EMU Suffers 3-1 Setback at the Hands of Illinois State

DAYTON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) -- Eastern Michigan University's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision at the 2015 Flyer Invitational Saturday, Sept. 19, as Illinois State came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Eagles (8-4) at the Frericks Center. Eastern took the first set from the Redbirds (10-3), 25-17, before dropping three straight, 17-25, 13-25, 18-25.

Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) paced the Green and White with 12 kills, while Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic Central) followed up with eight of her own. In addition, EMU's Katie Krasowski (Oak Lawn, Ill.-Marist) and Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) contributed six kills apiece, while Kelsey Jones (Reed City, Mich.-Reed City) added five. Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) posted 20 assists in the loss, while Alyssa Davis (Kalamazoo, Mich,-Plainwell) posted 15. Defensively, Jordan Smith posted a career-best 17 digs, while Corynne Smith (Norwalk, Ohio-St. Paul) led the squad with 21. As a team, the Eagles hit just .113, while the Redbirds posted a .204 attack percentage. Illinois State stuffed Eastern 12 times in the loss.

The Green and White came out swinging to begin the Saturday afternoon match with a 25-17 set victory. Perinar recorded six of her kills in the opening set, while Rajewski posted eight assists. As a team, Eastern Michigan was stout offensively, hitting at a .325 clip, while holding Illinois State to an .054 attack percentage. Jordan Smith was a rock defensively, picking up eight digs in the frame, while Devon Murray (Shelby, Ohio-Shelby) stuffed the Redbirds on a pair of occasions, including one solo block.

The second set was not as friendly to Eastern Michigan as it hit just .105, recording nine kills in the entire frame. ISU took the set, 25-17, knotting up the match with Jaelyn Keen and Aly Dawson each posting four kills. The Redbids' squad hit at a .237 as a team. Thanks in large part to Corynne Smith, who had seven digs in the frame, the Eagles were able to extend the set to the final tally.

The Eastern Michigan offense struggled in set three, hitting -.054, with just eight kills on 37 attempts to go along with 10 errors in the set. Haut and Krasowski were the bright spots offensively in the 25-13 setback. Haut went 2-for-4 in attack attempts, while Krasowski was 3-for-5 with a single error. ISU saw Ashley Rosch go off in the third set, posting seven kills on 13 attempts, good for a .538 hitting percentage. With the third set in had, the Eagles needed to make a run in set four to keep their hopes alive.

Unfortunately for Head Coach Kimi Olson's squad, the Green and White was on the wrong end of a 25-18 decision in the fourth and final set of the match. EMU managed just an .057 attack percentage in the final frame, while Illinois State posted a .250 average.

Eastern finishes non-conference play at the Flyer Invitational later Saturday evening when it squares of with the host of the tournament, the University of Dayton.

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Team Stats

Stacey Perinar

Cassie Haut

Jordan Smith

Katie Krasowski

Players Mentioned

Alyssa Davis

Cassie Haut

Kelsey Jones

Katie Krasowski

Devon Murray

Stacey Perinar

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics