PEMBROKE, N.C. — Embry-Riddle volleyball completed the weekend sweep at the UNC Pembroke Invitational in North Carolina, downing Virginia State and Barton College in straight sets to earn five-straight wins.
The Eagles opened Saturday with their best attacking percentage of the season (.483) against Virginia State and followed with their third-best hitting performance (.385) against Barton.
After the weekend, ERAU moves to a hitting percentage of .297 with an average of 15.04 kills per set across 23 sets played.
Dakota Zieman leads the charge offensively with 87 kills this season while
Ashlyn Koerner is the engine behind the offence with 231 assists and 11 service aces. Defensively,
Taylor Fonseca has notched 83 digs with
Haley Manjack leads with 21 block assists.
Match 1: Embry-Riddle - 3, Virginia State - 0
25-20, 25-26, 25-10
Embry-Riddle (4-2) defeated Virginia St. 3-0 on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court, winning by set scores of 25-20, 25-16 and 25-10. ERAU hit .483 with 52 kills and nine attack errors, while VSU (2-2) finished at .205 with 28 kills. The Eagles closed the match with 20 kills and one attack error in the third set, hitting .594 in the set.
The Blue and Gold turned an 11-10 deficit into a 15-12 lead in the first set, using consecutive
Lindsay Smith kills, a Manjack kill and points off Trojans errors during a 5-1 response. Earlier, ERAU opened with a Zieman kill from Koerner and a
Stella Weisbrod ace, but VSU answered to move ahead 8-5 before the Eagles worked back through Manjack and Zieman kills. After the mid-set swing, Manjack and Zieman continued to score, Koerner teamed with Manjack on a block, and Manjack later joined
Fifi Harvey on another block as Embry-Riddle moved to a 23-18 advantage. The Trojans fought off set point at 24-19, but Harvey finished the 25-20 set win with an assist from Koerner.
ERAU answered an early deficit and pulled away in the second set, winning 25-16. After VSU went ahead 4-2, Smith served the Eagles back in front with an ace, a Manjack kill and a Harvey kill helping move the score to 6-4 before the home team reached 7-5 on a service error.
Ashley Lunt's serve helped the Blue and Gold add separation with kills from
Kailey Hrbek, Harvey and Koerner, and Koerner followed with a service ace for a 13-7 lead. ERAU later turned a 14-9 edge into 18-9 on Weisbrod's serve, getting a Hrbek-Smith block and kills from Harvey and Hrbek. VSU cut into the margin briefly, but the Eagles closed with Zieman's late kills and Koerner's second ace to finish the set.
Embry-Riddle took control of the third set immediately, moving ahead 8-1 behind four straight service points from Weisbrod and early kills from Zieman, Smith, Hrbek and Harvey. The Eagles kept adding separation through the middle of the set, using kills by Manjack and Zieman plus Trojans errors to reach 13-3. Zieman finished with six kills in the set, while Koerner added a service ace and repeatedly set up ERAU's attack. After VSU scored consecutive points to make it 19-8, the Eagles answered with late kills from Smith, Harvey, Manjack and Weisbrod to close out a 25-10 set win.
Inside the Stats
- Zieman led the Blue and Gold with 14 kills while hitting .524, a season-best attacking percentage.
- Koerner finished with a season-high 39 assists, three service aces and eight digs.
- Harvey recorded 11 kills, five digs and one block assist.
- Manjack added 10 kills on a .600 hitting percentage with two block assists.
- As a team, ERAU achieved a season-high hitting percentage of .483 in the match.
Match 2: Embry-Riddle - 3, Barton – 0
25-19, 25-6, 25-16
In the final game of the weekend, Embry-Riddle (5-2) defeated Barton College 3-0 on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court, taking the sets 25-19, 25-6 and 25-16. ERAU used a 13-0 run in the second set to create separation in the sweep. The Eagles finished with 47 kills and a .385 hitting percentage, while the Bulldogs (2-5 had 18 kills and hit .023. The Eagles have now totaled at least 47 kills in two consecutive games and are on a five-match winning streak.
Embry-Riddle opened with Hrbek and Smith helping the Eagles to a 2-0 start while Koerner set up repeated swings as ERAU traded points through several early ties. The Eagles took control of the opening set after a 9-9 tie, scoring four straight points with a kill from Smith, a Hrbek kill and two BC attack errors to move ahead 13-9. When Barton closed to 17-15, Zieman answered with kills on the Blue and Gold's next three points to push the score to 20-16. Harvey added late kills for 22-17 and 24-17, and Smith finished the set with the help from Koerner for a 25-19 win.
ERAU turned the second set into a 25-6 win by stretching a 3-2 edge into a 16-2 lead with 13 straight points. To open, Koerner began with a service ace and assisted Hrbek, Smith and others as the Eagles moved in front, before Fonseca served through the long run with two aces. Harvey had multiple kills during the separation, while Manjack and Smith were part of blocks that added to Bulldogs attack errors. After BC reached six points, Manjack delivered a kill for the sideout, and Weisbrod served the final six points with two aces, two Zieman kills and Manjack's closing kill.
Embry-Riddle battled early in the third set, turning a 13-12 deficit into a 20-13 lead with eight straight points. The Eagles answered an 8-5 hole with five five straight points, including a Harvey kill, three Zieman kills and a Manjack finish, to move in front 10-8. Barton responded to go back ahead 12-10, but Manjack's kill and a BC attack error tied the set at 12 before ERAU's longer run followed moments later. After the Bulldogs stopped the surge, Zieman, Hrbek and Smith added kills, Fonseca served an ace, and Smith closed the set with a kill for a 25-16 Embry-Riddle win.
Inside the Stats
- Harvey led ERAU with 13 kills while hitting .333 and added six digs.
- Koerner finished with 37 assists, 10 digs and three service aces.
- Koerner has recorded at least 30 set assists in the last six matches.
- Fonseca recorded team highs with four service aces and 13 digs, marking a season-high in aces.
- Zieman added 11 kills without an attack error, hitting .423, and had one solo block.
- Zieman has recorded at least 11 kills in four consecutive games and maintained a hitting percentage of at least .423 over three consecutive games.
- Smith continued her strong performance, recording 10 or more kills in back-to-back games.
Up Next
Embry-Riddle will travel to Valdosta, Ga., to face Valdosta State on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 6 p.m. at The Complex.
