Eastern Michigan Athletics
Tuesday, September 2
Ann Arbor, Mich.
7 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
2-2,0-0MAC
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at
3
Michigan
3-0,0-0Big Ten
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2
3
F
Eastern Mich.
12
19
20
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Michigan
25
25
25
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Photo by: Alex Paslawski
Volleyball Drops Match at Michigan
9/2/2025 8:59:00 PM | Volleyball
Ava Siefke paced the offense and Surabhi Srinivasan led the defense
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team dropped a three-set match to the University of Michigan in a cross-county affair Tuesday, Sept. 2, at the Crisler Center.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by Ava Siefke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy), who landed 10 kills. Surabhi Srinivasan (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) led the defense as she totaled eight digs.
How it Happened
SET ONE | Kendal Bonney (Pioneer, Ohio/North Central/Ashland) notched the first points for the Eagles, landing a kill off the hands of Srinivasan. Michigan got the edge early, getting out to a 12-4 advantage to force an EMU timeout. The Wolverines cruised to the set win by a score of 25-12.
SET TWO | Eastern settled into the match in the second set, scoring three straight points to come within one of the UM total, 12-11. Eastern rolled into the media timeout down three at 15-12 as Siefke heated up, hitting .375 with five kills at the time of the timeout. Siefke picked up where she left off, landing a kill on the first serve after the media timeout. Michigan took the second set by the score of 25-19.
SET THREE | The Eagles came out firing in the third set, taking their first set lead of the night, as they scored the first four points of the frame, featuring a service ace from Layna Waselewsky (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) and kills from Siefke and Abby Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri Valley/Ashland). Eastern forced a Michigan timeout after taking a 12-10 set lead with aces from Stanford and Hatteras Welker (Sunbury, Ohio/Sunbury).
Eastern furthered its lead to four at 14-10 before the Wolverines regained the upper hand at 16-15, forcing an EMU timeout. Michigan went on to win the set, 25-20, and the match 3-0.
Match Notes
» Eastern's record shifted to 2-2 (0-0 MAC) on the season while Michigan's improved to 3-0 (0-0 Big Ten).
» Eastern's best offensive set was the second, landing 13 kills off a .139 clip. Defensively, it thrived in the third, grabbing 14 digs.
» Ashlynn Belcher (Marengo, Ohio/Highland/Old Dominion) dished 18 assists, marking the fourth time this season she has eclipsed the 15+ mark as she has led the team in the category every game this season.
» Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) played in her first set of the season.
» Siefke led the team in kills with 10 for the third time this season and secured her fourth match with double-digit kills in 2025.
» Srinivasan led the team in digs for the third time this season with eight and dished a career-best eight assists.
Historical Notes
» The match marked the 46th all-time between the Eagles and Wolverines. Eastern now holds an 11-35 clip when facing Michigan.
» Eastern's 20 points in the third set are its most against the Wolverines since it notched 22 against them in the first set, Sept. 15, 2019.
Up Next
Eastern hosts Valparaiso University in its 2025 home opener Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the game can be streamed live on ESPN+.
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 and @emuathleticsOffensively, the Eagles were led by Ava Siefke (Cincinnati, Ohio/Saint Ursula Academy), who landed 10 kills. Surabhi Srinivasan (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome) led the defense as she totaled eight digs.
How it Happened
SET ONE | Kendal Bonney (Pioneer, Ohio/North Central/Ashland) notched the first points for the Eagles, landing a kill off the hands of Srinivasan. Michigan got the edge early, getting out to a 12-4 advantage to force an EMU timeout. The Wolverines cruised to the set win by a score of 25-12.
SET TWO | Eastern settled into the match in the second set, scoring three straight points to come within one of the UM total, 12-11. Eastern rolled into the media timeout down three at 15-12 as Siefke heated up, hitting .375 with five kills at the time of the timeout. Siefke picked up where she left off, landing a kill on the first serve after the media timeout. Michigan took the second set by the score of 25-19.
SET THREE | The Eagles came out firing in the third set, taking their first set lead of the night, as they scored the first four points of the frame, featuring a service ace from Layna Waselewsky (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) and kills from Siefke and Abby Stanford (Zanesville, Ohio/Tri Valley/Ashland). Eastern forced a Michigan timeout after taking a 12-10 set lead with aces from Stanford and Hatteras Welker (Sunbury, Ohio/Sunbury).
Eastern furthered its lead to four at 14-10 before the Wolverines regained the upper hand at 16-15, forcing an EMU timeout. Michigan went on to win the set, 25-20, and the match 3-0.
Match Notes
» Eastern's record shifted to 2-2 (0-0 MAC) on the season while Michigan's improved to 3-0 (0-0 Big Ten).
» Eastern's best offensive set was the second, landing 13 kills off a .139 clip. Defensively, it thrived in the third, grabbing 14 digs.
» Ashlynn Belcher (Marengo, Ohio/Highland/Old Dominion) dished 18 assists, marking the fourth time this season she has eclipsed the 15+ mark as she has led the team in the category every game this season.
» Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) played in her first set of the season.
» Siefke led the team in kills with 10 for the third time this season and secured her fourth match with double-digit kills in 2025.
» Srinivasan led the team in digs for the third time this season with eight and dished a career-best eight assists.
Historical Notes
» The match marked the 46th all-time between the Eagles and Wolverines. Eastern now holds an 11-35 clip when facing Michigan.
» Eastern's 20 points in the third set are its most against the Wolverines since it notched 22 against them in the first set, Sept. 15, 2019.
Up Next
Eastern hosts Valparaiso University in its 2025 home opener Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the game can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Follow Us
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Team Stats
EMU
Mich
Kills
29
43
Errors
17
8
Attempts
92
90
Hitting %
.130
.389
Points
34.0
55.0
Assists
27
38
Aces
4
7
Blocks
1
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
PH/MB
/ VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
DS/OH
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
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