After picking up a pair of wins at the OUAZ Invitational, the Embry-Riddle volleyball team will hit the road again for another invitational. The Eagles will head to Nebraska this time around, playing four matches in three days at the GoSarpy.com Labor Day Classic, hosted by Bellevue University.
This Week's Matches
Thursday, September 1 vs (RV)MidAmerica Nazarene, 3 p.m. AZ Time, Lied Activity Center, Bellevue, Neb. – Live Stats
Friday, September 2 vs Avila, 9 a.m. AZ Time, Lied Activity Center, Bellevue, Neb. – Live Stats
Saturday, September 3 vs #15 Central Methodist, 9 a.m. AZ Time, Lied Activity Center, Bellevue, Neb. – Live Stats
Saturday, September 3 vs William Woods, 3 p.m. AZ Time, Lied Activity Center, Bellevue, Neb. – Live Stats
The Opponents
(RV)MidAmerica Nazarene (3-0): The Pioneers started its season with a trio of wins last week, including one over an opponent the Eagles will see, Avila. MidAmerica Nazarene won its first match in straight sets, and both of its other two wins were settled in five sets. For the effort, the Pioneers earned five votes in the NAIA coaches' poll that came out earlier this week.
Avila (4-4): The Eagles have already packed its schedule, playing eight matches in the past two weeks. Avila was scheduled to have another last Thursday, but it was cancelled. The Eagles have won its past two matches, and will play another four this week.
#15 Central Methodist (2-1): The second set of Eagles that Embry-Riddle will face this season did drop a match last weekend to Eastern Oregon, but fell just one spot in the coaches' poll. CMU does have a straight-sets win over Tabor, then a four-set win over then-ranked Ottawa (Kan.) on either end of the team's lone loss to this point.
William Woods (1-2): The Owls won its first match of the season against Tabor, but have dropped its last two. William Woods did schedule against solid opponents to start the year, as the two losses came to then-21st ranked Grand View and the 12th-ranked Eastern Oregon, with the latter team jumping into the top ten and receiving two first place votes in the latest poll.
Eagle Notes
Freshman Alexis Creager did an excellent job setting last week, tallying 104 assists in the four matches. Creager averaged nearly seven assists per set, and had 24+ assists in three of the four matches last weekend.
Adiva Joseph fit right in with her new team last weekend, as she currently leads the Eagles with 35 kills. Saturday was a huge day for the graduate student, who had 14 kills against Wayland Baptist, then followed it up with an 11-kill effort against College of Idaho later that day.
Another freshman who shined for the Eagles was Emma Barber. Barber had her first 10+ kill match, tallying 12 against Wayland Baptist last Saturday. She also had six or more kills in all four matches so far this season.
Dalia Haase had an excellent start to her second season for Embry-Riddle, an important part both offensively and defensively. Haase had 17 blocks, including four solo, and put away 24 kills.
Juliette van den Herik was a key piece defensively as well, racking up six solo blocks to go along with seven block assists. van den Herik racked up six blocks in the season's first match, and seven total in the matches on Saturday.
