Box Score CHANDLER, ARIZ. - The last time ERAU volleyball travelled to Gilbert, it suffered its first Cal Pac loss in four seasons during a five-set thriller. In the return match Tuesday night, the Eagles needed just three sets to get its win back and take the season series.
Caylee Robalin was the star of the show in Chandler, finishing with 15 kills and seven digs. She also had seven of the team's eight service aces, and seven of the game's ten service aces.
"It feels good going for a little bit of redemption," Robalin said. "We needed this one heading into the Cal Pac tournament and it's nice to step up when it matters."
While ERAU won in three sets, they started slow in each of those. Most notably the Eagles trailed 11-2 in the third set, but were able to outscore the Buccaneers 23-12 to close out the match.
There were plenty of tough spots throughout the match, but the team rallied together each time to swing momentum. Elisa Pauzer, who finished with four kills and three blocks, was key in getting her teammates fired up with every big play Embry-Riddle made.
"I feel like whenever we are down, we come together and we get everybody focused," Pauzer said. "Let's get the next one, let's make the best with what we got."
The Eagles kept the PUG offensive attack quiet, holding the Buccaneers to a .083 hitting percentage and forced 22 hitting errors. ERAU finished the night with 37 kills, and got six each from Erin Clark and Sharik Joseph.
Tuesday's win is important in the standings, as the win over Park essentially extended ERAU's lead in the Arizona division to three. The Eagles have a two game lead in the standings, plus the tiebreaker by clinching the season series.
While the win is very important, and goes a long way in the standings, there is still four games remaining. Embry-Riddle will look to lock back in as they aim to finish the final four games with wins.
"We settle back into our home gym because we know we're going to be there the next couple weeks," head coach Jill Blasczyk said. "We get prepared for Benedictine's challenges, the attackers they have, the pressure they're going to put on our defense and we focus on that."
First serve from Eagle Gym is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.