Glendale, Ariz. – On the final day of the Firestorm Classic, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) women's volleyball team came up with a split of its two matches. ERAU started the day with a 25-21, 25-13, 23-25, 25-17 decision over Valley City State University (N.D.). The Eagles then faced host Arizona Christian in the finale, dropping a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 16-14 decision. Erin Clark (SR/Phoenix, Ariz.) led Embry-Riddle (7-4) with 32 kills, adding 34 digs. Elisa Pauzer (SR/Campinas, Brazil) had 22 kills against Arizona Christian, finishing with29 for the day to go along with six blocks.

Vs. Valley City State
Embry-Riddle hit at a .310 clip in the opening set and moved to a 6-2 lead on a Lily Figgins (FR/St. Charles, Mo.) ace. Valley City Sate came back to take a 14-12 lead, but back-to-back kills from Clark and Caylee Robalin (SR/El Paso, Texas) tied things up at 14-all. It stayed close the rest of the way until ERAU broke a 21-21 tie on a Clark kill. That started a 4-0 run that put it in the win column for the Eagles, with Clark finishing it with another kill.

In the second set Embry-Riddle jumped out to an early 10-1 lead and never looked back. The Eagles scored seven of the final nine points, with Juliette van den Herik (SO/Arlington Heights, Ill.) getting two kills and a block in the stretch. The Vikings trailed early in the third set, but rallied to score five of the last six to take the win.

Embry-Riddle put the match away in the fourth set. The Eagles worked their way to a 19-14 lead before a kill by Sharik Joseph (SR/San Diego, Calif.) and a block from Joseph and Katie Rolle (JR/Missoula, Mont.) started ERAU on a closing 6-2 run that gave ERAU the match.

Vs. Arizona Christian
After the first set started at 8-8, Embry-Riddle got five kills from Clark in a surge that gave it an 18-9 advantage. That was enough of a cushion to give the Eagles the set win as Arizona Christian could not get closer than four the rest of the way. Set two was close all the way, with no team holding more than a four-point lead. Tied at 18-all, a Clark kill put the Eagles on top, but the Firebirds scored four straight to go up 22-19. ACU made the lead hold up and went on to tie the match at a set each.

Set three was almost a duplicate of the second. The two squads battled back and forth until ERAU scored three straight, with Robalin getting a kill and ace, to take a 15-11 lead. ACU rattled off six straight of its own, however, to get back in the set. The Firebirds then worked their way to a 23-20 lead that the Eagles could not come back from as they went on to the 25-22 win.

Embry-Riddle got off to a 9-5 lead in the fourth on a Robalin kill, but Arizona Christian later used a 5-0 run to take a 16-14 advantage. Tied at 18-18, ERAU took advantage of a pair of attack errors and a Roblin ace to go up 21-18. The Eagles held on, getting kills from Clark and Pauzer to close it out.

In the deciding fifth set it was Embry-Riddle that worked its way to an 8-5 lead after a block from Rolle and van den Herik. ACU came up with three straight to tie it and it remained tight the rest of the way. The Eagles had a match point after a kill by Robalin made it 14-13, but the Firebirds came up with three straight to pull the match out.