The Eastern Michigan volleyball team headed home coming into the third week of October looking to slam the breaks and stop a recent losing skid with matchups against Bowling Green on Friday, Oct. 14th, and Miami (Ohio) on Saturday, Oct. 15th.
Friday’s match against Bowling Green was dominated by the Falcons. They would claim the match in three straight sets, hitting on offense with a .334 success rate. Eastern Michigan committed 20 errors in the match as a team while only hitting a .030 clip. The Eagles would prove no test for the Falcons, specifically in the third set where the Eagles were held to only nine points. Eastern Michigan was set up to play the Redhawk of Miami on the following day.
Despite the defeat, less than 24 hours before the next match, the Eagles came out looking to rebound from the loss. Again the Eagles would face defeat but this time would manage to steal a set. There was also more positive moments for the team to take away from the game in comparison to the matchup with Bowling Green. Freshman Rachel Irbe would lead the way for Eastern Michigan offensively dropping in a total of 15 kills on the match. Senior Devon Murray and sophomore Jordan Smith would add in 10 and 13 assists respectively with Smith also tallying 14 digs, giving her a double double on the match.
“We really need to step up our defense,” said coach Kimi Olsen. “We need to improve on our first ball contact, whether it be a block or dig.”
The Eagles now look to turn things around this week as they head on the road for matchups with the Akron Zips Friday, October 21st, and against the University of Buffalo Saturday, October 22nd.
