Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
13-15,7-7MAC
Central Michigan
20-6,11-3MAC
Volleyball Falls to CMU on Election Night
11/5/2024 8:58:00 PM | Volleyball
The match marked just the second time the Eagles played on a presidential election night
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YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team lost to Central Michigan University in four sets, 3-1, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center on the 2024 presidential election night Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Eastern's offensive attack was spearheaded by Kaili Doctor (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland/N.C. A&T State) and Hatteras Welker (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut) as both led the squad with 11 kills. They were fed by Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia), who paced the team and posted a career-best with 24 assists.
Hannah Blaney (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) and Abby Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri Valley/Ashland) led the EMU defense as Blaney grabbed a match-high 21 digs while Stanford totaled four rejections at the net.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The first set started in a back-and-forth affair as the Eagles went into the media time out with a one-point advantage, 15-14. The Chippewas took the lead at 16-15, and never looked back as they would go on to rattle off five straight points, eventually taking the set, 25-18.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan then dropped set two, 25-18, to fall behind in the match, 2-0. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as 10 points as Central Michigan grabbed the advantage for good at 5-4 in a set that was tied up just once before the Chippewas took over the lead.
SET 3 | After falling in the first two sets, Eastern fought back to grab the third set and make it a 2-1 match. Eastern Michigan took the lead for good at 16-15 in a set that showcased three lead changes before the Eagles took over in the second half of the stanza. The Eastern Michigan offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza. EMU's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking six CMU attacks in the stanza.
SET 4 | Eastern Michigan could not keep the rally going and lost in the fourth set, 25-20, dropping the match, 3-1. Central grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 and Eastern Michigan was never able to recover in a set that was tied up five times before the Chippewas took over in the second half of the stanza.
Match Notes
» With 72 digs to CMU's 70, Eastern recorded more digs than its opponent for the 16th this season and 20th time in the Head Coach Kevin Foeman tenure. The Eagles are 10-6 in 2024 when out-digging their foe.
» The Eagles also out-aced the Chippewas as they landed six to Central's four. The match marked just the second time this season Eastern has lost when totaling more aces than its opponent, it now posts a 6-2 record on the year when doing so.
» Doctor led the team with 11 kills, marking her 13th time with double-digit kills out of 19 matches. Doctor leads the team on the season with 207 kills and has the most games with double figures in kills. Doctor also became the first Eagle to eclipse the 200-kill mark in 2024.
» Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Southern Miss./Jacksonville St.) dished 19 assists on the night, her 10th match with at least 10 dimes this season. Stayer is now nine assists away from reaching the 500 mark in her career.
» Welker drilled a career-best 11 kills. Welker has tallied career-highs in the stat in consecutive games as she previously established a PR in the category with 10 in the Eagles' most recent match against Ball State, Nov. 2. Welker also grabbed a career-best in digs as she went down for five.
» Taeley Mahler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) joined Welker as she also posted a personal-best in digs with four.
» Smith led the squad in assists for the fifth time in 2024 as she distributed a career-best 24 dimes. The match marked Smith's fourth time going over 20 in the category and her 14th with double-digits. The freshman has recorded at least 10 assists in 14 of her 17 matches played.
» Blaney led the squad in digs for the 22nd time this season with 21. She has had more than 20 digs nine times in 2024 and 19 times in her four-year career. Blaney stands first in the MAC with 443 digs and fifth in the conference with 4.10 digs per set.
Historical Notes
» Tuesday's match marked the 101st all-time between the Eagles and Chippewas. Eastern now holds a 31-70 record when facing Central, and a 15-37 mark when facing it in Ypsilanti.
» Eastern's six blocks elevated it to 270.5 total blocks on the season, the third most in program history, most in the MAC, and fourth-most in the country. The Eagles need six more blocks to take over the No. 2 spot currently held by the 2013 squad (276 TB), and 54 more to dethrone the 2017 team that totaled 320 denials.
» The match marked just the second time in EMU volleyball's 48-year history that the team played on a presidential election night. Eastern previously played on election night in 1984 when they bested the Michigan Wolverines in five sets in Ann Arbor, Nov. 6, the night that America re-elected its 40th President, Ronald Regan.
Up Next
The Eagles are back on the court Friday, Nov. 8, at home against Akron. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
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