The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team snapped a four-match (13-set) win streak this weekend, as it fell short 1-3 to Northern Illinois (25-23, 21-25, 27-25, 25-20) on Friday, and 1-3 (15-25, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25) to Western Michigan on Saturday.
The Eagles are now 7-5 in Mid-American Conference play (19-8 overall) and can afford just two losses in the remaining four matches of the season in order to remain eligible for the MAC Tournament. The Broncos are 21-5 and 10-2 in the MAC.
Rachel Iaquaniello led the Eagles with 14 kills along with seven digs as they tried to bounce back against the Broncos. Erin Short added 12 kills while Kristen Baker pitched in with 11 kills with a .250 hitting percentage and two blocks. Senior setter Ashley Mason had a team-high 45 assists and added 10 digs.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by senior libero Haley Stein, who recorded 28 digs while Cassie Sowers helped out with 12.
In the opening set, the Eagles hitting percentage was .093 while the Broncos went 40 percent at the net. EMU drop that first set 15-25. Kills from Mason and Iaquaniello put the Eagles up 2-1 to start the set, but the Broncos responded with a 9-1, which gave them
a 10-3 lead.
Western would hold on to that lead as the Eagles were able to pull within three points of
the Broncos but were never able to get ahead.
The Eagles, led by five kills from Baker, found their offense in the second set, taking a 25-21 victory. Short added four kills.
It was an uphill climb for the Eagles as they fell behind 6-3 early on in the set.
However, three consecutive errors by the Broncos tied the score and it became a tug-of-war
from there.
Western managed to stay within two points until a kill by Short put the Eagles up 21-18. The Broncos put up three more points in the set, but an attack error by Claire Gerwig sealed the Eagle victory.
Jessica Brown led the Broncos with a game-high 19 kills while Ali Gossen made 11 kills along with 14 digs, and Ashley Turnage added 10 kills and five blocks. Terin Norris made 56 assists with Lena Oliver, recording 40 digs. Kacee Acree pitched in with 18 digs while
Gillian Asque’s six blocks led the Broncos’ efforts at the net.
The third set was marked by a dry Eagle offense and strong hitting from the Broncos, who took a 25-21 win to go up 2-1 in the match.
Iaquaniello put up six kills in the fourth set to lead the Eagles but, it wasn’t enough as the Broncos went 19-5-43 in hitting for 32.6 percent.
The Eagles went down 6-2 early on and were never able to climb back as the Broncos took the 25-21 victory.
Eastern will wrap up its home schedule against instate rival Central Michigan at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Convocation Center.
Prior to the match, the three seniors Mason, Stein and Sowers will be honored for their record-setting careers with the EMU volleyball squad.
