Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
5-9,0-3MAC
Northern Illinois
8-6,2-2MAC
Volleyball Falls to Northern Illinois in Four Sets
10/1/2021 9:17:00 PM | Volleyball
Two Eagles recorded double-figure kills in the loss
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team fell to the Northern Illinois University Huskies in four sets (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25) Friday, Oct. 1, on the road at Victor E Court inside NIU's Convocation Center.
The loss dropped Eastern Michigan's record to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
The Eagles offense was paced by redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario, Canada-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic), who finished with 14 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .542 (14-1-24), and by sophomore Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic), who had 11. EMU got 18 digs from sophomore Kamryn Stilwell (Parma, Ohio-Padua Franciscan) along with seven blocks from Chase and six rejections from freshman Madeline Timmerman (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Central) to lead them defensively.
Game Notes
» Chase had a season-high 14 kills for Eastern Michigan.
» Chase's seven blocks ties for sixth-most for a four-set match in the modern statistical era (since 2008).
» Eastern Michigan got a team-high 18 digs from Stilwell.
» Eastern Michigan attackers were helped by a team-high 40 assists from sophomore Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge).
» Timmerman posted a career-high six blocks.
» Freshman Annie Lockett (Mason, Ohio-Mason) tied a career-high in digs (9) to go along with eight kills and three blocks.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles fell behind early, losing a tough first set 25-16. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as nine points as Northern Illinois never surrendered the lead in a set that was knotted up four times before the Huskies took control.
SET 2 | A 25-20 set-two loss put Eastern Michigan behind two sets to none in the match. The Eagles trailed by as many as six points as Northern Illinois grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Huskies took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 3 | After falling in sets one and two, Eastern Michigan rallied to take the third set and make it a 2-1 match. The Eagles won the set 25-21 helped by a solid showing on the attacking side. Eastern Michigan put together a .321 attack percentage with 11 kills in the set win. The Eagles took their first and last lead of the match at 9-8 and rode it to victory. EMU's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking six Northern Illinois attacks in the stanza.
SET 4 | Eastern Michigan couldn't keep the momentum and lost in the fourth set 25-20 to drop the match. The Eagles dropped the first point and never clawed back into the lead before losing the set.
Up Next
» Eastern Michigan will be back in action Saturday, Oct. 2, for the second match of the series with Northern Illinois. The match is slated for 8 p.m. ET and will be televised via NIU All-Access.
