Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
1-14,0-3MAC
Ball State
9-6,1-2MAC
Eagles Fall in Four Sets to Defending MAC Champion Cardinals
9/30/2022 8:22:00 PM | Volleyball
Samantha Basham leads with 16 kills; Kendall Burk chimes in with 37 helpers
MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team put up another great fight, winning the first set before dropping the next three in a 3-1 Mid-American Conference setback to Ball State University Friday, Sept. 30, inside Worthen Arena.
The conference loss drops the Eagles to 1-14 overall, and 0-3 in conference play.
Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio-Newark Catholic) finished with 16 kills on the day to lead the Eagles' attack. Defensively, Eastern Michigan had three players reach double figures in digs, including freshman Carlina Bender's (Hudsonville, Mich.-Hudsonville) 16, 14 from freshman Emma McMahon (Monroeville, Ind.-Bellmont), and 11 more from sophomore Kendall Burk (Bloomington, Ill.-University). From the front row, senior Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ontario-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic) contributed six blocks.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles endured a back-and-forth first set to win 25-23 in a stanza that featured eight lead changes and was tied 13 times. Neither team led by more than four points in the set.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan then fell in set two 25-14, tying the match at a set apiece. The Green and White trailed by as many as 11 points as Ball State grabbed the advantage for good at 9-8 in a set that was tied up four times before the Cardinals took over the lead.
SET 3 | A set-three loss put Eastern Michigan down two sets to one. The Eagles fell in a tough set 25-17. Eastern trailed by as many as eight points as BSU grabbed the lead at 12-11 and never looked back in a set that was knotted up eight times before the Cardinals took over.
SET 4 | EMU then lost the fourth set and the match, falling 25-16. The Eagles fell behind on the first point and couldn't claw back into the lead before falling in the set.
Match Notes
» Eastern Michigan had three players in double figures in digs. Bender led the Eagles in her first match with double-digit digs and a new career-high 16, while McMahon registered 14 and Burk collected a career-high 11. This feat has only been done once more in the 2022 campaign coming against Fairfield University, Aug. 26, when McMahon, senior Kamryn Stilwell (Parma, Ohio-Padua Franciscan), and freshman Sabrina Gremm (North Royalton, Ohio-Gilmour Academy)all registered double-digit digs.
» McMahon had a team-high one ace in the loss. It was the rookies sixth match recording a service ace. Her career-high two aces were set at Liberty University, Sept. 17.
» Basham led the team in kills for the fourth time in the 2022 season with a total 16. This was the seventh contest of the season in which the veteran has recorded double-digit kills and 31st of her career. Furthermore, her 16 kills against the Cardinals was the most from any player on either side and is just the second match in 2022 she has recorded 15+ kills. The seniors season-high 17 kills came against the University of Louisiana, Aug. 26 with her career high 23 kills being set at Ohio University, Oct. 8, 2021.
» Eastern Michigan attackers were helped by a team-high 37 assists from Burk. The 37 helpers defeats her previous career-high 23 assists set against Coppin State University, Sept. 16, and is also her 12th match of the 2022 season in which the sophomore has recorded double digit assists. Additionally, Burk earned a new career-high in kills (2), total attempts (4), and digs (11).
» Outside Hitter Callie Minshew (Brandon, Miss.-Brandon-Mississippi State) earned four kills in the loss to add to her total career kills of 495. The graduate student is just five kills away from reaching 500.
» Eastern Michigan bested its opponents in the total blocks battle for the fifth time this season. The Eagles put up 17 total blocks against the Cardinals nine. Additionally, the 17 blocks from the Green and White ranks as a new team-high in 2022. Prior to tonight's match, EMU recorded 15 total blocks against Louisiana, Aug. 26. Leading the Eagles was Chase who collected six block assists for her ninth match of the 2022 season as the leader in blocks.
Historical Notes
» Under Head Coach Darcy Dorton, the Eagles are 1-5 against Ball State with the lone victory coming at home, March 27, 2021, when the Green and White defeated the Cardinals in five sets. The overall record between the two schools moves to 28-57, in favor of BSU.
» Despite the loss, Eastern managed to take the first set off the Cardinals, 25-23. The last time EMU was victorious in the first set was in the 3-0 win over Radford University, Sept. 16. Under Dorton, the Eagles are 23-17 when they win the first set.
» The four-set loss is the fourth match of the 2022 campaign decided by four sets. The Eastern Michigan volleyball team has competed in 38 four-set matches in the Dorton era, with a 9-29 record.
Up Next
The Eagles return to action Saturday, Oct. 1, as they take on the Cardinals of Ball State once more in Muncie, Ind. The match is set to begin at 6 p.m. inside the Worthen Arena.
