Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, October 28
Muncie, Ind.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
11-17 (3-9MAC)
2
at
3
Ball State
15-10 (7-5MAC)
1
2
3
4
5
F
Eastern Michigan
25
17
20
25
13
2
Ball State
18
25
25
23
15
3
Eagles' Rally Falls Short at Ball State
10/28/2017 10:29:00 PM | Volleyball
EMU came back from down 2-1, but ultimately fell in the fifth set
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team could not finish off Ball State University Saturday, Oct. 28, falling in a heartbreaker in five sets (25-18, 17-25, 20-25, 25-23, 13-15) to the Cardinals at Worthen Arena.
After taking the first set in convincing fashion, Eastern (11-17, 3-9 MAC) fell victim to Ball State (15-10, 7-5 MAC) in the second and third. The Green and White were able to rally for a fourth set win, and carried the momentum into the deciding fifth. Unfortunately, the Cardinals rallied off the last five points of the match to take the victory.
Four players finished the match with double-figure kills for the Eagles, with Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) leading the team with 12. Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central), and April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) each added 10 kills, while Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) finished just shy of double-digits with nine.
Falco's night also included nine total blocks and two digs. The senior leads the Eagles with 119 blocks on the year and is three away from joining the EMU Top 10 in block assists in a season. Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led four players with double-digit digs with 23, and Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) registered her 14th double-double of the season with 30 assists and 13 digs. Houston's 10 kills and 22 attacks were both career-highs, while Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) set a season-high in attach percentage (six kills, one error on nine attempts, .556 percent).
Eastern jumped out to an early lead in the first set and continued to roll, hitting an eye-popping .379 in the match while holding Ball State to a meager .147 mark. The Cardinals returned the favor in set two, hitting a much-improved .294 while limiting the Eagles to just .091.
Out of the break, BSU pulled out to an early lead that EMU could never quite recover from. The Eagles cut it to as close as two points at 21-19, but a 4-1 run by the Cardinals ended the set and put Ball State in the driver's seat of the match.
EMU showed its resilience with a strong fourth set, however, using the momentum it built in the latter part of the third set to jump ahead once the fourth began. The battle was back-and-forth for the entirety of the set, with nine tie scores and three lead changes. Ultimately, the Eagles were able to withstand the Ball State attack and force a fifth set.
Set five was more of the same for the two squads, as the teams had three ties and two lead changes in the race to 15. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the 5-0 run for Ball State came to end the match and send EMU home winless on its road trip.
Eastern Michigan returns to action Friday, Nov. 3 when it plays host to Western Michigan at 7 p.m. The Eagles turn around and play Northern Illinois Saturday, Nov. 4 for Senior Day, beginning at 5 p.m.
After taking the first set in convincing fashion, Eastern (11-17, 3-9 MAC) fell victim to Ball State (15-10, 7-5 MAC) in the second and third. The Green and White were able to rally for a fourth set win, and carried the momentum into the deciding fifth. Unfortunately, the Cardinals rallied off the last five points of the match to take the victory.
Four players finished the match with double-figure kills for the Eagles, with Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) leading the team with 12. Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central), and April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) each added 10 kills, while Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) finished just shy of double-digits with nine.
Falco's night also included nine total blocks and two digs. The senior leads the Eagles with 119 blocks on the year and is three away from joining the EMU Top 10 in block assists in a season. Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led four players with double-digit digs with 23, and Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) registered her 14th double-double of the season with 30 assists and 13 digs. Houston's 10 kills and 22 attacks were both career-highs, while Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) set a season-high in attach percentage (six kills, one error on nine attempts, .556 percent).
Eastern jumped out to an early lead in the first set and continued to roll, hitting an eye-popping .379 in the match while holding Ball State to a meager .147 mark. The Cardinals returned the favor in set two, hitting a much-improved .294 while limiting the Eagles to just .091.
Out of the break, BSU pulled out to an early lead that EMU could never quite recover from. The Eagles cut it to as close as two points at 21-19, but a 4-1 run by the Cardinals ended the set and put Ball State in the driver's seat of the match.
EMU showed its resilience with a strong fourth set, however, using the momentum it built in the latter part of the third set to jump ahead once the fourth began. The battle was back-and-forth for the entirety of the set, with nine tie scores and three lead changes. Ultimately, the Eagles were able to withstand the Ball State attack and force a fifth set.
Set five was more of the same for the two squads, as the teams had three ties and two lead changes in the race to 15. Unfortunately for the Eagles, the 5-0 run for Ball State came to end the match and send EMU home winless on its road trip.
Eastern Michigan returns to action Friday, Nov. 3 when it plays host to Western Michigan at 7 p.m. The Eagles turn around and play Northern Illinois Saturday, Nov. 4 for Senior Day, beginning at 5 p.m.
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Team Stats
EMU
BSU
Kills
57
65
Errors
25
28
Attempts
167
181
Hitting %
.192
.204
Points
79.0
82.0
Assists
49
58
Aces
8
8
Blocks
14.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
10
Kills
10
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
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OH
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