Volleyball Clinches MAC Tournament Berth with Five-Set Victory on Senior Night

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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team played its final home match of the 2014 season against Ball State University Saturday, Nov. 8, inside the Convocation Center, winning in five sets (14-25, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 15-10) on Senior Night. The Eagles improved to 17-11 (8-6 MAC) to clinch a spot in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, while the Cardinals slipped to 15-12 (9-5 MAC).

Seniors Jill Briner (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park and River Forest (Northeastern)), Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan), and Natalie Folk (Saline, Mich.-Saline) competed inside the Convocation Center for the final time. Briner was the only Eagle to earn a double-double, dishing out 40 assists and adding 14 digs. Crawshaw led the Eagles with a career-high 18 kills, while she and Katie Krasowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Marist) each had five of the Green and White's 20 block-assists. Folk added three service aces and seven digs.

Corynne Smith (Norwalk, Ohio-St. Paul) defended admirably with 25 digs, while Alyssa Davis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Plainwell) added 14 of her own. Dori Harrison (Euclid, Ohio-Beaumont School (South Florida)) reached a season-high in three categories, contributing 12 digs, six kills, and four block-assists.

Ball State was led by Haley Benson and Sabrina Mangapora, who posted 18 and 16 kills, respectively. Setter Jenna Spadafora had 54 assists, while Katie Vasalakis tallied a team-high 33 digs.

The Eagles, struggled out of the gate, conceding seven of the opening ten points. An EMU timeout could not stop the Cardinals, who took six of the next nine points to take a 13-6 lead. Three consecutive Cardinal points gave Ball State a double-digit lead en route to a 25-14 opening set defeat.

The Cardinals looked certain to take a two-set advantage after winning the opening five points. The Eagles' woes continued, dropping nine of the next 12 points to trail 14-3. After a nightmarish set–and-a-half, EMU mounted a sensational comeback. Down 20-7, the Green and White won 12 consecutive points behind the aggressive serving of Folk, cutting the deficit to one. Remarkably, the Eagles finished the set on an 18-2 run, winning 25-22 to force a fourth set. The Eagles' attacking percentage improved from .000 in the opening frame to a game-high .323 in the second set.

Once again, the Eagles found themselves having to play catch-up early in the third set after dropping four of the opening five points. EMU quickly responded with three consecutive points to level the score at 4-4. The Eagles matched the Cardinals point-for-point until Ball State took three consecutive points to grab an 11-8 lead. EMU responded with four unanswered points of their own, taking its first lead of the set, 12-11. Trailing 18-17, the Eagles scored three unanswered points to force a Cardinal timeout. Again, the Eagles finished a set strongly, taking eight of the last 11 points en route to a 25-21 win.

The Eagles made sure to start the fourth set on a positive note, grabbing five of the opening seven points. However, Ball State would not go away quietly. Trailing 10-6, the Cardinals took seven of the next eight points to take a 13-11 lead, forcing an EMU timeout. Ball State, with a game-high attacking percentage of .237, would go on to win the fourth set 25-20, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set.

The Green and White won the first four points of the final set, but Ball State responded with six of the next eight points to deadlock the score at 6-6. This was as close as the Cardinals would get, with the Eagles capturing six of the next nine points to take a 12-9 lead, forcing Ball State to call timeout. The Eagles scored three of the final four points to take the fifth set 15-10, completing the upset and snapping the Cardinals' two-match winning streak.

Eastern Michigan will begin a two game road-stint Friday, Nov. 14 at Western Michigan University before finishing the regular season at Northern Illinois University. The first match is set to start at 7 p.m. in University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Volleyball Clinches MAC Tournament Berth with Five-Set Victory on Senior Night

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Team Stats

Megan Crawshaw

Jill Briner

Katie Krasowski

Dori Harrison

Players Mentioned

Jill Briner

Megan Crawshaw

Alyssa Davis

Natalie Folk

Dori Harrison

Katie Krasowski

Corynne Smith

Players Mentioned

Jill Briner

Megan Crawshaw

Alyssa Davis

Natalie Folk

Dori Harrison

Katie Krasowski

Corynne Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics