DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Embry-Riddle dropped a straight-sets loss to Florida Southern (12-9, 7-6 Sunshine State) 3-0 on Saturday at the ICI Center, falling 22-25, 20-25, and 22-25.
The Eagles (14-8, 7-6 SSC) finished with 38 kills and five aces, while the Mocs (12-9, 7-6 SSC) finished with 12 total blocks to ERAU's six and held a 53-45 edge in digs, while also hitting .213 compared with the Blue and Gold's .156. ERAU put together their clearest push in the second set after falling into a 19-14 deficit, cutting the margin to 20-18 and keeping pressure on Florida Southern during that stretch. The response gave Embry-Riddle a chance to tighten the set, but Mocs' broader advantages at the net shaped much of the match.
Embry-Riddle stayed close in several production areas, finishing with 38 kills to Florida Southern's 39 and five service aces to FSC's six.
Dakota Zieman led ERAU's attack with 11 kills and added 10 digs and four block assists, while
Lindsay Smith contributed nine kills.
Ashlyn Koerner directed the offense with 34 assists and added 10 digs, and the Eagles also got six kills apiece from
Haley Manjack and
Kailey Hrbek.
The Eagles moved in front 19-17 on a Florida Southern attack error and a Zieman kill from Koerner, but FSC answered with four straight points and went on to take the opening set 25-22. Earlier, the Eagles traded points through the first half of the set, with Hrbek scoring the first point on Koerner assist and
Maddey Cruse adding two early kills to help keep the score level at 5-5. After falling behind 14-11, ERAU responded with a Smith kill, a Florida Southern attack error and Koerner-Manjack block to tie the set at 14-14. Zieman added three kills during a later stretch that helped the Eagles reach 19 points first, and Smith put down another kill before a Hrbek-Smith block brought Embry-Riddle within 23-22 late.
ERAU's late push in the second set came after a 19-14 deficit, as Zieman put down two kills, teamed with Hrbek on a block and Koerner added a service ace to bring the home side within 20-18. Prior, the Eagles answered the opening point with kills from Smith and Hrbek, and
Taylor Fonseca's ace helped produce a 5-3 lead. The Mocs moved back in front through the middle of the set, but the Blue and Gold stayed close with sideout kills from Manjack,
Stella Weisbrod and Smith before the deficit reached five. After Koerner's ace made it 20-18, Embry-Riddle added late kills from Zieman and Smith, but Florida Southern closed out the set, 25-20.
The Blue and Gold led as late as 18-16 in the third set, but Florida Southern won five of the next six points after an 18-18 tie to push ERAU into a 23-19 deficit. Earlier, Embry-Riddle opened with four straight points, getting a Zieman kill from Koerner, a combined block by Hrbek and Zieman, and a Hrbek kill before
Stella Weisbrod's kill and
Taylor Fonseca's ace made it 6-1. ERAU later moved ahead 13-7 on a Zieman kill and an FSC attack error, but the visitors worked back to tie the set at 14-14. Manjack had kills from Koerner to put the Eagles at 16-15 and 18-16, with
Ashley Lunt's ace between them, and Manjack added another kill to tie the set at 19-19 after Florida Southern went in front. Embry-Riddle trimmed the gap to 23-21 and 24-22 late before the Mocs finished the set 25-22.
Inside the Statistics
- Zieman finished with 11 kills, 10 digs and four block assists.
- Koerner recorded 34 assists, 10 digs, one ace and one block assist.
- Smith added nine kills and three digs.
- Manjack tallied six kills on 10 attacks while hitting .500 and added two block assists.
Up Next
ERAU volleyball travels to Boca Raton, Fla., to face No. 9-ranked Lynn on Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at de Hoernle Sports & Cultural Center.
