Courtesy of MAC Sport Information Departments
Eastern Michigan 3, NIU 0
Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team picked up a crucial home victory to boost its hopes of qualifying for the Mid-American Conference Tournament, sweeping aside Northern Illinois University, 25-23, 26-24, and 25-22, Friday, Nov. 1 inside the Convocation Center.
The Eagles (9-14, 4-7 MAC) bested the Huskies (8-16, 5-6 MAC) in straight sets at home for the second consecutive season. EMU out-aced the visitors by a 7-1 margin and recorded 47 kills compared to NIU's total of 45.
In her penultimate home match, senior Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) paced EMU with 28 assists and 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season, while adding three kills and a pair of service aces. Sophomore Julia Fisher (Kailua, Hawaii-Le Jardin Academy) notched a team-high 15 kills en route to a blistering .520 attacking percentage, while redshirt freshman Raeven Chase (Toronto, Ont.-Michael Power St. Joseph Catholic) added a half-dozen kills for a .444 efficiency.
Additonally, junior Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) recorded 11 kills, seven digs, and an ace, while senior Camille Schomer (Rochester, Mich.-Oakland Christian) posted eight kills and four digs. For her part, senior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) showed seven kills and led the Green and White with three service aces and a trio of block-assists.
The Eagles trailed by as many as five in the opening set, but fought back with a 6-1 run to knot the score at 17 apiece. NIU then responded with four unanswered points to open up a 21-17 lead, but the Green and White rallied again as they scored seven of the final eight points of the set to take the first frame, 25-23.
EMU was also behind for much of the second period, and called a timeout after NIU grabbed a 20-16 edge. However, the Eagles answered by closing out the middle stanza on a 9-3 run to take a commanding two-set lead before holding off the Huskies in the third set, 25-22.
Eastern will complete the home portion of its 2019 schedule when it welcomes Western Michigan to the Convocation Center Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), Schomer, Taylor, and Haut each will suit up for their final home contest before the Eagles finish their regular season slate with a four-game road trip.
Kent State 3, Bowling Green 1
Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Head coach Don Gromalaearned his 100th career victory as Kent State controlled play much of the night in taking down Bowling Green, 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22). The Golden Flashes have won two of the first three as part of a five-match road swing to begin the second half of the Mid-American Conference schedule and have been victorious four of five matches overall.
The milestone victory was also a big one for the program, as Kent State (12-11, 5-6 MAC) had never won inside of the Stroh Center, which opened its doors in 2011, and had dropped its past eight meetings with the Falcons.
"It's tough to win on road in this conference, especially at the Stroh Center, and I'm really proud of the team's effort and how we executed," said Gromala, who is just the second coach in program history to reach the 100-victory milestone. "The first set was a battle, and winning it was huge for our confidence. That carried over into the second set and really put pressure on BG going into the third. Hopefully we can come out focused and disciplined in order to execute at a high level again for another big match tomorrow."
Redshirt sophomore Alex Haffner continued to put hitters in good positions to the put the ball away, as the Flashes posted at least 15 kills in every set and a .285 team hitting percentage. Haffner matched her season-high with 58 assists while adding six kills and eight digs.
Kent State's balanced attack featured five players with nine or more kills. Senior Ashley Makruski led the way with 18 kills, which is one off her career-high set on Saturday at Western Michigan. Freshman Savannah Matthews recorded her eighth double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs, while classmate Morgan Copley added 10 kills. Senior Myla Kingand sophomore Danie Tyson contributed nine kills apiece while combining to hit at a .444 clip and open scoring opportunities at the pins.
Sophomore Erin Gardner led the defense with 23 digs. The Flashes also received strong back row efforts from junior Kaleigh Stang and freshman Gracey Jarecke. Stang tallied a season-best 20 digs and Jarecke had a career-high 11 digs for the second match in a row.
Myla King also had a strong match at the end on the defensive side. King totaled five blocks, which included a career-best three solo stuffs.
Kent State will look to make it three straight wins as it visits Miami Saturday for a 5 p.m. contest at Millett Hall.
Miami 3, Ohio 1
Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team had a big night up front, finishing with a season-high 14 blocks, as it earned a 3-1 (30-28, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21) victory over Ohio Friday evening. With their seventh straight win, the RedHawks improve to 14-8 overall and 9-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats fall to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in the MAC.
Senior middle hitter Margaret Payne led the block brigade with six total, while junior right side hitter Sarah Wojick had six. Payne also led the 'Hawks with 18 kills. She made only three errors in 37 attempts to finish with a .405 attack percentage.
A slow start for the RedHawks allowed Ohio to take an 11-6 lead to begin set one. A block by Payne and senior outside hitter Taylor Daignaultsparked a 7-2 run that tied the score at 13. Trailing 15-16, a kill from junior right side hitter Avarie Powell off an assist from sophomore setter Louise Comerford, plus kills from Daignault and senior middle hitter Haley Stewartwere part of four straight that put Miami on top, 19-16. The teams traded side outs until the Bobcats scored two in a row to tie the score at 23. Kills from Powell and sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper gave the RedHawks two shots at set point, but Ohio fought it off both times. The Bobcats got set point at 27-26, but a block by Stewart retied the score. Tied at 28, a kill from Payne off an assist by junior setter Morgan Seaman and an Ohio attack error gave Miami a hard-fought, 30-28 win.
Payne had two kills, while Harper, Stewart and Powell each had one as Miami jumped to an 8-5 advantage in set two. Two more kills from Payne along with a block by Wojick increased it to 14-9. Harper had two kills and a solo block as the RedHawks eventually made it a 10-point advantage at 24-14. Payne finished off the win at 25-17 with a final kill.
Set three remained tight throughout the first half of the frame as neither team could establish a lead of more than two points. Tied at 16, the Bobcats finally took a three-point lead with a 3-0 run. However, a service error and back-to-back blocks by Payne retied the score at 19. Tied at 20, a 4-0 run by Ohio gave it set point. A service error and a kill by Powell allowed Miami to fight it off twice, but the Bobcats put the next point down to take a 25-22 victory and extend the match.
Payne and Powell each had two kills, while Harper had one as Miami took a 5-1 lead in set four. Ohio cut the deficit to 10-12, but a 6-3 run put the 'Hawks in front, 18-13. Powell had two kills as Miami seemingly was ready to put the match away with a 24-15 lead. Ohio kept things interesting as it went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to three at 21-24. Payne, however proved that there would be no comeback as she spiked one down to the floor to finish off a 25-21 win and give the RedHawks a 3-1 victory in the match.
Powell had 12 kills for Miami. Harper finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs. She also had four blocks. Wojick just missed a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs. Seaman did get a double-double with 34 assists and 13 digs. Junior libero Abigail Huser led the way with 23 of Miami's 91 total digs, while Daignault had 17.
The RedHawks return to action on Saturday when they host Kent State. First serve is at 5 p.m. and it will air live on ESPN+.
