Embry-Riddle dropped their last match of the regular season to Benedictine Mesa on Friday evening at Legacy Sports Complex in Mesa, Ariz.

The Eagles found themselves down early in the first set as BenU scored the first five points before Emma Barber (Goodyear, Ariz.) put ERAU on the board with a kill.  After the Redhawks scored to make it 6-1, Katie Rolle (Missoula, Mont.) and Dalia Haase (Tucson, Ariz.) combined for a block to make it 2-6.  BenU scored four points in a row as they took a 10-4 lead, but Alexsandra Rodriguez (Phoenix, Ariz.) connected on her first kill to start a little two point run for ERAU as the Eagles made it 5-10.  The Redhawks were able to maintain their five point lead as the teams traded a few points, however BenU took a ten point lead as they went up 19-9.  Embry-Riddle scored the next three points as Rodriguez had another kill, Lily Figgins (St. Charles, MO.) had a service ace and Hannah Clear (Fort Worth, Texas) and Rolle added a block.  The Redhawks won the first set 25-15. 

The second set was a lot closer from the beginning as Haase got involved early with a kill.  Another ace by Figgins tied the score at 4-4 and ERAU went up 6-4 on back to back kills from Clear.  BenU scored the next three points, but Rodriguez tied the score at 7-7 and then again at 8-8 on two kills.  The teams were tied multiple times throughout the set as they went back and forth until the score was 19-19.  The Redhawks used timely hitting towards the end as they took the set 25-21.

Not wanting the match to be over, Embry-Riddle turned it on in the third set as they used a 12-0 run to go up 14-4.  During the run, Rolle had two kills, Clear had one, Figgins had another ace, and Rodriguez added another kill for ERAU.  Kelly Hansen (El Dorado Hills, Calif.) put the Eagles up 19-10 as she had a kill.  Clear scored three points in a row for ERAU as she had a kill, a block, and another kill as Embry-Riddle won the set 25-23. 

In the fourth set, the Eagles used a little of their momentum to get out to an early lead as Rolle had two kills to make the score 7-5. After a BenU error and another Rodriguez kill, Embry-Riddle was up 10-6.  The Eagles stretched their lead to six points at 14-8 before the Redhawks scored three points in a row to make the score 14-11.  Haase and Barber had back to back kills to make the score 16-11, but BenU found a way to tie the score at 16-16.  The Eagles and Redhawks went back and forth until the score was tied at 22-22 and the BenU attack was too much for ERAU as the Eagles dropped the set 25-22 and the match 3-1. 

Rodriguez led Embry-Riddle with 12 kills, Rolle added 8 kills and finished with 31 assists for the Eagles tonight.  Figgins had three service aces in the match.  Clear and Rolle both finished with three total blocks and Barber had 15 digs.

Embry-Riddle will be the #3 seed in the upcoming Cal Pac Conference tournament which will take place in San Marcos beginning on Thursday.  The Eagles will play the #6 seed which will be decided after the Saturday games finish up.