional. Also included in the regional is host and SSC champion No. 1-seed Lynn (27-3), No. 2 Barry (23-4), No. 3 Tampa (24-4), Gulf South Conference Tournament titleholder No. 6 West Florida (27-5), No. 7 Nova Southeastern (20-10), and No. 8 Spring Hill (24-7), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference winner.

The South Region tournament runs until Dec. 8 on the campus of Lynn University. The winner of the region advances to the quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Dec. 12.

Tournament Schedule
Friday, Dec. 6
Game 1 | No. 3 Tampa vs. No. 6 West Florida - 11 a.m.
Game 2 | No. 2 Barry vs. No. 7 Nova Southeastern - 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 | No. 4 Embry-Riddle vs. No. 5 Florida Tech - 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 | No. 1 Lynn vs No. 8 Spring Hill - 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 7
Game 5 | NCAA South Region Semifinal 1 - 4 p.m.
Game 6 | NCAA South Region Semifinal 2 - 7 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 8
Game 7 | NCAA South Region Final - 5 p.m.

The 2024 Embry-Riddle Volleyball season is presented by Radiology Associates.

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