Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, November 17
Oxford, Ohio
4:30 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
16-18
1
vs
3
Ohio
17-14
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Michigan
20
24
25
23
1
Ohio
25
26
23
25
3
EMU Falls to Ohio to End MAC Tournament Run
11/17/2017 7:42:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles comeback effort came up just short in the quarterfinal match
OXFORD, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team fought until the end Friday, Nov. 17, but ultimately came up short as Ohio University ended the Eagles' postseason run in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, 3-1 (20-25, 24-26, 25-23, 23-25) in Millett Hall at Miami University.
EMU was led in kills by senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon), who each finished with 10. Senior Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) finished the match with seven kills and a team-high six blocks. Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) led the Eagles with 42 assists, and junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led the team with 26 digs.
The match started on the wrong foot as Eastern fell in a sloppy opening set, 25-20, hitting just .077 with nine attack errors and three service errors. OU countered with just a .079 attack percentage and had six errors of their own, but pulled out the victory thanks to three service aces.
Set two was highlighted by an 8-0 run early by the Eagles with sophomore Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) at the service line. The Bobcats chipped away at the deficit and the two teams battled to 24-24 late in the set. OU took control of the match with two straight points out of a timeout to build a 2-0 match lead.
EMU battled back and gutted out a 25-23 win in the third set, relying on a steady diet of action from the middles as Ferguson and Falco accounted for seven of the Eagles' 12 kills and hit a combined .583. Eastern combined for a .300 attack percentage and was able to limit Ohio to a .226 mark to come out on top and keep the match alive.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth battle that saw the Bobcats pull ahead late. After a timeout down 24-19 to rally the squad, Eastern mounted a comeback and brought the game to 24-23. Ohio was able to end the rally before extra points were needed, however, dropping in a tip kill to end the match and the Eagles' season.
With the 2017 season coming to its conclusion, Eastern finishes with an overall record of 16-18 and MAC record of 7-9, both the highest total since 2014.
EMU was led in kills by senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon), who each finished with 10. Senior Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) finished the match with seven kills and a team-high six blocks. Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) led the Eagles with 42 assists, and junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led the team with 26 digs.
The match started on the wrong foot as Eastern fell in a sloppy opening set, 25-20, hitting just .077 with nine attack errors and three service errors. OU countered with just a .079 attack percentage and had six errors of their own, but pulled out the victory thanks to three service aces.
Set two was highlighted by an 8-0 run early by the Eagles with sophomore Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) at the service line. The Bobcats chipped away at the deficit and the two teams battled to 24-24 late in the set. OU took control of the match with two straight points out of a timeout to build a 2-0 match lead.
EMU battled back and gutted out a 25-23 win in the third set, relying on a steady diet of action from the middles as Ferguson and Falco accounted for seven of the Eagles' 12 kills and hit a combined .583. Eastern combined for a .300 attack percentage and was able to limit Ohio to a .226 mark to come out on top and keep the match alive.
The fourth set was another back-and-forth battle that saw the Bobcats pull ahead late. After a timeout down 24-19 to rally the squad, Eastern mounted a comeback and brought the game to 24-23. Ohio was able to end the rally before extra points were needed, however, dropping in a tip kill to end the match and the Eagles' season.
With the 2017 season coming to its conclusion, Eastern finishes with an overall record of 16-18 and MAC record of 7-9, both the highest total since 2014.
Team Stats
EMU
OHIO
Kills
46
55
Errors
22
25
Attempts
155
164
Hitting %
.155
.183
Points
64.0
76.0
Assists
46
51
Aces
6
10
Blocks
12.0
11.0
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
S
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