EMU Volleyball Battles Western Michigan, Falls Back 3-0

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team underwent a tough loss in the western side of the state, dropping 3-0 to Western Michigan University today, Nov. 4 inside University Arena located on the campus of Western Michigan University.

The 3-0 conference loss moves Eastern Michigan's overall record to 5-21 with a 4-10 mark in Mid-American Conference play.

Senior outside hitter Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) finished with seven kills on the day to lead the Eagles' attack. Defensively, the Green and White had two players reach double figures in digs as junior defensive specialist Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich.-Forest Hills Northern) had 15 and freshman defensive specialist Carlina Bender (Hudsonville, Mich.-Hudsonville) had 10.

How It Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles found themselves in an early hole, dropping a tough first set 25-14. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as 11 points as Western Michigan never surrendered the lead, taking the first set.

SET 2 | Eastern lost set two 25-21, to put the Broncos up by two. Western Michigan grabbed the advantage for good at 8-7 in a set that was knotted up two times before the WMU took over the lead.

SET 3 | Western Michigan finished off the sweep with a set-three win. The Eagles came up short by the score of 25-20. With a tougher battle in the third set, Western grabbed the advantage for good at 12-11 in a set that was knotted up four times before the Broncos took over the lead.

Match Notes
» Sophomore Madeline Timmerman (Crystal Lake, Ill. -Central High) had a team-high two aces in the loss. The two in this match added to her previous 19 places the sophomore second on the team in service aces (21). Timmerman trails the Green and White's leader, Basham, by seven.
» Basham's seven kills in the match led the Eagles. In addition to her seven set points produced from kills, the senior tabbed on a block solo as well as a block assist. Given that Basham was directly responsible for 9 of EMU's total 55 set points, the outside hitter could claim 16.4% of the team's set points in the match.
» Basham continues to lead the Green and White not only in service aces but in kills. With her seven, the senior leads the Eagles with a total 270 kills on the season. She has tallied 857 successful attacks in an Eastern uniform. She is now 143 kills away from the 1,000-kills milestone.
» Eastern Michigan registered a team-high 15 digs from Hommes. This was just the third time the junior has earned double-digit digs in the season and tied her season high 15, also set against Bowling Green State University, Oct. 22. Additionally, the Grand Rapids native has tabbed 130 digs on the season and 716 in her career.
» Eastern Michigan attackers were helped by a team-high 21 assists from sophomore Kendall Burk (Bloomington, Ill.-University). This feat marks the 13th match in which the sophomore has produced 20 or more helpers to the Eastern attack. Burk continues to lead the Eagles in assists with 598.
» Despite the outcome, the defense managed to come out victorious over the Broncos in the blocking category. EMU out-blocked WMU 7-to-5 in the match. Eastern Michigan has bested its opponent in the total blocks battle 12 times this season (46%). Moreover, the Eagles' 199 total blocks this season ranks second in the Mid-American Conference.

Historical Notes
» Friday's match between the Eagles and the Broncos was the 94th meeting in program history, dating back to 1976.
The Green and White have taken 24 of those matches with the most recent being Oct. 6, 2018, when the Eagles defeated the Broncos in a match decided by four sets inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The victory marked the eighth time Eastern had consecutive wins over the inter-state rival in the 94-match stretch.
» Tonight's road match inside University Arena was the first time since Sept. 27, 2019 the Eagles fell in Kalamazoo, Mich. Since then, the Broncos have traveled to Ypsilanti, Mich. for five consecutive competitions prior to tonight.

Up Next
The Eagles have one more meeting with the Broncos, tomorrow, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. before returning home to host the Huskies of Northern Illinois University, Nov. 11-12.

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Team Stats

Samantha Basham

Raeven Chase

Madeline Timmerman

Krista Blakely

Eastern Michigan Athletics