Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
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Radford
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EMU Volleyball Earns First Win in Sweep Over Radford
9/16/2022 6:11:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles break nine-match losing streak with 3-0 victory over Highlanders
LYNCHBURG, Va. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team earned its first victory of the season in a three-set win over the Radford University Highlanders Friday, Sept. 16 inside Liberty Arena, located on the campus of Liberty University. The Eagles then fell in four sets to the Eagles of Coppin State University.
The out-of-conference win improved the Eagles' overall record to 1-9 on the season before the loss to Coppin-State moved it to 1-10.
Senior Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic) finished with 11 kills against Radford to lead the Eagles attack, while producing a hitting percentage of .667. Defensively, Eastern had two players reach double figures in digs as freshman Emma McMahon (Monroeville, Ind.-Bellmont) had 18 and graduate student Callie Minshew (Brandon, Miss.-Brandon-Mississippi State) recorded 10. From the front row, Sophomore Madeline Timmerman (Crystal Lake, Ill.-Central) contributed five blocks.
The Eagles offense was then paced by senior outside hitter Krista Blakely (Detroit, Mich.-University High School Academy), who took her own turn finishing with 11 kills on the match against CSU. Chase had 10 while hitting .269 against Coppin State. On the defensive end, EMU had two players reach double figures in digs as McMahon recorded a career-high 23 and senior Kamryn Stilwell (Parma, Ohio-Padua Franciscan) added 12. Chase contributed five stops from the front row with seniors Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) and Blakely bringing in three each.
How It Happened - (Match 1)
SET 1 | The Eagles of Eastern Michigan came out on top of a tight first set, winning 26-24 in a set that was tied six times and had four lead changes. The team finished on an 8-0 run to take the win. Eastern Michigan also supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, the Green and White put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-23 victory in set number two. The Eagles took the lead for good at 24-23 in a set that showcased four lead changes before EMU took over in the second half of the stanza. Eastern Michigan's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five Radford attacks and capitalizing on 10 Radford errors on the way to victory.
SET 3 | The team then took the third set to sweep the match and earn its first win of the 2022 campaign. The Eagles took control of the set early when the score was 5-4 and never looked back to win 25-18. Eastern Michigan led by as many as nine points at 19-10 before closing out the stanza, collecting 17 kills along the way.
Match Notes- (Match 1)
» The Eagles produced a season-high .223 hitting percentage against the Highlanders, tallying 10 more kills than the Big South Conference member. This statistical mark is just the second time the Eagles have led their opponent in successful attacks in 2022, with the first coming against Virginia Tech University, Sept. 9, when Eastern earned 63 kills to Virginia Tech's 56.
» Junior Olivia Szylar (Itasca, Ill.-Lake Park) registered her first match with leading aces (3) in the win, recording not only a season-high but also a career-high. Additionally, only four Eagles have produced more than two aces in a single match in the 2022 campaign with Szylar now being one of them. Both Minshew and Kendall Burk (Bloomington, Ill.-University) hold the season-record 4 aces in a single match.
» Chase led the Eagles with a match-high 11 kills on only 15 swings against the Highlanders defense for a season-high .667 hitting percentage.
» Eastern Michigan got a match-high 18 digs from McMahon for her eighth-consecutive match with double-digit figures in digs. Earning a season-high 10 digs against the Highlanders was Minshew with her first double-digit figure in digs of the 2022 season and 19th of her career. Additionally, both Burk and Blakely matched their respective season-highs in digs. Burk tallied six digs on the match for the second time in her career, while Blakely added two for the sixth time this season.
» The Green and White's attackers were helped by a team-high 19 assists from Szylar. The junior has recorded a double-digit figure in assists in every match of the 2022 season thus far for a total 273 set assists, ranking seventh in the league prior to this match.
How It Happened - (Match 2)
SET 1 | The Eagles of Eastern Michigan found themselves in an early hole, dropping the first set 25-20. Coppin State grabbed the advantage for good at 21-20 in a set that was tied up 11 times before the Lady Eagles of CSU took over in the tail end of the set.
SET 2 | Eastern then lost the second set 25-11 to fall behind in the match two sets to none. The Eagles trailed Coppin State the entire way.
SET 3 | Then, EMU got on the board with a win in set three, 25-20 to make it a 2-1 match, avoiding the Coppin State sweep. Eastern Michigan took the lead for good at 7-6 in a set that showcased two lead changes before the Green and White took control. The Eastern Michigan offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | The team kept the comeback train rolling, winning the fourth set 25-23 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. The Eagles took the lead for good at 24-23 in a set that showcased three lead changes.
SET 5 | Despite the 2-2 set comeback, the Eastern Michigan Eagles fell 16-14 in the final set to drop its 10th match of the season. The Eagles dropped a tight fifth set, losing in a stanza that was tied five times and had three lead changes.
Match Notes- (Match 2)
» Szylar had a team-high two aces in the loss, earning her second-consecutive match with leading aces. The junior set a career-high 3 aces in the match prior against Radford.
» Blakely had a team-high 11 kills on 23 swings for Eastern Michigan recording her fifth match in double-digit kills. The senior also contributed three block assists on the match.
» McMahon continued to elevate after a great performance against Radford, chalking-up 23 digs over Coppin State. McMahon's 23 digs marks for a new career-high for the rookie, improving from 19 against Saint Louis University, Sept. 9.
» Eastern Michigan attackers were helped by a team-high 23 assists from Burk, which also calls for a new career-high. Similar to McMahon, Burk moves from 19 assists at Michigan State University, Aug. 27 to now 23 over the Eagles of Coppin-State.
Historical Notes
» Prior to the Liberty Tournament, Eastern Michigan's overall record for the 2022 season was 0-9. The last time EMU had a season-opening nine-match losing streak was in 2000. The team later ended that streak with a 3-0 sweep victory over the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Sept. 16, 2000. Exactly 22 years later, the Eagles have broken another nine-match losing streak with the same 3-0 result.
» In their very first meeting, the Eagles took a 1-0 series lead over the Highlanders of Radford, in just three sets. The last time the Eagles swept an opponent was last season against Boston College, Sept. 18 in the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
» Under Head Coach Darcy Dorton, the Green and White are now 1-1 on the season in games decided by three sets and 12-19 overall.
» The 1-3 loss to Coppin-State knotted the all-time series record between the programs at 1-1. It is also the fourth four-setter of the 2022 campaign in which the Eagles have fell.
Up Next
The Eastern Michigan Volleyball team will meet the Flames of Liberty University, also for the first time, Saturday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. The match is scheduled to stream on ESPN+ and will be live stated through Broadcast Stats. This match will close out the Eagles time in Lynchburg, Va. before opening their home court to Toledo University for their first league contest of the season.
