Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, September 23
Convocation Center
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
9-9, 1-1MAC
3
vs
0
Toledo
5-9, 0-2MAC
1
2
3
F
Toledo
22
23
21
0
Eastern Michigan
25
25
25
3
EMU Volleyball Sweeps Toledo 3-0 for First MAC Win
9/23/2017 9:26:00 PM | Volleyball
Kelly Ferguson led the way with 10 kills and five blocks
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team continued Mid-American Conference play against the University of Toledo, Saturday, Sept. 23 at the Convocation Center. The Eagles (9-9, 1-1 MAC) notched their fifth sweep of the season after taking down the Rockets (5-9, 0-2 MAC) (25-22, 25-23, 25-21).
The Green and White dominated the offensive battle, hitting at a .219 clip, compared to Toledo's .150. Eastern edged the Rockets in kills, 46-40, as senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) paced the team with 10. Redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) followed close behind with nine, while four other Eagles registered at least five kills.
Junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led the team's defensive front, contributing 24 of EMU's 64 total digs, for an average of eight digs per set. Eastern continued to showcase its defensive prowess by racking up 15 blocks to Toledo's seven. Ferguson led the Eagles with five blocks while fellow senior Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) chipped in with three, including the team's only solo block of the match.
The first set started as a back-and-forth battle, as neither team was able to gain more than a three-point lead. Eastern broke the trend after going on a four-point run to gain an 11-10 lead on the Rockets. After a 9-8 run and an ace by LaFace, Toledo was forced to take a timeout as the Eagles led 20-18.
The Eagles expanded their lead to three before Toledo began to come back. Each team rattled off a few more points before the Green and White took the set, 25-22, off a Rockets attacking error.
Set two began in a similar fashion as the two teams could not garner more than a point lead over the other. EMU pulled out to an 8-5 lead, forcing Toledo to use a timeout to break up the Eastern run. The Rockets were strong out of the timeout, chipping away at the Eagles' lead and putting together a 10-7 run to take the lead, 16-15, which forced EMU into its first timeout of the match.
The Green and White came out of the huddle on fire, scoring four-straight to regain the lead, 19-16. The Eastern defense could not hold off the Rockets' offense as they tied the game back up at 20 apiece. EMU and Toledo continued to play hot potato with the lead before a Haut kill and a Toledo attack error gave Eastern set two, 25-23.
Coming out of the break, set three continued to be another back-and-forth affair as the lead changed four times before the Green and White took a 12-9 advantage, making the Rockets use their first timeout of the set. Eastern pulled ahead to expand its lead, 17-13, but couldn't quite shut the door on the Rockets, as Toledo fought back to bring the score within two, 23-21. However, back-to-back kills by Haut and freshman Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) sealed the victory for EMU, 25-21.
EMU returns to action next weekend, Sept. 29-30, with a pair of conference matches. The Eagles square off against Northern Illinois Friday, Sept. 29, in Dekalb Ill., before traveling to Kalamazoo, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 30, to take on in-state rival, Western Michigan.
The Green and White dominated the offensive battle, hitting at a .219 clip, compared to Toledo's .150. Eastern edged the Rockets in kills, 46-40, as senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) paced the team with 10. Redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) followed close behind with nine, while four other Eagles registered at least five kills.
Junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) led the team's defensive front, contributing 24 of EMU's 64 total digs, for an average of eight digs per set. Eastern continued to showcase its defensive prowess by racking up 15 blocks to Toledo's seven. Ferguson led the Eagles with five blocks while fellow senior Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) chipped in with three, including the team's only solo block of the match.
The first set started as a back-and-forth battle, as neither team was able to gain more than a three-point lead. Eastern broke the trend after going on a four-point run to gain an 11-10 lead on the Rockets. After a 9-8 run and an ace by LaFace, Toledo was forced to take a timeout as the Eagles led 20-18.
The Eagles expanded their lead to three before Toledo began to come back. Each team rattled off a few more points before the Green and White took the set, 25-22, off a Rockets attacking error.
Set two began in a similar fashion as the two teams could not garner more than a point lead over the other. EMU pulled out to an 8-5 lead, forcing Toledo to use a timeout to break up the Eastern run. The Rockets were strong out of the timeout, chipping away at the Eagles' lead and putting together a 10-7 run to take the lead, 16-15, which forced EMU into its first timeout of the match.
The Green and White came out of the huddle on fire, scoring four-straight to regain the lead, 19-16. The Eastern defense could not hold off the Rockets' offense as they tied the game back up at 20 apiece. EMU and Toledo continued to play hot potato with the lead before a Haut kill and a Toledo attack error gave Eastern set two, 25-23.
Coming out of the break, set three continued to be another back-and-forth affair as the lead changed four times before the Green and White took a 12-9 advantage, making the Rockets use their first timeout of the set. Eastern pulled ahead to expand its lead, 17-13, but couldn't quite shut the door on the Rockets, as Toledo fought back to bring the score within two, 23-21. However, back-to-back kills by Haut and freshman Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) sealed the victory for EMU, 25-21.
EMU returns to action next weekend, Sept. 29-30, with a pair of conference matches. The Eagles square off against Northern Illinois Friday, Sept. 29, in Dekalb Ill., before traveling to Kalamazoo, Mich., Saturday, Sept. 30, to take on in-state rival, Western Michigan.
Team Stats
TOLEDO
EMU
Kills
40
46
Errors
20
16
Attempts
133
137
Hitting %
.150
.219
Points
45.0
56.0
Assists
37
44
Aces
0
2
Blocks
5.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB/RS
/ Volleyball
DS/L
/ VolleyballOH
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