Eastern Michigan Athletics
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Volleyball Splits Opening Day Action at Golden Grizzlies Invite
9/8/2023 7:10:00 PM | Volleyball
Eagles bounce back from 3-1 loss to sweep Chicago State
MATCH 1 | EMU 1, OAKLAND 3 (22-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-25)
MATCH 2 | EMU 3, CHICAGO STATE 0 (25-22, 25-23, 27-25)
ROCHESTER, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team split its two matches on the opening day of play at Oakland University's Golden Grizzlies Invitational Friday, Sept. 9, falling to host OU, 3-1, before rebounding to grab a 3-0 sweep over Chicago State University inside the Oakland University Credit Union O'Rena in Rochester, Mich. The Eagles (2-6) secured their second win of the season and their first three-set sweep since Oct. 15, 2022, a 3-0 victory at Miami University.
Match 1
Callie Minshew (Brandon, Miss./Brandon/Mississippi State) led the way once again for the Eagles as she recorded her fourth double-double of the season and the 10th of her career as she tallied 15 kills to go with 10 digs and was one of three Eagles with double digit digs as Emma McMahon (Monroeville, Ind./Bellmont) collected a team-high 25 digs while Bella Hommes (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) chipped in 12. Elle McLoughlin (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley/Ashland) led the team with 31 assists and was one of four individuals to record at least one service ace, a category McMahon led as she posted two in the match.
Match 2
Despite the loss earlier in the day, the Eagles bounced back with a strong showing as they swept Chicago State, handing the Cougars just their second loss of the year. Minshew finished one dig shy of another double-double as she posted a team-best 13 kills and added nine digs. Hannah Howard (Toledo, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy) led the way with 19 digs while Sabrina Gremm (North Royalton, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) added 10 kills on offense. McLoughlin tallied 23 assists while Olivia Szylar (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park) added 10 helpers of her own in the victory.
How It Happened – Match 1
SET 1 | The hosts jumped out to a 10-8 lead before the Eagles tied things up at 11-11. From there, the Golden Grizzlies would go on a 10-5 run to open a 21-16 lead, but Minshew would score two points in a row for Eastern as she recorded a kill and followed that up with a service ace, drawing the Eagles to within three points (21-18). Eastern tried to build from there and turned a 24-20 deficit into a 24-22 deficit, but an OU kill ended the set, 25-22, in favor of the hosts.
SET 2 | EMU opened a 3-1 lead before OU went on a nine-point run to build a 10-3 advantage. The Eagles continued to claw their way back and eventually used a four-point run to close to within two, 17-15. Both teams went back and forth before a three-point run gave the hosts a 24-18 lead and set point. Eastern scored once more, but a kill gave the Golden Grizzlies a 25-19 win and a 2-0 set lead at the break.
SET 3 | Similar to the first two sets, both teams used runs to build advantages in what would become a tightly scored set. With the score at 7-6 in OU's favor, EMU ran-off five points in a row to take an 11-7 lead and added a three-point run later for a 17-12 advantage. With Eastern up, 20-14, the Golden Grizzlies would win 8-of-10 points to tie the set at 22-22. OU would win three of the next five points to take a 25-24 lead, but the Eagles fought off match point by winning the next three points to take the set, 27-25.
SET 4 | After grabbing a 4-1 lead, the Eagles fell behind, 10-5, as the hosts reeled off nine points in a row to take the lead. Eastern pulled to within one point (15-14), but OU won the next six points (20-14) and 11 of the final 12 points to close out the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.
Mach Notes - Match 1
» Minshew secured her fourth double-double of the season and the 10th of her career with 15 kills and 10 digs.
» Freshman Aubriegh Oswald (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) made her first collegiate appearance as she took the floor in all four sets. She recorded six kills, one block assist, and nine digs in her debut.
» Kendal Bonney (Pioneer, Ohio/North Central/Ashland) made her EMU debut as the transfer recorded one kill and two digs in the match.
» Fifteen different Eagles saw action in the match, the most in any match this season. The previous high was 13, which happened three times previously this season and most recently came in EMU's 3-2 win over Western Illinois University, Sept. 2, at the Popcorn Classic in Valparaiso, Ind.
How It Happened – Match 2
SET 1 | The Eagles persevered in a back-and-forth first set to win 25-22 in a stanza that featured five lead changes and was tied nine times. Neither team led by more than four points in the match. EMU displayed a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Chicago State attacks in the stanza.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan built on a set-one win by earning a 25-23 victory in set two. The Eagles survived a back-and-forth set to win in a stanza that featured six lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team led by more than three points along the way. Eastern Michigan's front row had a solid defensive outing, blocking six Chicago State attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | Eastern closed the match in a 3-0 sweep after winning the third set. The Eagles took control of the set early when the score was 5-4 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 27-25. Eastern Michigan led by four points at 19-15 before finishing off the stanza, collecting 19 kills along the way.
Match Notes – Match 2
» Minshew earned double-digit kills for the 8th consecutive match with 13.
» EMU picked up its second win of the 2023 campaign with its 3-0 win over Chicago State. It marked the first straight-set win for Eastern Michigan since Oct. 15, 2022 when the Eagles took down Miami University, 3-0, in Oxford, Ohio.
» Eastern has now won two of its last three matches, the best results in a three-match stretch this season. Furthermore, it marks the first stretch of three matches in which EMU has claimed two victories since the 2022 campaign, when the Eagles defeated Miami, Oct. 15, and Bowling Green State University, Oct. 21 in a six-day span.
» With wins over Western Illinois University and Chicago State in 2023, EMU now has multiple non-conference victories for the first time since the 2021 campaign. That season, the Eagles bested five non-conference opponents.
» EMU handed Chicago State just its second loss of the season with today's result. Prior to its match against the Green and White, CSU was 5-1, and had not surrendered a match since falling, 3-1, to UC Irvine, Sept. 1. Additionally, before EMU's victory today, Chicago State had lost just one total set in its last three matches (all wins).
» EMU will seek consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 when it takes on Kansas City tomorrow, Sept. 9, in the final match of the Golden Grizzlies Invitational. A win would give EMU back-to-back positive results for the first time since Oct. 14-15, 2022, when the Eagles derailed the Miami RedHawks in back-to-back matchups.
Up Next
Eastern closes out the Golden Grizzlies Invitational Saturday, Sept. 9, when it takes on the University of Missouri-Kansas City at noon inside the OU Credit Union O'Rena in Rochester, Mich.
