Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, November 9
Mount Pleasant, Mich.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
14-17, 6-9MAC
3
at
2
Central Michigan
15-12, 7-8MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Eastern Michigan
19
20
25
27
19
3
Central Michigan
25
25
20
25
17
2
Volleyball Rallies Past Central Michigan to Win 3-2 in Five-Set Thriller
11/9/2017 9:49:00 PM | Volleyball
Eastern's hopes for the MAC Tournament live on with one match left to play
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team mounted a monumental comeback on the road against Central Michigan University Thursday, Nov. 9, topping the Chippewas 3-2 (19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 27-25, 19-17) at McGuirk Arena.
With the win, EMU keeps its hopes alive for a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Eagles still have to win their regular-season finale at Kent State Saturday, Nov. 11, and need help from multiple teams over the final two days of the season.
Redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) led all players with a career-best 23 kills in the match. Freshman April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) set a career-high with 16 kills of her own, and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) finished with 15 kills. Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) also set a new-career high in assists, finishing with 52.
Thursday's victory was also the first under head coach Kimi Olson after trailing 0-2 in a match.
The match started sloppy on both sides, as EMU hit just .219 as a team and had four reception errors while CMU hit .267 with five attack errors and a service error. In the end, Central came out on top 25-19 to jump ahead in the match.
Eastern was able to keep it close in the second set despite a tough showing on the attack. The Eagles hit just .083 as a team, while the Chippewas put together a .316 attack percentage on the way to a 25-20 win.
The Eagles bounced back in a major way in the third, winning 25-20 on the back of an attack percentage of .367. Smith and Houston were crucial in the set, each recording five kills on 20 attacks between the two.
Set four was a battle from the start, as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than four points, and Eastern Michigan came out on top in the marathon, 27-25. The stanza featured nine ties and two lead changes, and featured nine kills from Haut.
As should have been expected, the fifth set presented fans with a masterful performance from both sides. The two teams changed leads six times and there were 14 ties in the deciding set. With the score tied 17-17, Haut put the Eagles ahead and senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) finished the match off with her ninth kill to give EMU the win.
Rajewski, Smith, Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) and Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) each finished with double-digit kills, with LaFace leading the way with 24.
Eastern Michigan wraps up the regular season with a road match at Kent State Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m.
With the win, EMU keeps its hopes alive for a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Eagles still have to win their regular-season finale at Kent State Saturday, Nov. 11, and need help from multiple teams over the final two days of the season.
Redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) led all players with a career-best 23 kills in the match. Freshman April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) set a career-high with 16 kills of her own, and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) finished with 15 kills. Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) also set a new-career high in assists, finishing with 52.
Thursday's victory was also the first under head coach Kimi Olson after trailing 0-2 in a match.
The match started sloppy on both sides, as EMU hit just .219 as a team and had four reception errors while CMU hit .267 with five attack errors and a service error. In the end, Central came out on top 25-19 to jump ahead in the match.
Eastern was able to keep it close in the second set despite a tough showing on the attack. The Eagles hit just .083 as a team, while the Chippewas put together a .316 attack percentage on the way to a 25-20 win.
The Eagles bounced back in a major way in the third, winning 25-20 on the back of an attack percentage of .367. Smith and Houston were crucial in the set, each recording five kills on 20 attacks between the two.
Set four was a battle from the start, as neither team was able to pull ahead by more than four points, and Eastern Michigan came out on top in the marathon, 27-25. The stanza featured nine ties and two lead changes, and featured nine kills from Haut.
As should have been expected, the fifth set presented fans with a masterful performance from both sides. The two teams changed leads six times and there were 14 ties in the deciding set. With the score tied 17-17, Haut put the Eagles ahead and senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) finished the match off with her ninth kill to give EMU the win.
Rajewski, Smith, Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) and Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) each finished with double-digit kills, with LaFace leading the way with 24.
Eastern Michigan wraps up the regular season with a road match at Kent State Saturday, Nov. 11 at 5 p.m.
Team Stats
EMU
CMU
Kills
67
64
Errors
31
25
Attempts
165
173
Hitting %
.218
.225
Points
82.0
81.0
Assists
65
62
Aces
5
7
Blocks
10.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
23
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
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