Eagles Go 1-1 on Final Day of Butler Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) — The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team split its pair of matches against Stony Brook University and Butler University, Saturday, Aug. 26, finishing out its opening weekend at the Butler Tournament. After dropping their first match of the day to Stony Brook, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 11-15), Eastern (2-2) concluded its weekend with a win against tournament-host Butler, 3-1 (15-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23).

Eastern Michigan 2, Stony Brook 3

The Eagles opened the day with a five-set heartbreaker at the hands of the Seawolves. After dropping the first set, EMU won sets two and three but could not shut the door. SBU pulled out a nail biter to push the match into a fifth set, where it jumped out to an early lead, ultimately handing EMU its second loss of the season.

As a team, EMU edged Stony Brook in blocks, service aces, and hitting percentage, but the Seawolves' consistent attack proved to be too much as they held a 58-51 advantage in kills.

Junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) set a new career-high with eight aces, while also capturing her first double-double of the year with 15 kills and 21 digs. Senior Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) was a consistent force at the net recording 10 blocks, while redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) led the team for the third straight match with 22 assists.

The Eagles opened the match with a kill from Smith but could not separate from the Seawolves, as both teams remained within three points until midway through the set. After being tied at nine apiece, Stony Brook scored 10 of the next 13 points to expand its lead to 19-12 late in the set. EMU made a late run, bringing the score within four at 23-19, but the Seawolves pulled away, 25-21.

The second set began with three straight kills by the Seawolves before the Eagles got on the board with a kill from redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central). SBU expanded its lead early, capturing seven of the next ten points to push the score to 10-4. The Eagles slowly chipped away, cutting the Seawolves' lead to 13-10, and pushing them into their first timeout of the set. EMU remained strong out of the timeout, putting together a pair of blocks by Haut and Falco, followed by back-to-back service aces from Smith, to tie the score at 15 apeice. Both teams traded points until a service ace from freshman Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) and a critical kill from Smith put the Eagles up 21-19. Falco came up huge in the final stretch, registering a kill and assisting in a block with Smith to put an exclamation point on set two, as the Eagles came out on top, 25-21.

Set three saw the teams tie four times before EMU was able to gain separation with a score of 11-8, forcing Stony Brook to take the first timeout of the set. The Eagles scored five of the first seven points out of the timeout, extending their lead, 16-10, forcing SBU to burn its second timeout. EMU continued its exceptional play out of the timeout, scoring six straight points to gain the biggest lead of the day, 22-10. The Seawolves refused to go away, taking nine of the next 11 points to cut EMU's lead to 24-19. The late SBU streak came to an end after a service error, gifting the Eagles a 25-19 win in the third set.

EMU opened set four with its best start this season, taking the first four points off of three Stony Brook attacking errors and a kill form Smith. Riding the best start of their season, the Eagles kept their lead late through the set. Stony Brook would not allow the match to slip out of its hands, never falling more than four points behind and eventually taking the lead for the first time at 20-19. The Eagles fought back to tie the score at 22 apiece with a service ace from senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) and an attacking error from SBU. The two teams went back and forth until the Seawolves expanded their lead to two, winning 26-24.

The start of set five consisted with the same back and forth seen in the previous four sets, having the score tied at five apiece. Stony Brook was the first to pull away, gaining a three-point lead with a pair of kills and an EMU attacking error, making it 8-5 as the Eagles took their first timeout of the final set. The Seawolves continued to apply pressure out of the timeout, taking four out of the next seven points to take a 12-8 lead, before escaping with a 15-11 set victory to take the match 3-2.

Eastern Michigan 3, Butler 1

The Eagles edged the Bulldogs in almost every category, holding the advantage in attacks (50-43), kills (57-52), aces (5-3), digs (60-54), and matching them in blocks (9.0). EMU also posted the team's second-highest hitting percentage in the tournament, as the Eagles hit at a .213 clip.

Smith paced the Green and White attack with 16 kills, while Strefling led the way on the defensive front with a career-high 15 digs. Rajewski dished out 27 assists to lead EMU for the fourth consecutive match.

The first set saw the teams tied eight times before either gained separation. Butler took the first substantial lead, going on a 7-3 run to make the score, 15-11. The Eagles gained a few points but could not climb back into contention as the Bulldogs walked away with the first set, 25-15.

Butler continued where it left off, capturing and holding a close lead for a majority of the second set. After two consecutive aces from Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian), followed by a crucial kill from Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), the Eagles tied the set, 12-12. Neither team pushed away as the teams headed into the final stretch tied, 20-20. The Eagles strung together a pair of kills from Strefling and Haut with a Butler attacking error to pull ahead 23-20 and force the Bulldogs into a timeout. Butler came out of the timeout with a kill only to be answered by a crucial kill from Haut. Strefling ended the set with a kill to give EMU the win, 25-23.

After trading points, the Eagles were able to climb out to an early 11-7 lead from kills by Smith and Hamby, as well as an ace from Ferguson. The Bulldogs caught back up to the Eagles, tying the set, 14-14, but EMU took six of the next seven points to earn one of its biggest leads of the match, 20-15. The Eagles held onto their lead down the stretch, taking the third set, 25-19.

EMU continued their momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a quick 10-5 lead. Butler was able to chip away, taking ten of the next 15 points to tie it up, 15-15. The set stayed within two through the latter of the set until critical kills by Haut and Smith pushed the score in favor of the Eagles, 22-19. The Bulldogs applied the pressure, forcing EMU to take a timeout with a 24-23 lead. From there, Strefling came out of the timeout with a kill to put the cap on the fourth set, winning 25-23.

Eastern Michigan volleyball will return to action next weekend, Sept. 1-2, at the Wyoming Tournament. The Eagles first match of the weekend is set for Friday, Sept. 1, at 6:30 p.m. against tournament-host Wyoming. EMU closes out the weekend's matches starting Saturday, Sept. 2, at 10 a.m. against Purdue, followed by a 5 p.m. start against Jacksonville to conclude the weekend.

All Tournament Team
Emma Granger, MB Robert Morris
Emily Costello OH, Stony Brook
Cassie Haut MB, Eastern Michigan
Jordan Smith OH, Eastern Michigan
Darien Bandel OH, Oakland
Jamie Walling, MB, Oakland
Rachel Klitzing MB, Butler
Natalie Ravenll OH, Butler

Tournament MVP
Makayla Ferguson S, Butler

Next Event

Team Stats

Jordan Smith

Cassie Haut

Franki Strefling

Samantha Falco

Players Mentioned

Samantha Falco

Kelly Ferguson

Ariel Hamby

Cassie Haut

Mallory Rajewski

Jordan Smith

Franki Strefling

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics