Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
11-9,5-1MAC
Bowling Green
10-7,5-1MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Mich. | 26 | 17 | 30 | 20 | 16 | 3 |
| Bowling Green | 24 | 25 | 28 | 25 | 14 | 2 |
Volleyball Topples MAC-Leading Bowling Green in Intense Five-Set Thriller
10/10/2024 9:38:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles are tied for first in the MAC and are off to their first 5-1 start in MAC play since 2018
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team showed its grit in an intense five-set win over the Mid-American Conference-leading Bowling Green State University Falcons Thursday evening in the Stroh Center, Oct. 10.
The victory boosted the Eagles' record to 11-9 overall, and 5-1 in MAC play. They are now tied with Bowling Green for the top spot in the conference, although they now hold the tiebreaker of BGSU with the victory.
The Eagles offense was paced by Abby Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri Valley/Ashland), who finished with a career-best 15 kills while accumulating a hitting percentage of .433. Kaili Doctor (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland/N.C. A&T State) added 14 kills while Taeley Mahler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) set a career-high with 10 as part of an Eastern Michigan attack that had four players with double-digit kills.
Defensively, Eastern had four players reach double figures in digs, highlighted by Hannah Blaney's (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) 18, a career-high 13 from Surabhi Srinivasan (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome), and 11 more from Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia), as she recorded her second consecutive double-double.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles endured a back-and-forth first set, winning, 26-24, in a stanza that featured four lead changes and was tied eight times. Neither team led by more than four points in the frame. EMU got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Bowling Green attacks in the stanza.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan dropped the second set, 25-17, to tie the match at one set apiece. The Eagles dropped the first point and fought from behind the rest of the way before dropping the set.
SET 3 | Eastern put the second-set loss in the rearview mirror and grabbed a 2-1 match lead with a win in set three. The Eagles came out on top of a close battle, winning in extra points, 30-28, in a set that was tied 14 times and had five lead changes. The Eagles racked up 17 kills over the course of the set. The Eastern Michigan offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 4 | The Eagles couldn't finish off a four-set win as the Falcons forced a fifth set with a 25-20 victory. Bowling Green grabbed the advantage for good at 19-18, and Eastern was never able to recover in a set that was knotted up 12 times before the Falcons took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 5 | Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green went back and forth all game, trading set wins until the Eagles took the fifth set, 16-14, and the match. The Eagles survived a back-and-forth final set to emerge victorious in a stanza that featured two lead changes and was tied six times. Neither team led by more than three points in the set.
Match Notes
» Eastern is hitting its stride as conference play ramps up as it has posted a 3-1 record in the month of October, the best mark in any month under Head Coach Kevin Foeman
» The Eagles have won consecutive five-set matches for the first time this season, they are now 5-3 when going a full five sets.
» Blaney led the team for the 15th time this season with 18 digs in the win. Blaney has recorded nine double-digit digs performances this season. She stands seventh in the nation and first in the MAC with 333 digs this season. The senior has recorded at least 10 digs in 55 of her 93 career contests.
» Mahler drilled a career-best 10 kills, marking her first match reaching double-digits in the stat.
» Doctor drilled 14 kills in her return to action. Doctor has recorded at least 10 kills in eight of her 11 matches this season.
» Srinivasan set career-highs with four assists, two aces, and 13 digs.
» Stanford landed a career-high 15 kills, marking her second consecutive game posting a career-best total in the category, as she beat her previous career-high of 14 set in the Eagles most recent match, a win over Miami University in Ypsilanti, Oct. 5. With double-digit kills tonight, the middle blocker has recorded 10+ kills in three consecutive matches for the first time in her career.
» Smith dished 22 assists and added 11 digs defensively. The performance marked her second consecutive double-double, while her 22 dimes marked a career-best. Smith has dished at least 10 assists in eight of her nine matches played in 2024.
» Ella Voorhees (Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown/Southern Miss.) led the team with 25 assists, marking her 14th time leading the Eagles in the category this season, 18th with double figures, and 10th time with more than 20 in the category. Voorhees also went down for 10 digs on defense, capturing her eighth double-double of the season, the most on the team.
Historical Notes
» Thursday's match marked the 67th all-time between the Eagles and Falcons. After the win, Eastern posts a 27-40 record against the Falcons, and a 12-18 mark when facing them in Bowling Green. Furthermore, the victory marked the Eagles first in Bowling Green since the 2015 season, Oct. 17.
» With the win, the Eagles have won three consecutive matches for the first time since the 2018 season, when it topped Buffalo, Bowling Green, and Miami on its way to winning the program's lone MAC Tournament Championship.
» The Eagles are first in the MAC and 5-1 in conference play for the first time since they got off to a 5-1 start in the 2018 campaign. Additionally, Eastern is one of 10 teams nationally to start 5-1 in conference play.
» Eastern now has five wins in conference play for the first time since the 2020 team secured eight.
» After beating both Miami and Bowling Green in five sets, the Eagles have secured consecutive five-set wins for the first time since the 2021 campaign, when they topped Northern Illinois, Oct. 2, and Ohio, Oct. 8.
» The Eagles win Thursday marked their first when posting less kills, aces, blocks, assists, and digs than its opponent since they did so in a four-set victory over Akron in the COVID-adjusted 2020 season, Feb. 19, 2021.
» Stanford, Doctor, Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Southern Miss./Jacksonville St.), and Mahler each recorded double-digit kills in the match. Their respective outings marked the first time the Eagles had four players reach double figures in the stat since former Eagles Raeven Chase, Samantha Basham, Krista Blakely, and Callie Minshew did so against Virginia Tech, Sept. 9, 2022.
Up Next
The Eagles are back on the court tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 11, as they will make the short drive over to the University of Toledo for a match with the Rockets. First serve is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
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