The Eastern Michigan University women’s volleyball team traveled to Muncie, Ind. Oct. 6 to take on the Ball State University Cardinals to end a four game road trip. The match was close, but the team was able to pull off their second straight conference win, 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 26-24).
The first set was close, as many of them have been lately for the Eagles. There were six lead changes throughout the set, but BSU took a 12-11 lead and never looked back. The Eagles came close a couple of times to regaining the lead, but BSU proved to be too much for the Eagles, who lost the first set 22-25. Junior outside hitter Erin Short led the team with five kills in the set and senior outside hitter Rachel Iaquaniello added four.
The Eagles turned things around for the second set. They went back and forth with the Cardinals again with three early lead changes. The Eagles took a 5-4 lead and stayed on top for the rest of the set, winning it 25-21.
Iaquaniello made the second set look easy with eight kills, including the set winning point. Senior middle blocker Kristen Baker added four of her own and sophomore middle blocker Megan Crawshaw added two.
The Eagles continued their solid play into the third set. They won the set by a score of 25-23. The scoring this time around was a team affair. Short had five kills, junior outside hitter Paige Roback and Baker each added four a piece.
The fourth set was the closest set of the match. The Eagles led for most of the match, but the Cardinals were able to tie the score 24-24 late in the set. Iaquaniello shut the Cardinals down with two consecutive kills and the Eagles took the set 26-24, winning the match three games to one.
Iaquaniello’s final two kills brought her to a set total of seven. She had a total of 21 for the match. She continues to lead the team with a total of 354 kills for the season.
Short and Baker each had 14 kills in the match. Redshirt junior setter Kim Hildreth continued her impressive season with 56 assists. She leads the team in assists, with 511 on the season.
Roback and Crawshaw are also having a good season, with 168 and 134 kills, respectively.
The Eagles improved to 13-9 for the season and 3-3 in conference play. The Eagles return home Oct. 12 to face off against Bowling Green. The match starts at 7 p.m.
