Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
7-11,7-11MAC
Central Michigan
11-9,11-9MAC
Volleyball Falls to Central Michigan in Four Sets
3/23/2021 8:22:00 PM | Volleyball
Jayden Otto logs 29 assists and first career multi-ace game
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – In a tough in-state rivalry game, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team was beaten by Central Michigan University in four sets (15-25, 25-16, 19-25, 16-25) this evening, March 23, inside the Convocation Center. The Eagles fall to 7-11 overall, while the Chippewas improve to an 11-9 record.
The Eagles were paced by a nine-kill night by senior Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan). Sophomore Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) chipped in eight kills, and redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario, Canada-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic) added six.
The Eagles' offense was guided by sophomore setter Jayden Otto (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Prairie Ridge), who logged a team-high 29 assists. Freshman Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Northern) also provided three assists to the Eagles' cause.
On the defensive end, Strefling led the way with 19 digs. Also providing double-digit digs was Hommes with 17, while Otto and sophomore Alayna Jansky (Mukwonago, Wis.-Mukwonago) each added 10, respectively. In terms of blocks, Chase led the way with eight.
The Eagles held the advantages in blocks (22-21), digs (73-67), and aces (6-4). However, the Chippewas led in kills (50-36) and assists (48-34). Eastern Michigan ended the game with a .065 attack percentage (36-27-139), compared to Central Michigan's .170 clip (50-24-153).
The Chippewas opened the match by taking the first four points of the game, but the Eagles fought back to equalize the set at eight apiece. Central Michigan, however, was able to respond with a 7-2 run following Eastern Michigan tying it up at 16-all. CMU was able to ride that momentum to a first-set win by a score of 25-15, and led 1-0 for the match.
The second set opened in a back-and-forth manner, but this set saw the Eagles open up a larger lead first, as they had a stretch of five-straight points for an early 9-4 lead and forced CMU into a timeout. The timeout steadied the Chippewas, but EMU weathered a 6-2 run and would never relinquish the lead, ending the set on a 7-1 scoring drive and eventually running away the second set, 25-16.
In set number three, the Eagles went on yet another 5-0 run and jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead, forcing another early-set timeout from the Chippewas. CMU would respond well with seven-straight points to take a lead that they would hold on to for the remainder of the set, ultimately winning it, 25-19, and taking the 2-1 advantage in the match.
Down a set in the fourth, it continued to be a game of runs, as Central found a 10-3 run of its own to make it a 14-8 advantage, Chippewas. The Eagles continued to fight, though, and quickly rattled off five-straight points to close the gap to 16-14. However, Central would pull away, taking the set, 25-16, and winning the match 3-1.
Eastern Michigan will close the 2021 spring regular season with a two-match weekend series hosting Ball State University starting Friday, March 26. The match is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Convocation Center.
