Eagles Drop Five Setter at Home to Cleveland State

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team dropped its home opener against the Cleveland State University Vikings Tuesday, Aug. 28. The Eagles fell in five sets after dropping the opening two frames, 22-25 and 20-25. The Green and White fought back to tie the match with 25-19 and 26-24 set victories. The Vikings however took the final set 15-11 giving Eastern its first loss of the season.

The Eagles fall to 4-1 after the loss, while Cleveland State improved its record to an unblemished 4-0 with its victory.

Rachel Iaquaniello (Plymouth, Mich.-Dearborn Divine Child) paced EMU with a double-double notching 24 kills and 10 digs. Kristen Baker (Mentor, Ohio-Mentor) netted 13 kills, and Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) contributed nine. Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio) and Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) each posted seven kills for the Eagles. Alyssa Davis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Plainwell) setup the EMU offense with 28 assists over the final three sets, while Kim Hildreth (Novi, Mich.-Novi) had 19 in the first two.

Defensively, Sierra Reed (Parker City, Ind.-Wapahani) and Roback picked up 28 and 21 digs, respectively. Hildreth added 13 digs and the Eagles had six total team blocks, including four block assists from Short and Crawshaw.

Kara Koch was the offensive catalyst in the match for the Vikings, notching 31 kills. The 31 kills are the second most all-time in Convocation Center history, only behind Iaquaniello's 33 that came back in 2010 against the Western Michigan Broncos, Oct. 8.

The Eagles trailed early and fought to comeback in the opening frame but fell short 25-22. Eastern hit just .115 in the first set with Iaquaniello leading the offensive attack, notching seven kills with a .375 attack percentage (7-1-16). Short, Hildreth and Baker each contributed a pair of kills, while Hildreth also added 11 digs.

Despite taking an early lead, EMU fell behind 2-0 after dropping the second set 25-20. Cleveland State came out swinging, posting a .359 attack percentage (18-4-39), while EMU hit just .132 (12-7-3). Iaquaniello continued to add to attack total with six more kills and Baker notched three in the second frame.

Eastern was able to bounce back in the third set and took the frame 25-19. The Eagles held CSU to a .043 hitting percentage (12-10-47), while hitting .205 (12-4-39). Iaquaniello paced the offense yet again with a .400 attack percentage (4-0-10), while Baker and Crawshaw each added a trio of kills.

Tension mounted late in the fourth set as the Eagles faced game point, but return fired with three-straight points to take the frame 26-24. Despite a .320 attack percentage (20-4-50) for the Vikings, EMU hit .333 (17-3-42) to take the set. Baker added four kills to her total, while Roback and Iaquaniello each contributed four in the set. Davis setup the Eagles nicely in the frame while notching 13 assists. Kara Koch poured in 12 kills for CSU in the set, but it was Eastern's two total team blocks that offset Koch's offensive performance.

Eastern had trouble getting the offense going in the final frame as it fell 15-11. The Eagles hit just .100 (9-6-30), while the Vikings mounted an offensive assault with a .381 attack percentage (8-0-21) in the final set.

The Eagles will be on the road for almost a month until they welcome the Western Michigan University Broncos, Friday, Sept. 21. Eastern's next match will take place Friday, Aug. 31, when it travels to Chicago, Ill. to take part in the University of Illinois-Chicago Invitational. The Green and White start the tournament with the IPFW Mastadons at 5 p.m. (CST) Friday evening.

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Team Stats

Rachel Iaquaniello

Kristen Baker

Megan Crawshaw

Erin Short

Eastern Michigan Athletics