Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Fairfield
Volleyball Drops a Pair on Day One of Army Invitational
8/28/2009 6:21:04 PM | Volleyball
Eagles fall to Fairfield, 3-1, and to Sacred Heart, 3-1
Click Here for the EMU-Fairfield Box score.
Click Here for the EMU-Sacred Heart Box score.
WEST POINT, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team did not get off to the start that head coach Kim Berrington would have hoped for to begin the 2009 season. The Eagles drop a pair of non-conference tilts to Fairfield University, 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 16-25), and Sacred Heart University, 3-1 (23-25, 19-25, 25-15,26-28), at the Army Invitational in Gillis Field House.
In the opener, making her collegiate debut freshman Rachel Iaquaniello posted 13 kills and seven digs while sophomore Jill Bates recorded eight kills. Fairfield's Katie Mann notched a match-high 22 kills while freshman Brianna Dixion notched a double-double (16 kills and 18 digs) en route to the four-set decision.
In the first set of the year, Fairfield opened up an early 4-0 advantage. However, Eastern Michigan responded with a 9-1 run to take the lead at 9-5. The Green and White never looked back, holding the Stags to a .179 attack percentage in the 25-18 win.
The Stags regrouped in the second frame by hitting .306 in a come-from-behind victory. Trailing 13-9, a big kill by Dixion sparked a 6-2 run for the Stags which tied the set. Haililani Pokipala put Fairfield on top, 17-15, with back-to-back aces. The Stags were able to control the rest of the way for the 25-21 win.
The third set was the closest of the four with 10 ties and six lead changes. With the score knotted at 20-20, Kenal Dirkin put home a feed from Lauren Balmert to tip the momentum towards the Stags. The Eagles pulled within 22-21 on a kill by Bates, but Fairfield held them off for the 25-21 win.
The Stags controlled from the start of the final set, surging out to an 8-2 lead. Fairfield hit .357 while holding EMU to a .069 attack percentage and cruised to the 25-16 victory.
For the match, the Stags out-blocked the Eagles 10-2. Fairfield hit .280 while Eastern Michigan hit .114.
In the second match of the afternoon, Iaquaniello again led the way for the Eagles with a double-double (13 kills and 11 digs). Junior Jennifer Swartz also reach double figures in kills with 11 put-aways to go along with her six block assists.
Brittany Best hit home with 20 kills and 11 digs to lead the Pioneers of Sacred Heart. Ashlyn Trimble followed with 16 kills and 10 digs and Malie Herthington added 11 kills.
In a back-and-fourth first set, Eastern Michigan and Sacred Heart exchanged points with neither side able to grab more than a two point lead the entire way. With the score knotted at 23, the Pioneers were able to roll consecutive points to take the early 1-0 edge.
In the second frame, Eastern jumped out to an early 8-4 edge via a kill from sophomore Ashley Mason off the set from classmate Haley Stein. But the lead would be short lived as Sacred Heart roared back to take a 18-11 advantage. The Eagles would get no closer as SHU took the 2-0 edge with the 25-19 win.
The third set was dominated by the Eagles, as the team posted a .351 hitting percentage (17-4-37) en route to a 25-15 decision. Both Iaquaniello and Swartz recorded four kills while sophomore Cassie Sowers and Joi McKenzie each posted three kills.
In a hotly contested finale, Sacred Heart used back-to-back kills from Best to seal the 28-26 victory and the the game.
Eastern Michigan returns to the hardwood Saturday, Aug. 29, to square off again host Army. First serve is set for noon in West Point, N.Y.
