Eagles Secure MAC Tournament Berth with Five Set Win at Toledo

Complete Tournament Bracket

TOLEDO, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team punched its ticket to the 2015 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament Saturday night, Nov. 14, when the Eagles (14-15, 6-10 MAC) defeated the University of Toledo in five sets, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 21-25, 17-15, at Savage Arena. The Eagles also gained some some help from Ball State University, who defeated Central Michigan University in five sets, to give EMU a better West Divisional mark at 5-5 than CMU's 4-6 tally. In her first season at the helm of the program, Head Coach Kimi Olson and her squad took the tiebreaker with the Chippewas to earn the No. 8 seed for the 2015 MAC Tournament.

The Eagles hit at just a .196 attack percentage, being led by a quartet of student-athletes who grabbed double-digit kills in the five set win. Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) posted a match-high 19 kills, while Devon Murray (Shelby, Ohio-Shelby) added 13, Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic Central) posted 12 and Katie Krasowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Marist) recorded 11. In addition, Kelsey Jones (Reed City, Mich.-Reed City) posted eight kills while Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) and Alyssa Davis (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Plainwell) split the setting duties with 34 and 26 assists, respectively. In addition to her hot hitting, Perinar contributed a trio of aces as well.

Defensively, the Green and White were stellar, recording 107 digs in the victory. Corynne Smith (Norwalk, Ohio-St. Paul) led the EMU defense, tying a season-best 37 digs, while Dori Harrison (Euclid, Ohio-Beaumont School (South Florida)) posted a career-high 23 digs. In addition, Perinar notched 17 digs for a double-double, while Rajewski notched a double-double with 10 digs in the match.

Eastern fell behind 1-0 following a 23-25 setback in the opening frame. Despite hitting at a stout .282 percentage in the first set, the Green and White saw the Rockets (6-23, 3-13 MAC) post 19 kills in the set. The Eagles spread the wealth offensively in the set with five student-athletes recording two-or-more kills in the set.

Set two was friendly to the Green and White on both sides of the net as the Eagles grabbed a 24-19 set victory to even up the match. Eastern hit at a .255 attack percentage, while holding the Rockets to a .163 mark. Smith led the defense with eight digs in the second set alone, while Perinar added six of her own. Offensively, Perinar recorded four kills, while Haut, Krasowski and Murray each added three in the frame.

After the break, EMU grabbed a 2-1 lead with another 25-19 set win. Perinar led the offense, which hit .324 in the frame, with five kills, while Jones added three of her own. Harrison stepped up on the other side of the net, picking up eight digs in the frame.

The Eagles' offense struggled in set four, managing a -.038 attack percentage, posting just 11 kills in 52 tries. Conversely, Toledo hit .182, but made just three attack errors to force a fifth and deciding set.

Set five proved to be an exciting battle. Smith was key on the back row, posting nine digs in the shortened fifth frame as Eastern defeated the Rockets, 17-15, in the fifth frame to secure a trip to the 2015 MAC Tournament in Athens, Ohio. Perinar led an offensive charge to complete the victory, grabbing six kills in the final frame, dispatching of Toledo in the final match of the 2015 regular season.

Eastern Michigan will head to Athens to square off with the No. 5-seeded Western Michigan University Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m.

Eagles Secure MAC Tournament Berth with Five Set Win at Toledo

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Team Stats

Stacey Perinar

Devon Murray

Cassie Haut

Katie Krasowski

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Davis

Dori Harrison

Cassie Haut

Kelsey Jones

Katie Krasowski

Devon Murray

Stacey Perinar

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Davis

Dori Harrison

Cassie Haut

Kelsey Jones

Katie Krasowski

Devon Murray

Stacey Perinar

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics