Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
4-24,2-14MAC
Kent State
6-21,2-14MAC
Eagles Take Down Kent State 3-1
11/10/2023 8:40:00 PM | Volleyball
Minshew records 100th career service ace in victory; three players reach double-doubles
Highlight Video
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team was triumphant in a four-set match against the Golden Flashes of Kent State University Friday, Nov. 10, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center. The Mid-American Conference victory marked the second of the season and the fourth overall win under first-year head coach Kevin Foeman.
The Eagles were led by a double-double from Callie Minshew (Brandon, Miss./Brandon/Mississippi State), who registered a career-high 28 kills and 11 digs on the day. Samantha Basham (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic) also added 15 kills to help the offense. Both setters Hannah Kivett (Chandler, Ind./Castle/Florida Gulf Coast) and Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley) registered double-doubles with Kivett securing 28 assists and 10 digs while McLoughlin landed with 16 helpers and 10 digs. On the defensive end, Emma McMahon (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) chipped in with 20 digs to go with two blocks from Abigail Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley/Ashland).
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles fell behind early, losing a tough first set, 25-18. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as eight points as Kent State never surrendered the lead.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan evened the match at 1-1 following a 28-26 set-two win. The Eagles persevered in a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied 11 times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way. Eastern racked up 17 kills throughout the set.
SET 3 | EMU grabbed another win in set three to make it a 2-1 match. The Eagles came out on top of a close battle, winning 31-29 in a set that was tied seven times and had three lead changes. The Eastern Michigan offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | The Green and White earned a match win with a 25-22 fourth-set victory, winning their third straight set. The Eagles took the lead for good at 21-20 in a set that featured eight ties and five lead changes.
Match Notes
» Three Eagles contributed double-double performances in Minshew (28 kills, 10 digs), McLoughlin (16 assists, 10 digs), and Kivett (28 assists, 10 digs), marking the sixth time EMU has had two Eagles with double-doubles in the same match this season and just the third time with three. The last time three Eagles registered double-doubles in the same match was in the 3-2 loss to Central Michigan University, Sept. 26, which also featured Minshew and McLoughlin.
» Minshew's double-double performance against the Golden Flashes marked the 14th of her career while McLoughlin's was her seventh and Kivett's marked as just her second after recording her first double-double against SIU-Edwardsville earlier in the season, Aug. 25.
» Both Basham (15) and Minshew (28) finished with double-digit kills in the match. The last time the two recorded double-digit kills in the same match was against Central Michigan, Sept. 26, when Minshew recorded 25 and Basham claimed 11.
» Five Eagles registered double-digit digs in a single match during the win, marking the first time this season accomplishing the feat. Last season, EMU managed to record only four Eagles all with double-digit digs in the same match just one time, the 3-2 upset over Bowling Green State University, Oct. 21, 2022.
» The teams played beyond 25 in both the second and third set, marking the first match EMU has played with multiple sets played past 25 this season. It marked the 11th and 12th sets this season that EMU and its opponent have prolonged a set.
Historical Notes
» Minshew recorded her 100th career service ace in the win. The graduate student has registered a single service ace in 18-of-28 matches played this season and leads the team with 30 total aces.
» Minshew posted a career-high 28 kills in the victory, topping her previous 25 set against CMU, Sept. 26. The 28 kills mark as an EMU school record for most kills in four sets, topping Jordan Smith's (11/10/18) and Rachel Iaquaniello's (9/7/2011) 27 kills. Additionally, her 76 attempts also rank first in EMU program history for most attempts in a single four-set match, topping teammate Basham's 72 (10/23/21).
» With the result of tonight's matchup, the Eagles hold an overall record of 38-23-1 against the Golden Flashes and have won five of the last 10 matches. EMU dominated Kent State for six consecutive matches from 2001 to 2006 and has almost evened out ever since. While leading the Golden Flashes all-time, the Eagles have managed to sweep KSU in 19 out of the 37 wins (.514).
» Last season, the double-double mark was reached a total of eight times by three different Eagles (Sabrina Gremm (4), Kendall Burk (3), Raeven Chase (1)). This season, the mark has been exceeded as four different Eagles (Ava Siefke (4), Hannah Kivett (2), Elle McLoughlin (7), Callie Minshew (9)) have combined for 22 double-double performances on the season.
» The four-set victory over Kent State marked just the seventh four-setter of the 2023 campaign for the Eagles and the second in favor of the Green and White as they hold a 2-5 record in such matches. The last time the Eagles competed in a match decided in four sets was the 3-1 win over Miami University, Oct. 27.
Up Next
The Eagles will conclude its two-match series against the Kent State Golden Flashes Saturday, Nov. 11. First serve is set to begin at 6 p.m. Fans can follow live stats on EMUEagles.com/livestats and can watch on ESPN+.
