DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In its second match of the weekend, the NSU volleyball team picked up a 3-1 win over SSC provisional member Embry-Riddle to improve its overall record to 8-6.
Jessica Ronyak tallied a team-high 19 kills, and
Denvyr Tyler-Palmer recorded her second double-double in a row after tacking on a season-high 16 digs and 13 kills.
Katie Pyles contributed 41 assists and
Megan Burns recorded 21 digs. Maggie Uilk and Pyles each had four blocks and
Natalie Melcher had three to go along with four kills.
Tied 10-10 in the first set, a kill by ERAU's (6-7) Paola Virella gave the Eagles the lead, one that they wouldn't relinquish, as the Eagles went on to grab its only win of the night, 25-21.
Set two looked as though it was going to be another battle until a kill by
Tashalyn Begon sparked a 4-1 by the Sharks and gave NSU a 9-4 advantage. Embry-Riddle would only come as close as four points (9-5) before Nova Southeastern capitalized on its strong offensive and errors committed by the Eagles to grab the 25-15 win, knotting the score at a set apiece.
The early part of set three saw six ties before the Sharks went off on a 5-1 run to secure its lead. ERAU used kills by Amanda Saunders and McKenna James to come within two, but another four-point run by the Sharks, capped with an ace by Pyles, to grab its largest lead of the set, 19-13. At 22-16, the Eagles attempted to rally, scoring three consecutive points, but errors by ERAU and a kill by Tyler-Palmer propelled NSU to the 25-20 win.
The Sharks were on fire in set four, taking an early 7-1 lead, before the Eagles tallied five consecutive points to bring the deficit to just one point, 7-6. The two teams battled back and forth before the Sharks recorded four straight points to earn a 16-10 advantage, forcing the host team to call timeout. At 17-12, ERAU made things interesting by six-point run to take back the lead, 18-17. With the Eagles ahead, 23-21, Nova Southeastern capitalized on three errors in a row by ERAU and another kill by Tyler-Palmer en route to the 25-23 set victory and 3-1 overall win.
NSU will return to the NSU arena and Sunshine State Conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 4 to host No. 15 Palm Beach Atlantic at 7:00 p.m. Follow along at NSUSharks.com.
