Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
13-12,7-4MAC
Ohio
10-12,6-5MAC
Volleyball Secures Five-Set Win over Ohio
10/26/2024 7:29:00 PM | Volleyball
Eastern has now competed in 10 five-set matches this season, the most in program history, winning seven of them, the most for the program since the start of the rally scoring era (2008)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team bested Ohio in five sets inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Saturday, Oct. 26.
The conference victory improved Eastern Michigan's record to 13-12 overall and 7-4 in MAC play. The match marked Eastern's tenth five-set match of the season, tying the 1984 Eastern squad for the most five-set matches in program history. The win also went down as Eastern's seventh five-set victory of the season, the most from the program since the rally scoring era (2008-pres.).
Kaili Doctor (Mars, Pa. Pine-Richland/North Carolina A&T State University) finished with 18 kills on the day to lead the Eagles offense while finishing with a hitting percentage of .405. Defensively, Eastern had three players reach double figures in digs, including Hannah Blaney's (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) 14, 12 from Ava Siefke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy), and 12 more from Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Southern Miss./Jacksonville St.).
How it Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles came out on top of a close first set, winning, 29-27, in a stanza that was tied 16 times and had five lead changes. Eastern Michigan also supplemented its offense with three aces in the opening set. The Eagles got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked four Ohio attacks in the stanza.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan dropped the second set, 25-21, to even the match 1-1. The Eagles couldn't hang on in a back-and-forth set, losing in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied eight times. Neither team led by more than four points along the way.
SET 3 | Eastern then lost its second set in a row, falling behind in the match, 2-1. The Eagles came up short by a score of 25-20. Ohio grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that was tied up four times before the Bobcats took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 4 | Eastern Michigan broke its two set losing streak and forced a fifth set with a 25-23 victory in set number four. The Eagles scored first and never trailed in the set to secure the victory. Eastern opened up as much as a 10 point lead at 20-10 before finishing off the stanza, collecting 15 kills in the set.
SET 5 | Eastern Michigan battled back from down two sets to one to win the next two sets, culminating in a 17-15 fifth-set victory, securing the 3-2 win. Strong serving helped the Eagles grab the fifth set and the match as the Eagles totaled three aces in the set win. After the lead changed hands five times, the Eagles took control for good at 16-15 and rode that advantage to victory.
Match Notes
» Eastern out-aced its opponent for the seventh time this season, it is 6-1 when doing so. It also totaled more digs than the Bobcats, marking its 15th game with more digs than its foe. The Eagles are now 10-5 when out-digging the opponent.
» Stayer recorded her fifth double-double of the season and second in as many matches, as she led the team in assists with 28 to go with 12 digs defensively. The performance marked her second occurrence of consecutive double-doubles this season. She previously accomplished the feat on the same day in consecutive matches against Evansville and Morehead State, Sept. 13. Moreover, Stayer's 28 dimes tied a career-high for the graduate student.
» Doctor recorded 18 kills in the win. She has reached double figures in the stat in 12 of her 16 matches this season. Doctor posted the highest hitting percentage on the team at .405, her second-highest hitting percentage this season and sixth time hitting over .400 in her career. Additionally, her 18 kills marked her third time eclipsing 15 in 2024, a figure that leads the team.
» Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) dished 13 dimes for her 12th game with 10+ dimes. Smith has eclipsed the double-digit mark in the category in 12 of her 14 matches played in 2024.
» Siefke also contributed in the five-set effort against Ohio, notching 12 digs. It is the 10th match this season and 16th of her career in which she has recorded double-digit digs.
» Blaney recorded 14 digs of her own along the way. The effort is her 22nd match with double-digit digs this season, the most on the Eastern squad. Blaney has notched at least 10 digs in 60 of her 98 career games (61%). She leads the MAC with 415 digs this season.
Historical Notes
» After the win. Eastern holds a 20-40 all-time record against the Bobcats, and a 12-18 mark when facing them in Ypsilanti. The win also marked the first over Ohio for Head Coach Kevin Foeman's EMU tenure.
» Saturday's five-set battle went down as Eastern's 10th five-set match this season. Ten five-set matches in a single season are the most in program history. The Eagles have won seven of their 10 five-set matches this season, the most from the program since the start of the rally scoring era (2008-pres.).
» The win marked Eastern's seventh in MAC play this season. With a 7-4 start to conference play, Eastern is off to its best start against the MAC since the 2018 team also started 7-4 en route to winning the program's lone MAC Tournament Championship.
Up Next
The Eagles are back on the volleyball court Friday, Nov. 1, for a 6 p.m. match against Ball State.
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