The Embry-Riddle volleyball team, which is receiving votes in the latest national coaches’ poll, erased an 11-6 deficit in the fifth set with an improbable 9-1 run to close out the match and stun the RV Florida Tech home crowd in yet another five-set thriller on Tuesday night. The outcome mimicked the meeting earlier this season in Daytona Beach where the Eagles were behind 12-8 in the fifth before going on a 5-0 run and winning 17-15.
It’s the fourth-straight win for ERAU against FT and the 13th win in the previous 14 meetings. The Eagles are now 19-16 in the all-time series and haven’t lost in Melbourne since 2016.
Embry-Riddle posted a quartet of 3-0 runs to take a 15-10 lead in set one. A third of those points were a result of kills by Jaden McBride. The Eagles held on to the lead, winning set one 25-21. McBride carried a large chunk of the offensive load, posting eight of the team’s 17 kills in the set.
Isabella Rujano had the hot hand to start set two with three of the Eagles’ first six points via kills to go ahead 6-4. However, Florida Tech then went on an 8-2 spurt partly due to five Eagle attacking errors to push ERAU behind 12-8. Later on with Embry-Riddle behind 20-16, the Eagles scored four-straight points to level the score, but the Panthers took five of the last seven points to win set two 25-22.
About halfway through the third set, the Blue and Gold trailed 11-9 when ERAU surged ahead 14-11 with five consecutive points on kills from four different Eagles. Soon after, Embry-Riddle used a 4-0 run to take a five point lead (18-13) as McBride was responsible for four of the team’s previous seven tallies. Though FT used a late 4-0 streak to get within one at 22-21, McBride used two successful spikes to help her squad take set three 25-23.
Set four looked promising as the Blue and Gold got off to a 5-0 start with three kills, an ace and an opposing attacking error. The lead slowly shrunk, but Embry-Riddle maintained a slim advantage throughout a majority of the set, even after a 4-0 Panthers run that made it a 19-18 score. With the Eagles ahead 22-19, Florida Tech rattled off six points in a row to win 25-22 and send the match to a fifth set.
The home team continued to ride that momentum as FT rushed out to a 5-1 lead which later became 8-2. Embry-Riddle trailed 11-6 when it made a comeback for the ages as the Eagles ended the set on a 9-1 run to shock Florida Tech 15-12. Fifi Harvey was a big component of that strong finish as the freshman posted three kills during that run.
As a team, the Eagles set season highs in kills (70), assists (64) and digs (94). The 70 kills and 64 assists also tied for the second most by a Sunshine State Conference school this season.
Rujano recorded a strong performance with a team-high 24 kills and 17 digs, as did McBride who totaled 22 kills and 22 digs. Ashlyn Koerner matched her season high in assists with 50 and 17 digs. Harvey set a personal best with 12 kills. Haley Manjack led in blocks with six, and Gabriela Pagan accumulated 20 digs.
The regular season concludes with a trip to No. 19 Barry on Friday at 7 p.m.
