Eastern Michigan Athletics

Tuesday, September 12
Convocation Center
6 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

7-6

1
vs
3

Fort Wayne

7-5

1
2
3
4
F
Fort Wayne
25
13
25
25
3
Eastern Michigan
16
25
21
22
1
Photo by: Andrew Mascharka

Eagles Drop Home Opener to Mastodons

9/12/2017 8:37:00 PM | Volleyball

Eastern Michigan fell to 7-6 on the season

Postgame Highlights.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)
— The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team dropped its home opener to Fort Wayne Tuesday night, Sept. 12. The Eagles (7-6) struggled to get going offensively as they fell 3-1 (16-25, 25-13, 21-25, 22-25) to the Mastadons (7-5).

As a team, the Green and White hit .101 for the match, racking up 44 kills spread amongst seven players. Fort Wayne cranked out 48 kills, while hitting at a .144 clip. Junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) and freshman Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) paced the attack, registering 11 kills apiece. Orchestrating the offense was the setting tandem of redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) and sophomore Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian). Rajewski was one of three players to record a double-double, totaling 17 asssists and 12 digs, while Taylor added a team-high 18 assists and nine digs. 

Defensively, junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led the Eagles with 21 digs, as EMU held a 78-69 edge in the category. Smith added 14 digs and Strefling chipped in 13. At the net, redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monore, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) notched a career-high seven blocks.

The Eagles struggled early in set one, falling behind, 10-5. From there, they failed to get back into the game, losing 10 of the next 12 points to give he Mastadons a 20-7 advantage. The Green and White made a late push, but ultimately dropped the first set 25-16.

The second set started drastically different from the first as EMU ran out to a 10-5 lead. Exceptional defensive play led the Eagles to a dominating victory, as the Green and White took the set, 25-13, to even the match at one.

Miscues got the best of Eastern as Fort Wayne took a 12-8 lead midway through the third set. The Mastodons put together a run, extending their lead to five, 16-11, but the Eagles refused to go away. Eventually pulling within two,  EMU could not overcome the early deficit, dropping the set, 25-21.

After trailing by as many as seven, the Green and White rallied back to cut Fort Wayne's lead to one late. With the Mastodons in front 20-18, a kill by Strefling brough EMU within a point, but Fort Wayne went on a 5-3 run to take the set 25-22, and the match, 3-1.

The Green and White return to action Friday-Saturday, Sept. 15-16, at the Chicago State Tournament in Chicago, Ill. The Eagles'  begin their day at 3 p.m. against Southeast Missouri State before squaring off against tournament-host Chicago State at 7 p.m. EMU will wrap up the weekend, Sept. 17, against Louisiana Lafayette at 2 p.m.

 
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