GEORGETOWN, Ky. - The Embry-Riddle volleyball team received their first-ever national ranking on Tuesday, and Friday they showed why.  The Eagles defeated St. Catharine in less than an hour and then swept Cumberland to cap the night.  With the wins, ERAU extends its winning streak to six matches and improves to 9-1 overall.

In the first match, St. Catharine hung with the Eagles, holding a 12-10 advantage at one point.  But the Eagles would rattle off eight consecutive points to take control of the set, eventually closing it out, 25-18, on a kill by Adriana Vazquez.

The second set was dominated by the Eagles, who hit .667 and held St. Catharine to .000 for the set.  ERAU built up a big lead quickly, taking an 18-9 advantage on a St. Catharine service error.  A Taylor Martin kill ended the set at 25-12 in favor of the Eagles.

In set three, Jordan Holcomb pounded a kill followed immediately by a service ace to give Embry-Riddle a 10-6 lead.  Abby Hall made it 15-8 with a solid kill, and Morgan Shattuck put things out of reach with a kill to put ERAU ahead, 23-13.  The Eagles would go on to win the set, 25-17, and sweep the match, 3-0.

Hall recorded a .324 hitting percentage on 16 kills, while Holcomb hit .333 with 10 kills.  As a team, Embry-Riddle outhit St. Catharine .343 to .078.  Nina Kontrec registered a match-high 18 digs and Vazquez tallied a match-high 38 assists, 20 more than the entire St. Catharine squad combined.

Against Cumberland, Kontrec served five straight points early in the match to give ERAU a 6-1 lead, prompting CU to take a timeout.  That didn't slow the Eagles down, as Kontrec served three more points to make it 9-1.  Cumberland made a late run to close the gap, but ERAU held on easily for a 25-18 win.

In set two, the Eagles offense really started clicking as they hit .433 as a team in the set.  Gloria Kemp spiked a kill to put Embry-Riddle on top 12-7, but CU wouldn't go away quietly, trimming the deficit to just two at 19-17.  But ERAU responded, winning six of the final seven points of the set, taking it by a score of 25-18.

The third set saw the Eagles again take a substantial lead early, opening up an eight-point gap on Holcomb's kill to make it 17-9.  Once again, Cumberland rallied back to close the deficit to a handful of points, but in the end it wouldn't be enough, as Embry-Riddle held on for a 25-20 win, sweeping the match.

Hall led all players with 20 kills, hitting .375 along with two aces and three blocks.  Kemp (seven kills, .500 hitting percentage) and Jacobsen (six kills, .357) each hit over .350, and ERAU hit .330 as a team for the match.  Kontrec added 20 digs and Vazquez registered 41 assists, both match-highs.

The Eagles will close out the Rumpke Invitational tomorrow with a pair of matches, starting with a noon matchup against Union (Ky.).  The final match of the tournament will be based upon where ERAU finishes in their pool, but it will either be at 2 p.m. or 4 p.m. against a team from the other pool, which consists of Indiana University-Southeast, Cornerstone, Milligan, and No. 18 Georgetown, the tournament hosts.