Eastern Grounded in Four Sets on Senior Night

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – On a night where the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team honored its two seniors, the Eagles fell to Northern Illinois University in four sets (25-16, 27-25, 17-25, 25-15) Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Convocation Center. The conference loss dropped EMU (14-15, 4-10 MAC) below the .500 mark for the first time since Sept. 7 while the Huskies improved to 17-11, including a 9-5 record in MAC play.

The match was the final home contest for EMU seniors Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) and Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio-Orrville). Roback recorded 16 digs, four kills, and a block assist in her last EMU home match while Short tallied 12 kills, six digs and a block assist in her final appearance on the Convocation Center floor.

Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) led the Eagles with 14 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Libero Corynne Smith (Norwalk, Ohio-St. Paul) paced the Eagles with 24 digs and Jill Briner's (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park and River Forest (Northeastern)) 39 assists were a team high.

Three Huskies tallied double figures in kills as Jenna Radtke, Sarah Angelos and Mary Grace Kelly collected 14, 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Kelly capped off her double-double by adding 15 digs.

The Huskies scored the first three points of the contest and did not look back to take the opening set, 25-16. EMU cut the lead to one, 14-13, but NIU would rally off five straight to make it 19-13, before continuing to increase its lead and take the first set by nine points. While Northern Illinois hit at a .235 clip, Eastern struggled for a .077 attack percentage with only nine kills. Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan), Katie Krasowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Marist) and Perinar each recorded two kills while Briner added six assists. NIU's Sarah Angelos led the Huskies with four kills.

The second set was tightly contested throughout as the Eagles jumped out in front, 10-7. However, NIU would flip the switch to take a three-point advantage of its own, 18-15, forcing EMU Head Coach Kim Berrington to call timeout. The break in the action paid off as Eastern rattled five of the next seven points tie the set up at 20-20. A 24-22 lead caused the Eagles to take another timeout, and the Green and White rattled off back-to-back points to knot the frame, 24-24, forcing the set to go beyond the standard 25 points that it takes to win a set. The two teams would trade points before two in a row gave NIU set two, 27-25.

EMU improved its attack percentage in the second set, hitting .282, but attacked at a .300 clip. Angelos had a big set for her team, recording seven of the Huskies' 17 kills. Perinar paced Eastern with five kills, while Briner and Short added three apiece.

After the extended break, the Eagles began to dominate the third set with a 13-6 advantage, passing the halfway mark on taking the set and keeping their hopes alive. The Eagles increased its lead to double digits, 21-11, before eventually claiming set three. Briner would cap off the set with a powerful kill and a 25-17 EMU third set victory. Eastern hit an impressive .378 in set three, led by Short's eight kills. The senior was 8-for-11 in attacks throughout the set to lead her team in her final game inside the Convocation Center.

The fourth and final set was all NIU as the Huskies cruised to a 25-15 win to earn the match victory. Crawshaw was able to notch five kills in the frame, while Roback tallied nine. Briner and Smith each contributed seven pickups, but EMU's offense dwindled, posting an .044 attack percentage in the final set after converting just 11 kills on 45 attempts with nine errors.

Following the conclusion of the 2013 home schedule, the Eagles wrap up the regular season on the road with trips to Central Michigan, Nov. 14, and Kent State, Nov. 16. Both contests are scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.

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Team Stats

Stacey Perinar

Erin Short

Megan Crawshaw

Jill Briner

Eastern Michigan Athletics