The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team headed into Mount Pleasant on Thu. Nov. 14 to take on the Central Michigan University Chippewas. The Eagles swept Central Michigan, 3-0.
Heading into the match, Eastern (15-15, 5-10 Mid-American Conference) was one game behind the Chippewas (15-14, 5-9 MAC) in the MAC standings. With an MAC Championship tournament spot on the line, the Eagles dominated in three sets (25-23, 25-13, 25-19).
“The match was crucial for us,” EMU coach Kim Berrington said. “We lost to them at home and we played poorly. I thought the team was very determined to bounce back from that. Central is a tough place to play. The crowd is unfriendly and it’s very loud, but since we got off to a fast start, we took the crowd out of it right away. It was a great team win with contributions from everyone.”
EMU outside hitter Stacey Perinar led the Eagles with eight kills, while fellow outside hitter Erin Short had seven kills. Setter Jill Briner led the team with 23 assists.
For the Chippewas, outside hitter Katie Schuette had 11 kills and outside hitter Kaitlyn McIntire chipped in with 10 kills.
The Eagles were able to take the first set 25-23 despite hitting a .053 attack percentage as a team. The Eagles’ win can be attributed to a great team effort. Eastern had four players with at least two kills each. The Eagles also had two aces in the first set. Eastern held its largest lead of the set late 21-15. Despite its best effort, Central could not complete the comeback.
Eastern dominated the second set 25-13. Central Michigan hit -.036 as a team while the Eagles hit a superior .368 and only made two errors on 19 attempts. Briner scored three kills on four attempts for the Eagles.
Eastern opened a lead early in the third set but Central was able to tie the match at 14. CMU scored the next three straight points to take the lead 17-14. The Eagles responded with a six to zero run to retake the lead 20-17. Central Michigan was able to pull within two late, 21-19, but Eastern would score four straight to end the match. The Eagles took the final set 25-19.
