Eagles Grounded in Five at Valpo Popcorn Classic

VALPARAISO, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team dropped its second-straight five set match Friday, Sept. 6. The Eagles fell to the host of the 2013 Valpo Popcorn Classic, Valparaiso University, in five sets, 24-26, 26-24, 20-25, 25-20 and 5-15.

The Eagles' offense was paced by sophomore Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) who notched 17 kills and a .220 (17-6-50) attack percentage. Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio-Orrville) and Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) each posted double-figure kill performances. Short contributed 14, while Roback added 12. Jill Briner (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park and River Forest (Northeastern)) posted 17 assists, 10 digs and a pair of kills, while Alyssa Davis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Plainwell) did the majority of the serving duties, accumulating 31 assists and 11 digs. As a team the Eagles posted 10 total blocks, including six block assists from Kelsey Jones (Reed City, Mich.-Reed City) and five from Perinar.

Despite going to extra points with Valpo in the first set, the Eagles were unable to come out on top as they fell, 24-26. Perinar led the Green and White with four kills in the opening frame, while Davis posted nine assists in the set. Jones had an extremely productive opening set by stuffing a pair of attacks and notching three kills of her own. Eastern hit .209 (15-6-43) in the first frame, while Valpo was able to post a .308 (16-4-39) attack percentage.

The Green and White ramped up the offense in the second set, hitting .306 (15-4-36), while holding Valparaiso to a .195 (15-7-41) attack percentage. Roback and Short led the way in set two when they banged home five kills apiece, while Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) picked up three kills, an ace and a block in the 26-24 set victory.

Briner was the offensive catalyst in the third set. The junior nabbed four assists, two aces and a kill, but EMU was unable to overtake the Crusaders as they fell in the set, 20-25. Eastern struggled offensively after posting an 11-7-41 performance which amounted to a .098 attack performance in the third set. On the other side of the net, Valpo hit .275 (15-4-40) while posting just four attack errors.

Eastern evened up the match in the fourth set, 2-2, after taking the frame, 25-20. The Eagles hit .222 (11-3-36) in the frame, but held the Crusaders to a .043 (14-12-46) attack percentage, including forcing 12 Valpo attack errors. Perinar was the main offensive threat in the set as she posted a .500 (6-0-12) attack percentage, without making a hitting error.

The Eagles fell in the final set. 5-15, after the Crusaders posted a .375 (6-0-16) attack percentage without committing an attack error. EMU was unable to get the offense going in the fifth set as they hit -.013 (4-7-23).

The Eagles continue their time in Valparaiso Saturday, Sept. 7. Eastern is scheduled for a doubleheader starting at 9 a.m. (CT) when they take on the United States Military Academy (Army) at the Valpo Athletics-Recreation Center.

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Team Stats

Stacey Perinar

Erin Short

Paige Roback

Megan Crawshaw

Eastern Michigan Athletics