Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 12
Convocation Center
5 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
8-21 (3-13MAC)
1
vs
3
Kent State
15-14 (8-8MAC)
1
2
3
4
F
Kent State
23
25
25
25
3
Eastern Michigan
25
21
16
21
1
Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Volleyball Concludes 2016 Season with 3-1 Defeat to Kent State
11/12/2016 7:23:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles honored two players, Devon Murray and Melva Smith, on Senior Night
PHOTO GALLERY
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team closed out its season today, Nov. 12, with a loss to the Kent State Golden Flashes by a final tally of 3-1. The match served as the Eagles' (8-21, 3-13 MAC) final game of the season, in addition to senior night for seniors Devon Murray (Shelby, Ohio – Shelby) and Melva Smith (South Holland, Ill. – Thornwood).
As a team, Eastern hit at a .174 clip on the offensive end, which included 57 kills. Sophomore Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa – Solon) had another strong outing, totaling 21 kills and 12 digs. Junior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill. – Lemont) had a solid showing as well, nabbing 13 kills to tie her career high. Murray also racked up eight kills in her final game donning the Green and White. Freshman Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind. – Perry Meridian) paced the squad with 42 assists, while fellow sophomore Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich. – Allen Park) had 23 digs.
The Golden Flashes were the first on the board following an EMU error. After opening a 3-0 lead, the Eagles were able to pick up their first point of the match on a kill from Smith. Eastern tied it up at five apiece, but Kent then rattled off three straight to go ahead 8-5. The trend continued, as the Eagles kept it close, but were unable to take the lead, trailing 11-9 through 20 points. EMU pulled within one, 14-13, but were unable to tie it up. From there, the Kent State offense began rolling, picking up five more to increase their lead to 19-14. After the Golden Flashes notched three more kills, the Eagles then picked up three of their own to trim the lead to five. The Green and White kept the momentum rolling, pulling within three, 22-19, to force a Kent State timeout. Eastern kept it up after the break, making the score 22-21 before Kent finally picked up a point of their own. The Eagles closed out strong, securing the set victory by a final tally of 25-23.
Eastern picked up the first point of set two, but the teams then traded points to the tune of a 2-2 tie. The trend continued from there, as the squads were knotted up at four before Kent broke the tie and took a 5-4 lead. After a very long rally, EMU came up with the point to take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles increased their lead to two on the following point, but Kent State cut it right back to one. The two squads continued trading points, as the score was tied at 11 before Eastern retook the lead, 12-11. The tide quickly turned, as the Golden Flashes opened a three-point lead, 16-13. Eastern continued to fight, as they cut the lead to just one, 18-17, before tying it up with a nice block. However, Kent rallied and notched four straight to bring the score to 22-18, forcing an EMU timeout. Although the Eagles mounted a late rally of their own, Kent's lead was too much to overcome, and the Golden Flashes won set two, 25-21.
Kent State came out attacking in the third set, opening an early 5-0 lead. After the Eagles nabbed a point of their own, the Golden Flashes resumed the attack, picking up three more to lead 8-1. After leading by 10, 11-1, a Murray kill got the Eagles back on track and halted the Kent State run. Eastern chipped away at the lead from there, pulling within seven, 13-6, and later, six, 16-10. After pulling within five, the Golden Flashes quickly put their lead back at seven, 19-12, forcing an EMU timeout. Despite picking up four more points, Kent closed out strong and took set three by a final tally of 25-16.
Set four saw the Eagles race to an early 3-1 lead, which once again was kicked off by a kill from Smith. The Golden Flashes fought back, but Eastern increased the lead back to three, 6-3, on a kill from Falco. Following another kill from Smith, Kent State called a timeout trailing by five, 9-4. The Eagle onslaught continued, as the squad pushed their lead to eight, 16-8, but Kent began to rally, coming within four, 17-13. The Golden Flashes continued to chip away at the lead, ultimately tying it up at 19, which forced another EMU timeout. Coming out of the break, Kent picked up a point to take the lead, 20-19. With the momentum on their side, the Golden Flashes were able to pick up five more points and take the fourth set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
This marks the end of the season for the Eagles, as they will not secure a berth to the 2016 MAC tournament.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team closed out its season today, Nov. 12, with a loss to the Kent State Golden Flashes by a final tally of 3-1. The match served as the Eagles' (8-21, 3-13 MAC) final game of the season, in addition to senior night for seniors Devon Murray (Shelby, Ohio – Shelby) and Melva Smith (South Holland, Ill. – Thornwood).
As a team, Eastern hit at a .174 clip on the offensive end, which included 57 kills. Sophomore Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa – Solon) had another strong outing, totaling 21 kills and 12 digs. Junior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill. – Lemont) had a solid showing as well, nabbing 13 kills to tie her career high. Murray also racked up eight kills in her final game donning the Green and White. Freshman Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind. – Perry Meridian) paced the squad with 42 assists, while fellow sophomore Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich. – Allen Park) had 23 digs.
The Golden Flashes were the first on the board following an EMU error. After opening a 3-0 lead, the Eagles were able to pick up their first point of the match on a kill from Smith. Eastern tied it up at five apiece, but Kent then rattled off three straight to go ahead 8-5. The trend continued, as the Eagles kept it close, but were unable to take the lead, trailing 11-9 through 20 points. EMU pulled within one, 14-13, but were unable to tie it up. From there, the Kent State offense began rolling, picking up five more to increase their lead to 19-14. After the Golden Flashes notched three more kills, the Eagles then picked up three of their own to trim the lead to five. The Green and White kept the momentum rolling, pulling within three, 22-19, to force a Kent State timeout. Eastern kept it up after the break, making the score 22-21 before Kent finally picked up a point of their own. The Eagles closed out strong, securing the set victory by a final tally of 25-23.
Eastern picked up the first point of set two, but the teams then traded points to the tune of a 2-2 tie. The trend continued from there, as the squads were knotted up at four before Kent broke the tie and took a 5-4 lead. After a very long rally, EMU came up with the point to take an 8-7 lead. The Eagles increased their lead to two on the following point, but Kent State cut it right back to one. The two squads continued trading points, as the score was tied at 11 before Eastern retook the lead, 12-11. The tide quickly turned, as the Golden Flashes opened a three-point lead, 16-13. Eastern continued to fight, as they cut the lead to just one, 18-17, before tying it up with a nice block. However, Kent rallied and notched four straight to bring the score to 22-18, forcing an EMU timeout. Although the Eagles mounted a late rally of their own, Kent's lead was too much to overcome, and the Golden Flashes won set two, 25-21.
Kent State came out attacking in the third set, opening an early 5-0 lead. After the Eagles nabbed a point of their own, the Golden Flashes resumed the attack, picking up three more to lead 8-1. After leading by 10, 11-1, a Murray kill got the Eagles back on track and halted the Kent State run. Eastern chipped away at the lead from there, pulling within seven, 13-6, and later, six, 16-10. After pulling within five, the Golden Flashes quickly put their lead back at seven, 19-12, forcing an EMU timeout. Despite picking up four more points, Kent closed out strong and took set three by a final tally of 25-16.
Set four saw the Eagles race to an early 3-1 lead, which once again was kicked off by a kill from Smith. The Golden Flashes fought back, but Eastern increased the lead back to three, 6-3, on a kill from Falco. Following another kill from Smith, Kent State called a timeout trailing by five, 9-4. The Eagle onslaught continued, as the squad pushed their lead to eight, 16-8, but Kent began to rally, coming within four, 17-13. The Golden Flashes continued to chip away at the lead, ultimately tying it up at 19, which forced another EMU timeout. Coming out of the break, Kent picked up a point to take the lead, 20-19. With the momentum on their side, the Golden Flashes were able to pick up five more points and take the fourth set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
This marks the end of the season for the Eagles, as they will not secure a berth to the 2016 MAC tournament.
Team Stats
KENTST
EMU
Kills
56
57
Errors
16
27
Attempts
165
172
Hitting %
.242
.174
Points
70.0
63.5
Assists
53
57
Aces
3
1
Blocks
11.0
5.5
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
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