MELBOURNE, Fla. — In the first match of the 2026 series of the Kármán Clash, Embry-Riddle volleyball defeated Florida Tech 3-1 on Saturday at the Clemente Center, with set scores of 18-25, 25-17, 25-22 and 25-15.
After dropping the opening set, the Eagles (14-6, 7-4 SSC) won the next three and held the Panthers (5-14, 3-8 SSC) to .111 hitting in each of the final two sets. The Eagles finished with 52 kills, nine service aces and a 58-50 advantage in digs.
The Eagles built much of the match around scoring bursts from the service line, with the clearest stretch coming in the third set. Leading 13-12, ERAU put together a 6-0 run and won seven of eight rallies to move ahead 20-13, a sequence that also included five straight service points. The Blue and Gold added two more four-point service stretches in the fourth set, first moving from 6-4 to 10-4 and later from 19-12 to 23-12.
In the first set,
Kailey Hrbek opened the scoring off an
Ashlyn Koerner assist,
Lindsay Smith added an early kill, and
Taylor Fonseca served an ace as the Eagles moved ahead 3-1.
Stella Weisbrod and
Haley Manjack helped stretch the lead during
Maddey Cruse's service turn, with Koerner continuing to set up the offense before Daktoa Zieman and Smith added kills around the middle of the set. Florida Tech tied the set at 14-14, and although Embry-Riddle answered with a Weisbrod kill from Fonseca for a 16-14 lead, the Panthers later scored five straight points to move ahead 23-17. Zieman stopped that stretch with a kill from Koerner, but Florida Tech took the final two points to close the set.
In the second set, the Eagles closed from a 20-16 lead by winning four straight points, including a Koerner ace and a Smith kill, before Hrbek finished the 25-17 set with a kill from Koerner. Earlier, after Florida Tech tied the set at 3-3, Fonseca served an ace and Zieman added a kill to help ERAU move ahead 6-3, with kills from Smith and Manjack pushing the margin to 8-4. Florida Tech cut the gap to 11-10, but Zieman put down Koerner set and Koerner followed with an ace to make it 13-10. The Blue and Gold kept answering sideouts through the middle of the set, getting additional kills from Zieman, Manjack and Smith before its late push created set point at 24-16.
The Blue and Gold broke open a tight third set with a six-point run from a 13-12 edge to a 19-12 lead, then finished a 25-22 win. Florida Tech scored the first two points, Zieman answered with a kill from Fonseca,
Ashley Lunt's ace tied the set at 4-4, and the Eagles continued to trade points behind kills from Smith, Hrbek, Weisbrod and Koerner. The middle surge included a Zieman-Manjack block, Zieman kills set by Koerner and Cruse, a Manjack kill from Koerner and another Zieman-Manjack block while Cruse served five straight points. Florida Tech cut the margin to 22-19 and later to 24-22, but Weisbrod's kill pushed ERAU to 23-19 before a Florida Tech service error closed the set.
After Florida Tech scored the opening point of set four, Zieman answered with a kill and ERAU moved in front 3-1 on consecutive Panther attack errors. With the set at 6-4, Cruse served four straight Embry-Riddle points, all on Zieman kills from Koerner, to make it 10-4, and Koerner later added back-to-back aces for a 14-6 advantage. After Manjack's kill made it 19-12, Cruse served another four-point stretch that included two more Zieman kills, a Cruse ace and a Florida Tech attack error, pushing the lead to 23-12. A Panther service error brought the Eagles to set point at 24-14, and another attack error closed the set at 25-15.
Inside the Statistics
- Across the match, ERAU finished with 52 kills to Florida Tech's 47 and hit .291 while holding Florida Tech to .234.
- Both teams had nine service aces, but the Eagles committed eight service errors compared with 13 for Florida Tech.
- The Blue and Gold also held advantages in digs, 58-50, and total blocks, 5-4.
- As a team, ERAU has recorded at least 58 digs in three consecutive matches.
- Zieman finished with a career second-best 21 kills, a .346 hitting percentage and 23.0 points while adding nine digs and four block assists.
- Koerner had 40 assists, as season-best five aces and eight digs.
- Lunt collected a season-high 17 digs and added an ace.
- Smith record 10 kills on 15 swings, hitting .467.
- Manjack has recorded a hitting percentage of at least .412 in five consecutive matches.
Up Next
Embry-Riddle hosts No. 3-ranked Tampa on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m. at ICI Center.
