MELBOURNE, Fla. (Volleyball) – Finally returning to its home floor for the first time in over three weeks on Tuesday, Florida Tech (6-13) made quick work of the visiting Eagles of Embry-Riddle (11-9), defeating the provisional Sunshine State Conference member in straight sets at the Clemente Center.
 
The match began with a highly competitive first set with the Panthers slipping past the Eagles 25-23. Midway through the second set, FIT found itself trailing 18-10. However, the Panthers came back with a 16-6 run to steal the game from ERAU 26-24 and take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
 
Florida Tech led throughout the third set until the Eagles tied it up at 24-24. After Paola Virella's attack error gave FIT a one point lead, Kelly Germain finished the job with her seventh kill of the night as the Panthers took the match and improved to 3-4 at home this season.
 
Olivia Hersey paced Florida Tech with 11 kills and three blocks, while Heather Bowersox notched nine kills on a match-high hit rate of .389. Germain recorded seven kills and led all Panthers with 14 digs. Jenna Schaffer, Kiayna O'Neal and Abigael Brenke each contributed four kills to their team's stat line.
 
Kiersten Rosa had an all-around performance in the win, finishing with a double-double on a match-high 26 assists and 12 digs. Rosa also added three kills and two service aces. Becca Bower collected 12 digs and six assists, while Nicole Fortuna produced nine digs and three assists off the bench.
 
Theresa Jordan guided the Eagles with 10 kills. Amanda Saunders had a strong outing with 11 digs, six kills and six block assists. McKenna James, Asya Oguz and Virella recorded five kills apiece. Olivia Roa notched a match-high 16 digs, while splitting time between libero and defensive specialist with Maile Spenser, who recorded 11 digs for ERAU.
 
The homestand continues for Florida Tech on Thursday, Oct. 27, as the Panthers host SSC rival Barry at 7 p.m. ET at the Clemente Center. Access live coverage of the action at www.FloridaTechSports.com/live.