Roback Notches 1,000th Dig as Eagles Down Bulls, 3-1

Match Highlights.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team took on the University at Buffalo Saturday, Oct. 26, in its annual Dig Pink contest at the Convocation Center. Eastern brought home its third-straight Mid-American Conference victory as the Eagles defeated the Bulls in four sets, 21-25, 25-18, 25-18 and 25-18.

Senior Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) made history as she became one of just seven Eastern Michigan student-athletes to tally 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career. The senior outside hitter notched 17 digs on the night to bring her career total to 1,011 and etch her name in the record books. Sophomore Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) led the EMU offense with 14 kills on the night for a team-high .387 attack percentage, while Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio-Orrville) netted 11 kills.

Junior Jill Briner (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park (Northwestern)) dished out 41 assists on the night which was just five shy of her season-high of 46 against Bowling Green. Corynne Smith (Norwalk, Ohio-St. Paul) led EMU's defense posting 19 digs on the night, while Roback added 17 and Perinar got under 14 Bull attacks.

EMU opened the match with a 21-25 first set loss to fall behind, 1-0. Eastern hit just .206 in the opening frame, while the Bulls managed a .305 attack percentage which led to the Eagles' one set deficit. Eastern spread out its offense very evenly, as five student-athletes had at least two kills. Defensively, the Green and White struggled without recording a block in the set, while the Bulls stuffed EMU on three occasions.

The Eagles squared things up after a 25-18 win in the second set. The Green and White used a .243 attack percentage to their advantage; however it was its defensive effort that won the set. Eastern held Buffalo to just an .095 hitting percentage in the frame, including forcing the Bulls into eight attack errors on 42 attempts. Again, Eastern Michigan had five student-athletes with at least a pair of kills. Briner, Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) and Katie Krasowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Marist) totaled three kills apiece in the set, while the Eagle defense stiffened up at the net, totaling four blocks, including three block assists from Crawshaw.

The Green and White got on top in the third frame with another 25-18 win. Perinar was the catalyst in the frame, going 8-for-10 in attack attempts without an error. Short added three kills, while Roback and Krasowski added two apiece. The Eagles offense was stellar in the set, hitting .371 with just four attack errors in 35 attempts. Defensively, although they had just one block, the Eagles forced the Bulls into a .150 hitting percentage. It was in the third set that Roback made history, recording 10 digs. Her second of the set gave her 1,000, which made her the seventh Eagle all-time to notch 1,000 kills and digs in a career.

Eastern took the final frame, 25-18, to win the match in four sets. The Eagles would go up as many as nine on the Bulls when the Green and White capitalized on an attack error, extending their lead to 17-8. Buffalo looked to make a comeback late in the set when it saw back-to-back-to-back blocks to bring UB within six of EMU, but the effort was not enough as Eastern closed out the set with a 25-18 victory. The win gave the Green and White its third straight MAC victory.

The Eagles hit the road again next weekend, Nov. 1-2, to take on a pair of MAC West foes. The Green and White will first head to Toledo, Ohio to take on the Rockets from the University of Toledo, Nov. 1, for a 7 p.m. tilt. EMU will then travel to Muncie, Ind. to square off with the Cardinals of Ball State University Saturday, Nov. 2. First serve against the Cardinals is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Next Event

Team Stats

Stacey Perinar

Erin Short

Jill Briner

Megan Crawshaw

Eastern Michigan Athletics