Buffalo def. Dartmouth, 3-2
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo volleyball team took it the distance on Friday night, defeating Dartmouth in five sets to open play at the Blue and White Classic. After winning the first two sets in the match, Buffalo was unable to hold on, but came back to win it in the fifth. The victory snaps a five-match losing skid for UB as it improves its record to 4-6.
The Bulls took the contest 25-23, 27-25, 20-25, 20-25, 15-11 as they outhit Dartmouth, .200 to .160. In fact, the Bulls had more kills, digs and blocks than their opponent, but struggled at the service line.
UB hit a season-high .519 in the opening set, but things remained close with neither team leading by more than four in the set. Buffalo got four kills in the opening set from both Liz Scott and Christine Fritsche to help it take the set. The Bulls got out to a 7-3 lead in the second , but ultimately trailed late at 22-20. However, a Dartmouth service error and a Scott service ace tied things up at 22-22. UB was unable to convert on its first two set points, but a solo block from freshman Akeila Lain clinched the set for the Bulls.
Dartmouth came back with a pair of 25-20 victories in the third and fourth sets, but Buffalo was not to be denied at home in front of a boisterous crowd, which included numerous student-athletes in attendance. The Bulls raced out to a 7-2 lead in the fifth, forcing the Big Green to call both of their time outs. Buffalo continued to lead by five at 14-9 before Dartmouth scored two straight points to pull within three. Following a UB timeout, Scott converted on a set from Dani Reinert to clinch the match for the Bulls.
“I thought we came out tentative in the third and fourth sets, but it was good to see us fight back in the fifth,” said head coach Todd Kress. “We have a lot to work on, but with the quick turnaround here we are going get some sleep and watch some film and be ready for Hartford in the morning.”
Scott and freshman Megan Lipski each finished with a match-high 18 kills. For Lipski, the total represents a new career high for the first year player. Dana Musil and Fritsche each finished with nine kills, while Lain and Carissa McKenna each had five. Lain added to her team-leading blocking total with seven, including two solos.
Defensively, junior Kelly Svoboda finished with a match-high 26 digs, while Lipski and Scott completed double-doubles with 11 and 10, respectively. Reinert added 13 digs and 38 assists, while sophomore Kayla Nagle tacked on 14 assists and three digs.
Earlier this afternoon Syracuse defeated Hartford, 3-0, in the opening match of the Blue and White Classic. The Bulls begin play tomorrow as they face Hartford at 12:00 pm. Syracuse will face Dartmouth at 2:30 and the Big Green and the Hawks fill face off at 5:00 pm. Buffalo and Syracuse conclude tournament play tomorrow evening at 7:30 pm.
Northern Illinois def. SIUE, 3-2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – For the fifth time in the last six matches, the Northern Illinois volleyball team was victorious as the Huskies (8-6) swept SIUE (4-6), 25-18, 25-18, 25-16, Friday evening at Vadalabene Center. The Huskies trailed only once all match as they held 40-27 kills, .322-.102 hitting and 48-38 digs advantages over the Cougars.
“I thought we did a real nice job of taking care of business,” said NIU Head Coach Ray Gooden. “We did a really nice job of serving tonight and played really good defense against a solid team on the road. We continue to be road warriors. We have another tough day ahead of us but it was nice for us to go out and play good, solid volleyball tonight.”
In the first-ever meeting between the two programs, the Huskies jumped out to comfortable leads in all but the third set. NIU started the first on a 10-4 run that was fueled by senior libero Amber Walker’s (Juneau, Alaska/Juneau Douglas/Western Oregon) match-opening ace. Senior outside hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) then fired back-to-back kills to keep NIU rolling.
In the second set, the Huskies began with a 7-3 lead after senior middle blocker Mary Kurisch (La Crosse, Wis./West Salem) served up one of her three aces on the evening and sophomore outside MacKenzie Roddy (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) backed it up with a cross-court kill.
Trailing 5-2 to start the third, a Roddy kill, SIUE attack error and Kurisch ace tied the score. After the teams exchanged points twice, Roddy took over. The Californian scored off the SIUE block and then served up two straight aces to push NIU ahead 10-7 and force a Cougar timeout. SIUE didn’t recover, though, as NIU ended the set on a 15-9 run.
Roddy led all attackers in the match with 12 kills on 24 swings with just one error and hit an efficient .458, adding a career-high-tying three aces to boot. Kurisch was most efficient with a .462 attack percentage, totaling nine kills on 13 swings with three errors. Romo also reached double figures in kills with 10. Freshman setter Alexis Gonzalez (Fresno, Calif./Bullard) handed out 29 assists and had 10 digs for her seventh double-double and fourth in as many matches.
In the back row, Walker led all defensive specialists in the match with 18 digs.
NIU resumes its 14-match, 23-day road trip in Peoria, Ill. tomorrow for Bradley's CEFCU Classic. The Huskies, who are 6-4 on the excursion thus far, will take on Long Beach State (3-5) at 11 AM CT and around 3.5 hours later Bradley (6-3) at 3:30 PM.
Ball State def. Pitt, 3-0
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Behind a season-high .325 (48-10-117) team hitting mark, the Ball State women’s volleyball team (5-6) opened play in the Ball State Tournament with a dominating 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-16) sweep of Pittsburgh Friday night at Worthen Arena.
In the opening match of the Ball State Tournament earlier in the day, Wyoming (10-2) scored a 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-22) victory over Wright State (1-13).
In its best performance to date this season, the Cardinals were able to effectively spread out their offense with six players recording at least seven kills in the sweep.
“We really needed a win like this,” said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. “Pitt is an extremely talented team with a lot of weapons, and to come out and play like we did against them gives us a big boost of confidence moving forward. The girls have been working their tails off in practice and playing with more discipline and controlling the ball better. Tonight, it translated into our best performance of the season.”
Once again, senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland) led the Ball State offense on the kills chart, blasting a match-high 11 to go along with 10 digs for her first kill/dig double-double of the season. She also came up with a solo stuff and an ace in the contest.
Senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott (McLean, Va. /Langley/Maryland) and junior opposite Lauren Grant (Eagan, Minn./Eastview/Cincinnati) also came through with strong performances, posting identical .533 (8-0-15) hitting marks. Scott led all players with four total blocks, while Grant also tallied a block assist.
Junior middle hitter Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) added nine kills, while junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) scored four in addition to leading BSU to its best hitting effort of the season by dishing out 39 assists. The duo also tallied a pair of block assists each, while Seidel earned eight digs and Marx recorded three.
In addition to Bates, three other Cardinals finished the match with double-digit digs led by junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) with 15. Junior outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) logged 12 digs, to go along with seven kills, while freshman defensive specialist Taylor Richardson (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) tallied 10.
Kate Yeazel led the Pittsburgh attack with nine kills, while Panthers’ libero Margy Action racked up a match-best 16 digs.
Overall, the Ball State defense limited the Pitt attack to a .103 (31-19-116) hitting mark and held a 7-5 edge in blocks and a 60-53 advantage in digs. BSU also served up four aces, compared to none for the Panthers.
The teams opened the match by playing to a 6-6 stalemate, before kills from Grant and Baker helped spark a 6-1 BSU run to give the hosts a 12-7 advantage. Pitt would draw within three points, at 13-10, only to see BSU answer with another 6-1 run, which included an ace and kill from Bates. Ball State reached set-point at 24-14, before winning the frame 25-17 on a Baker smash to the Worthen Arena hardwood floor.
Ball State kept the momentum going in the second set, building a 5-2 edge thanks in part to a pair of kills from Scott. Pitt would pull within two on the next play, but back-to-back Baker blasts set the tone for the remainder of the set. BSU went on to win the game 25-14 on a kill from Scott.
Pitt looked determined to force a fourth set, scoring the first three points of the third game, and maintaining an 8-6 advantage. However, a Grant kill and a block and kill from Marx helped shift the momentum back to the Cardinals as they posted the next five points to pull ahead 11-8.
Pittsburgh managed to battle back within one, at 11-10, but back-to-back kills from Marx ended the threat as BSU went on to pull ahead 19-11. The Cardinals reached match-point at 24-16 off the arm of freshman setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) who produced perhaps the hardest kill of the night with a rocket shot to the floor. Grant would then close the set (25-16) and the match (3-0) out with a kill on the next rally.
The Ball State women’s volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it battles both Wright State (11 a.m.) and Wyoming (7 p.m.) in the second and final day of the Ball State Tournament.
Wake Forest def. Toledo, 3-0
WINSTON-SALEM – Toledo never could get untracked against Wake Forest on Friday night as the Rockets dropped a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-15) decision to their Atlantic Coast Conference foe. The contest was UT’s first of the weekend at the Black & Gold Challenge.
Junior OH Jordan Kielty led Toledo (4-6) with six kills with junior MB Dakota Harkins and sophomore MB Brooke Frazer contributing five kills each. Junior S Adria Pryor topped the Rockets’ defensive efforts with 11 digs to go along with 27 assists for her fourth double-double of the season.
Anna Carley and Andrea Beck paced the Demon Deacons’ attack with 13 kills each and helped the hosts register an impressive .324 team attack percentage.
WFU (4-5) jumped on the Rockets right away by scoring the first four points of the match, and UT couldn’t get any closer the rest of the set.
Set 2 opened better for Toledo as the Rockets surged to a 4-1 advantage. The Demon Deacons responded though and took control with a 9-2 spurt to gain a 13-8 lead and never look back.
The third set was nearly a carbon copy of Set 2 as UT took a 4-1 lead again only to see WFU respond with another 9-2 burst for a 10-6 cushion.
Toledo will wrap up tournament play on Saturday with matches against Appalachian State at 10 a.m. and Campbell at 4:30 p.m.
Bowling Green def. Jacksonville State, 3-1
West Lafayette, Ind. – Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan combined for 41 kills as the Bowling Green State University volleyball team improved to 2-0 at the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with a 25-27, 25-10, 25-18, 26-24 win over Jacksonville State Saturday evening.
“We are very happy that we have won two matches in a row for the first time this season,” BGSU Head Coach Danijela Tomic said. “However, we are not happy with our inconsistent play throughout this match. We have to learn how to close sets and matches. We made the same mental mistakes we did in our earlier match today. We are playing hard, but we also have to learn how to play smart. I believe our team will learn these valuable lessons as we continue to mature and develop.”
Penrod had 21 kills and Tonyan added 20 as the Falcons overcame a slow start to cruise to victory. It marks the third time in the three-year careers of Penrod and Tonyan that each had at least 20 kills in a match.
Laura Avila continued her stellar play in the setter role. She averaged more than 12 assists per set for the third consecutive match, posting 50 in the contest. With 174 over the past three matches, she is just 29 away from becoming the 10th player in BGSU program history with 2,000 for her career.
As a team, Bowling Green outdug an opponent for the fifth straight match, holding a 60-55 lead, behind 15 from Avila and 10 from Ashley Dunn. The Falcons also had five aces and hit a season-high .297, moving to 4-0 when hitting .237 or better.
The Falcons got off to another slow start Saturday evening, something that has become a problem in the early stages of the season. Jacksonville State took advantage and battled back from a 24-21 deficit in the opening frame to close with a 6-1 run for the win, capped by a service ace on set point.
Bowling Green, though, did get things going in the second set and steamrolled the Gamecocks. Holding a 10-9 lead, the Falcons scored 13 consecutive points from Avila’s service game to roll to the 25-10 win.
BGSU continued to play well in the third set, jumping out to a quick 8-3 lead and pushing that advantage to as many as nine points at 19-10.
In the fourth set, Jacksonville State overcame an early deficit to take the lead late. But with the Gamecocks clinging to a 24-23 lead, Penrod scored kills on three consecutive points to close out the match 26-24.
Besides Penrod’s and Tonyan’s big night, the Falcons got solid attacking performances from others as well. Leah Shaw and Lindsey Butterfield each had nine kills and Kari Galen added seven. Tonyan posted three blocks and Avila had a team-best two aces.
Jacksonville State falls to 6-7 with the loss and Bowling Green improves to 4-6. The Falcons will face No. 14 Purdue for the tournament championship Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan def. Delaware, 3-0
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Western Michigan volleyball team collected their second sweep of the day, as the Broncos defeated Delaware 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 26-24) in their second match of the Northwestern Wildcat Classic. With the win, the Broncos improve to 7-4 on the season, and have won two straight matches. They will face Northwestern in the finale on Sunday.
Jessica Brown and Ali Gossen each recorded the match-high with 14 kills in the match, and setter Terin Norris recorded her second double-double of the day with 43 assists and 10 digs. The Broncos had a stellar defensive effort in the match as well, out-digging the Blue Hens 60-46; Lena Oliver had the match-high with 23 digs in just three sets of play.
The Broncos were on fire to start the first set, but had to show the resilience to dig deep to close the period. The Broncos scored the first six points of the first set, with three of those points coming on kills from Gossen. The Broncos would maintain some semblance of that six-point lead for most of the set; Gillian Asque would re-establish it with a kill to make it 14-8, and would do so again to give the Broncos an 18-12 edge. Norris would record a kill one point later to give the Broncos a seven-point advantage and force a Delaware timeout, but the Blue Hens would storm back and briefly take the lead in the set. An attack error by Delaware would tie the set at 24-24, and Gossen would give the Broncos the lead with a kill. Brown would seal the first set victory with a kill to make it 26-24.
WMU would break things open early in the second set, breaking an 8-8 tie and leading the rest of the way. Gossen would snap the stalemate with a kill to make it 9-8, and Brown would record a kill to make it 11-8 and force a Delaware timeout. The Broncos would build the lead to six points when Gossen recorded a service ace to make it 15-9, and the Broncos would eventually take a nine-point lead when Gossen and Richelle Ranney combined for a block at 21-12. The Broncos wrapped the dominant effort when Gossen recorded the set-winning kill at 25-15.
The third set would prove to be the toughest test for the Broncos, as they had to recover from an early deficit to take the win. WMU trailed for much of the third set, falling behind 5-2 early, and were forced to make up ground in crunch time. Trailing 13-7, the Broncos went on an 8-0 run and took the lead on a kill from Asque. The teams would trade points back and forth, but the Broncos would take the lead for good when Gossen recorded a kill to make it 21-20. Delaware would tie the set at 24-24, but Norris broke the tie with a kill, and Carlee Berland sealed the match with with a kill to make it 26-24.
Miami def. Chattanooga, 3-2
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Miami University volleyball team came from three points down in the fifth set to defeat Chattanooga, 3-2 (25-17, 25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 15-11) to open the Hoosier Classic Friday. It was the fourth straight victory for the RedHawks, who improve to 5-6 overall. The Mocs fall to 6-7.
Madison Dodd had a huge game for the Red and White, setting a new career-high with 17 kills. Meg Riley continued her double-duty role of serving as both a setter and outside hitter, and earned yet another triple-double with 13 kills, 22 assists and 10 digs.
Two kills from Christina Menche and a block by Sarah Chaney and Annie Reiswig helped Miami jump to a 5-2 lead in set one. Thanks to kills from Riley and Dodd, the lead eventually grew to five at 8-3. A 6-1 run by Chattanooga would tie the score at nine. Undaunted, Miami would answer with a 10-2 run of its own to open up the biggest lead of the set at 19-11. From there Chelsea Visk would put down two kills and Menche would record a service ace as the RedHawks went on to earn a 25-17 win.
Set two began similar to set one, as Miami built an early lead, but the Mocs came back to tie the score at nine. A 9-6 run that saw three blocks and four different ‘Hawks score kills would give the Red and White an 18-15 advantage. Three straight points for Chattanooga would tie the score and force a Miami timeout. The teams traded side outs until it was tied at 20. Kills by Dodd and Lisa Treadway would put the RedHawks in front by two, but the Mocs answered with the next two points to retie the score. Tied at 23, Treadway would win the set for Miami by putting down back-to-back kills off of Amy Kendall’s assist to give it the 25-23 victory.
When Chattanooga took a 2-1 lead in set three, it marked the first time the Mocs would have any sort of lead in the match. They would eventually expand the advantage to three at 6-3, forcing an early RedHawk timeout. Out of the break, two kills from Dodd, along with kills from Visk and Reiswig would help Miami tie the score at seven. The ‘Hawks would eventually take the lead at 11-10, before an 8-1 run by Chattanooga would give it control of the set. Visk and Riley would each put down kills to try and get Miami closer, but the Mocs eventually came away with a 25-18 win.
Chattanooga jumped to a 10-2 advantage to begin set four. Despite the early deficit, the RedHawks would not give up as two kills from Dodd, along with kills from Riley, Treadway and Jenny Ingle were part of an 8-4 run that would close the deficit to four at 10-14 and force a Moc timeout. Out of the break, Ingle put down another kill before Chattanooga finally broke the run with a kill of its own. Three more times, the RedHawks would close the score to within three points, as Dodd recorded four more kills to surpass her career high, but the Mocs would hold on to win, 25-21, and tie the match at two sets apiece.
The teams traded side outs over the first seven points of the final set, which gave Chattanooga a 4-3 advantage. A 5-3 run by the Mocs put them in front, 9-6 and made things look bleak for Miami as it called timeout. The ‘Hawks responded well however with a kill from Riley, a block by Riley and Menche and a kill from Kayleigh Cox to tie the score at nine. After Chattanooga scored a point, Miami forced an attack error, followed by Menche putting down back-to-back kills to give the RedHawks a 12-10 lead and forcing the Mocs to take a timeout of their own. After the break Riley would record a service ace to make it 13-10. Chattanooga scored the next point, but back-to-back kills from Menche and Dodd gave Miami the 15-11 victory and a five-set win.
Serving as the team’s libero, Madison Hardy recorded 21 digs to give herself 994 for her career and leave her only six shy of joining Miami’s 1,000-dig club.
Dodd also had 10 digs to go along with her 17 kills for a double-double. Treadway recorded nine kills and eight digs, while Menche had eight kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Kendall led the RedHawks with 31 assists.
Miami completes play at the Hoosier Classic with two games on Saturday. The RedHawks will take on Valparaiso at 10 a.m. and the host, Indiana, at 7 p.m.
Bowling Green def. UAB, 3-1
West Lafayette, Ind. – Three players had at least 17 kills as the Bowling Green State University volleyball team opened the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with a four-set victory over UAB Friday afternoon. The Falcons won 28-26, 25-20, 28-30, 25-22.
Although the match was fairly close throughout, Bowling Green dominated most statistical categories. The Falcons had 14 more kills, 15 more digs and 2.5 more blocks than the Blazers. Paige Penrod led the way with 19 kills, followed by Danielle Tonyan with 18 and Lindsey Butterfield with 17, tying her career high for the second consecutive match.
BGSU hit .237 to improve to 3-0 when hitting at least that high. Leah Shaw hit .389 with nine kills, while Tonyan was at .371 and Butterfield hit .361.
“This was a great win for us for a couple of reasons,” BGSU Head Coach Danijela Tomic said. “First, we were able to win a very close first set, which we have struggled with in previous matches. Second, we were able to bounce back in the fourth set after losing a very close third set in which we had four match points. We are maturing as a team and this match was a perfect example of that.”
On the defensive side, Cassie Berning spearheaded a strong effort with a career-best 22 digs as the Falcons had 74 for the match. Kari Galen had a team-high five blocks, while Shaw and Penrod had four each as BGSU posted 11.5 during the match.
Bowling Green trailed by as many as four points in the first set but rallied back with a 5-0 run to go ahead 21-18. UAB called timeout and steadied itself, tying the score at 23-23. The Falcons staved off two set points and took the opening set by getting a Shaw kill, followed by a Penrod kill and then a block from Kaitlyn Skinner and Penrod.
The Falcons were never really challenged in the second set, scoring the first five points and never having the lead fall below three the rest of the way.
BGSU had a chance to put away the match in the third set but UAB led from the outset. The Falcons finally tied the score at 23-23 on a block from Tonyan and Galen and Bowling Green had four opportunities to close out the match before the Blazers rallied from a 28-27 deficit to win 30-28.
The demoralizing third set could have turned the match but the Falcons were determined to put it away in four. Trailing 16-14, BGSU used two Tonyan kills and a Penrod spike to spark a 4-0 run. Leading 21-20, the Falcons put the match away with two more Penrod kills and one from Butterfield for the 25-22 victory.
With the loss, UAB falls to 5-7 on the year. Bowling Green improves to 3-6 and will face Jacksonville State Friday night at 5 p.m. before playing No. 14 Purdue Saturday at 7 p.m.
Western Michigan def. Saint Louis, 3-0
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Western Michigan volleyball team got off to a hot start at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Northwestern, as the Broncos won their opening round match against Saint Louis 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 28-26) on Friday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 6-4 on the season; they will face Delaware later today.
The Broncos stifled the Billikens over the course of three sets, holding SLU to a .083 hitting percentage and out-digging them 63-53. Two Broncos recorded more than 15 digs in the match, with junior libero Lena Oliver notching a match-high 17 digs and sophomore Kaycee Acree recording 16. Sophomore setter Terin Norris notched her sixth double-double of the season with 30 assists and 13 digs, and senior Jessica Brown had a match-high 11 kills.
The Broncos set the tone early with a dominating first set victory, recording a blistering .478 hitting percentage and jumping on the Billikens early. The Broncos opened the set on a 7-2 run, capping the run with a service ace from Ali Gossen. The Billikens would pull to within four points, but the Broncos would build the lead back up when Gossen and Stephenee Yancy combined on a block to make it 11-5; Norris would notch a service ace on the next point and the lead would balloon to seven points.
WMU would enjoy its largest lead of the set when Caroline Rose recorded a service ace to give the Broncos a 21-10 edge, and the Billikens would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way. Gossen wrapped the set with a side-out kill, going off the block of Lauren Baumet for the 25-15 win.
The Broncos would need to dig deep to win the next two sets, however. WMU trailed the Billikens for the first half of the first set, but were able to tie the score at 14-14 on a bad set by SLU. The Billikens would hold the lead until Carlee Berland tied the score at 22 with a kill, and Norris would knot it up at 23 with a kill of her own. The Broncos would finally break through and take the lead at
25-24 on an SLU attack error, and Gossen would seal the win with a kill.
WMU would complete a similar comeback in the third to seal the win. The Broncos trailed 19-14 in the third set before making a charge at the Billikens, getting back on track when Berland and Richelle Ranney combined for a block. Ranney would record a kill to make it 20-16 a few points later, and the Broncos forced a Billiken timeout when Brown and Gossen recorded a block to cut the lead to 21-18. Gillian Asque would pull the Broncos to within two points with a kill, and Brown would slash the lead to one point with a kill to make it 21-20.
The Broncos would tie the score at 23-23 on a kill from Brown, and the senior would tie it up again two points later with another kill. After Gossen tied the set at 26 with a kill, the Billikens committed attack errors on consecutive points to give the Broncos the win.
Michigan def. Eastern Michigan, 3-0
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team dropped its opening match at the Coke/Michigan Invitational in three sets (25-13, 25-20, 25-18) to the host No. 22 University of Michigan Friday, Sept. 14.
Eastern Michigan fell to 10-3 on the year, while the Wolverines advanced to 11-1 on the 2012 campaign.
Rachel Iaquaniello (Plymouth, Mich.-Dearborn Divine Child) led the Eastern offense with seven kills, while Erin Short (Orrville, Ohio) had five kills of her own. Kim Hildreth (Novi, Mich.-Novi) posted her first double-double of the season with 16 assists and 10 digs, while Sierra Reed (Parker City, Ind.-Wapahani) and Iaquaniello notched eight and seven digs, respectively.
The Eagles dropped the opening frame after hitting just .080 (6-4-25). Baker, Iaquaniello and Short each had a pair of kills. Short was able to post a .400 attack percentage (2-0-5). Lexi Erwin led the Wolverines with six kills in the frame, while their setter Lexi Dannemiller posted 14 assists. U-M hit .517 (17-2-29) in the opening set en route to the 25-13 set win for the Wolverines.
Eastern fell in the second set 25-20, hitting .235 (9-1-34) as a team. The Green and White stepped up defensively in the second frame, holding the Wolverines to a .282 attack percentage (19-8-39), while picking up three blocks. Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) notched a pair of kills in the second set with a .400 hitting percentage (2-0-5). Hildreth posted five assists and a kill in the second frame, while also picking up five digs.
The Green and White was unable to put together an offensive string of attacks to top U-M in the third and final set. EMU hit just .167 (11-6-33) in the final set falling 25-18. Iaquaniello notched four kills in the set, while Hildreth added eight assists to her total.
The Eagles continue action in the Coke/Michigan Invitational Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. when they take on the Duke Blue Devils at Cliff Keen Arena.