Eastern Michigan Athletics

Friday, September 13
Morehead, Ky.
1 p.m.

Eastern Michigan University

3-5,0-0MAC

3
vs
2

Evansville

1-6,0-0MVC

1
2
3
4
5
F
Eastern Mich.
25
19
28
22
15
3
Evansville
20
25
26
25
10
2
Kaili Doctor attacks the ball against Evansville, Sept. 13, 2024
Photo by: Walt Middleton Photography

Volleyball Shines with Two Wins on First Day of Comfort Inn Invitational

9/13/2024 10:42:00 PM | Volleyball

The Eagles had more kills, assists, digs, and blocks than their opponent in consecutive matches for the first time since 2018

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MOREHEAD, Ky. (EMUEagles.com)
– The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team won two games on its first day of competition at the Comfort Inn Invitational, hosted by Morehead State University at the Johnson Arena Friday, Sept. 13. The Eagles improve their record to 4-5 (0-0 Mid-American Conference). 
 
Eastern started the day with a 3-2 win over the University of Evansville, before besting host Morehead State, 3-1, in the final match of the evening.
 
Against Evansville, the Eagles were led by a double-double from Kaili Doctor (Mars, Pa./Pine-Richland/North Carolina A&T), who registered 23 kills and 10 digs in the match. Anna Guard (Burlington, Ky./St. Henry District) also added 17 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Hannah Blaney (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) chipped in for 22 digs to go with five blocks from Abby Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri-Valley/Ashland).
 
In the second contest of the day, Eastern's offense was paced by Doctor, who finished with 15 kills in the match while accumulating a hitting percentage of .303. Ava Siefke (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula Academy) added 13 and Kendal Bonney (Pioneer, Ohio/North Central) chipped in with 12 as part of a balanced Eastern Michigan attack. Defensively, EMU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Ella Voorhees' (Morgantown, W. Va./Morgantown/Southern Miss.) 13, 13 from Blaney, and 12 more from Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor H.S./Southern Miss./Jacksonville State). From the front row, Stanford contributed six blocks and Stayer added five rejections.
 
How it Happened – vs. Evansville
SET 1 | The Eagles opened up an early one set lead, winning the first set, 25-20. Eastern Michigan never trailed by more than five points and grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that featured 11 ties and five lead changes.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan then lost set two, 25-19, evening things at one set each. Eastern trailed by as many as six points as Evansville grabbed the advantage for good at 16-15 in a set that was tied up eight times before the Purple Aces took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 3 | Eastern fired back after the set-two loss to take the third set and a 2-1 lead in the match. The Eagles persevered in a back-and-forth set to win, 28-26, in a stanza that featured three lead changes and was tied nine times. Neither team opened up a lead of more than four points along the way. The Eagles racked up 17 kills over the course of the set.
SET 4 | The Eagles couldn't finish off a four-set win as the Purple Aces forced a fifth set with a 25-22 victory. Evansville grabbed the advantage at 23-22 and Eastern Michigan was never able to recover in a set that was knotted up seven times before the Purple Aces took over in the second half of the set.
SET 5 | Eastern Michigan and Evansville went back and forth all game, trading set wins until the Eagles took set five, 15-10. The Eagles grabbed control of the set-five lead at 4-3 and held it the rest of the way. Eastern Michigan led by as many as six points at 14-8 before closing out the set, totaling 11 kills.
 
How it Happened – vs. Morehead State
SET 1 | The Eagles found themselves in an early hole, dropping a tough first set, 25-15. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as 10 points as Morehead State never surrendered the lead in a set that was never tied before MSU took control.
SET 2 | Eastern Michigan tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-21 set-two win. The Eagles took control of the set early on at 3-2 and never looked back. Eastern led by as many as eight points at 13-5 before closing out the set. The Eastern Michigan offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | EMU won again in set three to take a 2-1 match lead. The Eagles grabbed control of the set early when the score was 2-1 and held the lead the rest of the way to win, 25-17. Eastern Michigan ended on a strong note, opening up its biggest lead of the stanza, eight points, to finish off the set. Eastern's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Morehead State attacks in the stanza.
SET 4 | Eastern Michigan closed out the match with a 26-24 fourth-set victory, winning their third set in a row. The Eagles persevered through a ferocious Morehead State rally, holding on to win after leading by eight points at 18-10 earlier in the set. Eastern Michigan also supplemented their offense with three aces in the set.
 
Match Notes vs. Evansville
» Doctor had her best game as an Eagle. She recorded a career-best 23 kills to go along with a season-best 10 digs. Her double-double went down as his first since joining EMU, and third overall in her career. Additionally, the 23 kills mark the most from an Eagle in a single match this season, and the first time an Eagle has had 20+ kills since Callie Minshew recorded 35 against Central Michigan University, Nov. 15, 2023.
» With 68 kills and 65 assists, Eastern posted the most kills and assists in the Foeman era. EMU had 68 kills to Evansville's 59, marking the seventh time Foeman's Eagles drilled more kills than their opponent since he took the reins of the program in 2023. Their record in such games is 5-2.
» EMU out-dug its opponent for the fifth time this season with 87 digs to the Purple Aces' 77. All three of Eastern's wins this season have come when totaling more digs than its foe. The Eagles' 87 digs is their most in a single match this season.
» Eastern out hit its opponent, .217 to .215. This marks the 10th time the Eagles have done so under Foeman, they are now 7-3 in such matches.
 » The Eagles out-blocked their foe, 11-10, for the fourth time this season and 16th time under Foeman. Eastern has out-blocked its foe in all three of its wins in 2024.
» Guard also notched career-bests with 17 kills and six digs. She is the first Eastern freshman to eclipse the double-digit kill mark in 2024.
» Blaney grabbed 22 digs on the night, marking her 12th game with 20+ digs in her career, and her third time reaching the mark this season.  
» Voorhees tied a season-high with 29 assists, marking the setter's 11th career match with 20 or more dimes, and 21st reaching double figures. Voorhees previously notched 29 assists in a win against Indiana University-Indianapolis, Aug. 30.
» Siefke got down for 10 digs for her ninth career match with 10 or more digs. She has accomplished the feat in three of Eastern's four previous contests.
» Stayer had her best match of the season, she recorded career-highs in both assists (28), and digs (14). The performance marked the second double-double of the season, and as many in the previous three matches for the senior. Stayer is now up to three double-doubles in her collegiate career.

Match Notes vs. Morehead State
» The Eagles secured their second win of the day, marking its second occurrence of consecutive wins this season and fourth occurrence in the Foeman era.  
» Stayer and Voorhees each had a double-double. Voorhees posted 21 assists and 13 digs while Stayer put up 20 helpers with 12 digs. Stayer's double-double against MSU marked the first occurrence of consecutive double-doubles for the setter. Stayer is up to four double-doubles in her career and has set a career-high with three of them this season. Voorhees is now up to five double-doubles in her career, also totaling three this season.  
» Stayer's 20 assists went down as her fifth time reaching 20 or more in her career, while Voorhees' 21 marked her fourth. When it comes to digs, Voorhees' 13 marked the fifth time eclipsing 10 in her career, while Stayer's 12 went down as her third.
» Blaney tabbed 13 digs in the match for her 53rd career game with 10 or more digs. She has reached the double figures mark in 65-percent of her career matches.
» With 15 kills, Doctor led the squad in the category for the seventh time this season.
» Smacking 12 kills off a .500 hitting percentage, Bonney tabbed her fifth career match with 10 or more kills. All five have come in the 2024 campaign.
» Siefke totaled 13 kills for the second time this season, she previously did so in a win against IU-Indy, Aug. 30. Her 13 kills mark the sixth career match with double-digit kills for the sophomore.
» Eastern out hit its opponent, .218 to .182. This marks the 11th time the Eagles have done so under Foeman, they are now 8-3 in such matches.
» Totaling 52 kills to Morehead State's 45, Eastern recorded its eighth game under Foeman with more kills than its opponent. The Eagles post a 6-2 record when doing so.

Historical Notes vs. Evansville
» Friday's match marked the second all-time between Eastern and Evansville. After the win, the Eagles have a 2-0 record against the Purple Aces.
» Easern's 68 kills is its most in a single match since it drilled 82 against Bowling Green State University, Oct. 19, 2019. The Eagles' 65 assists is also the most from the program since it dished 73 in the same match against the Falcons.  
» For the first time in the Head Coach Kevin Foeman era, Eastern had more kills, assists, blocks, and digs than its opponent. This marks the first time the Eagles have done so since a 3-0 sweep against Miami University, Oct. 15, 2022.
 
Historical Notes vs. Morehead State
» For the first time in the Head Coach Kevin Foeman era, Eastern had more kills, assists, blocks, and digs than its opponent in consecutive matches. This marks the first time the Eagles have done so since accomplishing the feat against Norfolk State University and Savannah State University, at the William & Mary Colonial Classic, Sept. 7-8, 2018.
» Eastern extended its lead in the series with Morehead State. In seven all-time meetings, EMU holds a 6-1 record against MSU.
 
Up Next
The Eagles are back on the court tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 14 for the final game of the tournament. They will face Duquesne University at 11 a.m.
 
Follow Us
Stay connected with the Eagles all season long by following @EMUVolleyball and @EMUAthletics on X for all of the latest EMU volleyball updates. Be sure to also follow the Green and White on Instagram, @EMU_Volleyball.

Team Stats

EMU
Evans
Kills
68
59
Errors
28
21
Attempts
184
177
Hitting %
.217
.215
Points
86.0
80.0
Assists
65
55
Aces
7
11
Blocks
11
10

Game Leaders

Kills
23
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
6
Aces
3
Blocks
0

Players Mentioned

DS
/ Volleyball
PH/MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
MB/PH
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OPP/S
/ Volleyball
S/DS
/ Volleyball
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