DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team won their final non-conference match of the 2015 season, earning a road victory Friday night over Embry-Riddle, 3-1.
 
The Sharks (17-10) fell to the Eagles (12-13) in the opening set by a slim 25-23 margin, but swept through the final three frames for the win. In order, it went 25-20, 25-18 and finally 25-23 to end the contest. The game-winner came on the 17th kill of the match by Dana Holger (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.), the team's highest total of the night.
 
The initial set was tied 21-21, but ERAU scored four of the last six points to move ahead 1-0. Things were even midway through the second as well, but from the point it was tied at 15-15, the Sharks doubled up their opposition 10-5 to knot things up. Katie Pyles (Denver) ended the frame with a kill off an assist from Holger.
 
In the third, a long successful stretch provided NSU a big cushion that ERAU couldn't claw back from. A 12-4 run turned an early tie into a 17-9 lead for the visitors, and though the Eagles would cut it to four late (20-16), the Sharks closed it out by scoring five of the last seven for a 2-1 lead. The set winner in the third came off a kill by Sydney Cook (Sr., Miami), after she had combined for a block with Devyn Main (So., Port Charlotte, Fla.) on the point prior.
 
The final set was as even as it comes, with 13 ties, including on every point between 8-8 and 20-20. Caitlin Donahue (Sr., Miami) won the next two points after that final stalemate with back-to-back kills, then one by Holger gave the Sharks a three-point lead they wouldn't relinquish. ERAU's Amanda Saunders and Holger traded points, and though a Shark error cut the lead to one, Holger closed out both the set and the match with the aforementioned kill for the team's 17th win of the year.
 
Just behind Holger was Denvr Tyler-Palmer (Fr., Jacksonville, Fla.), next for the victors with 14 kills, and the duo was joined in double digits by Donahue's 11. Tyler-Palmer added a double-double with 21 digs, only trailing libero Megan Burns (Fr., Sylvania, Ohio), who had 23.
 
Pyles assisted on 48 of her teammates' 60 kills on the night, the 10th time this season she has amassed 45 or more in a game (not coincidentally, the Sharks are 9-1 in those matchups). She and Main were the team's co-leaders in hitting percentage at an even .500, and Main was tops in the block category with six.  Overall on the evening, the Sharks were nearly 100 points better in hitting percentage, .241 to the Eagles' .149.
 
Next up for the team, it's back to Sunshine State Conference play, as they take on Rollins on Saturday in Winter Park, beginning at 4 p.m. Log on to NSUSharks.com for the details on how to follow along, as well as on the official NSU Sharks Athletics twitter account, @NSUSharks.