Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Ball State
Dramatic Surge Pushes EMU Past Ball State, 3-1
10/3/2009 9:57:22 PM | Volleyball
Freshman Rachel Iaquaniello led the charge with a team-leading 12 kills
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – A dramatic come-from-behind fourth set victory led the Eastern Michigan volleyball team to a 3-1 victory (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23) over Ball State University in a Mid-American Conference play here Saturday, Oct. 3, at the Convocation Center.
Freshman Rachel Iaquaniello (Plymouth, Mich.-Dearborn Divine Child) led the charge with a team-leading 12 kills, six of which came in the final set. After dropping the first set, the young Eagle squad showed great composure in winning the next three to close out a weekend sweep of MAC opponents at home and push their record to 3-16 overall, 2-2 in the MAC.
EMU scored the first three points of the first set and jumped out to a 15-11 lead before Ball State had to use its first timeout of the match. It paid off as the Cardinals scored five of the next six points to tie the match at 16 apiece and force the Eagles to take a timeout of their own.
Down 22-20 in the first set, the Eagles clawed back to tie it at 22-22, but Ball State proved to be too much, taking the first set 25-23. The Cardinals' Alisha Green paced her team to the first set win with six kills on a match leading 18 total attacks.
EMU found itself down 1-0 at the start of the second set, but rallied off four straight points to take the lead and never looked back from there. Jennifer Swartz (Canton, Mich.-Westland John Glenn) threw down one of her 10 kills on the night to double up the score on the Cardinals, making it 14-7. The Eagles would push the lead to 23-14 on another Swartz kill before coming away with the 25-17 second set victory. Iaquaniello tallied four kills in the set to help the Eagles even the match at one set apiece.
Clinging to a 14-10 lead in the third set, the Green and White rallied off four straight points on the serve of Haley Stein (Carleton, Mich.-Monroe St. Mary's Catholic Central), who also added an ace in the sequence, and the Eagles blew open the set. After increasing the lead to 21-14, the Cardinals were able to cut it to a three-point deficit, but EMU kept momentum in its favor.
Emily Good (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Central) contributed three block assists while Swartz and Kristen Baker (Mentor, Ohio-Mentor) added two apiece as well. The Cardinals combined to record an abysmal .000 hit percentage in large part to 10 errors in the set. The Eagles never trailed and went on to win, 25-20.
In the fourth set, the Cardinals (8-9, 1-3 MAC) were able to rebound nicely in the early going, jumping out to a 19-11 lead. EMU, following a timeout, strung together five straight points and 11 of the next 12 to reverse the call and take a 22-20 lead. Ball State would answer with two straight points, but then Iaquaniello responded with her 11th kill of the night to give the Eagles a 23-22 advantage.
Two points later she threw down another kill, giving the Eagles match point before the senior, Victoria Randolph (Cincinnati, Ohio-Mount Notre Dame), sealed the deal with a game-ending kill to lead Eastern Michigan to its first winning streak of the year and second straight win over an opponent with a record of .500 or greater.
Green and Kelsey Brandl had 14 and 13 kills, respectively, to lead the Cardinals. EMU hit .169 for the match compared to just .089 for Ball State. The Eagles' front line dominated in totaling 11.5 blocks for the match led by seven block assists by Swartz. Ashley Mason recorded the match's lone double-double with 29 assists and 14 digs.
The Green and White will be back at home this Tuesday, Oct. 6, when they take on Oakland University at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The match will again be video streamed as part of the Eagle All-Access package. Chad Bush will have all the action with the pregame show beginning at 6:50 p.m.
