Western Michigan def. Eastern Michigan, 3-2
Kent State def. Miami, 3-2
Bowling Green def. Ohio, 3-0
Northern Illinois def. Central Michigan, 3-1
Stories courtsey of MAC Media Relations Offices
Western Michigan def. Eastern Michigan, 3-2
YPSILANTI, Mich. - The Western Michigan volleyball team recovered from a first set loss to put themselves in the driver's seat against Eastern Michigan, and the Broncos recovered the momentum in the fifth set to defeat the Eagles 3-2 (21-25, 29-27, 25-20, 15-25, 15-10) at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti on Friday. With the win, the Broncos improve to 8-5 on the season, 1-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Broncos and Eagles played a tightly contested defensive affair on Friday, with the teams combining for nearly 200 digs and as neither offense truly found a groove for most of the match. Ali Gossen pumped in a season-high 18 kills, while Jessica Brown and Stephenee Yancy each contributed 12 kills. Lena Oliver and Kaycee Acree each tied the match-high with 25 digs, and Terin Norris recorded a double-double of 58 assists and 14 digs.
The Broncos took a 2-1 lead in the match before the Eagle knotted things up with a strong fourth set, but the Broncos were able to dig deep and dispatch their cross-state rivals. After falling behind 1-0 to start the fifth, the Broncos scored consecutive points on kills from Yancy and Norris to take the 2-1 lead. The teams tradded points throughout much of hte fifth set, with Yancy breaking an 8-8 stalemate with a kill. EMU tied it one point later, but Carlee Berland and Gillian Asque would record off-block kills on straight points to give WMU an 11-9 lead and force an EMU timeout. Acree would record an ace on the point after the timeout, and an EMU handling error gave WMU a 13-10 lead. The Eagles would record another attack error, and Asque would put the match away with a cross court kill to make it 15-10.
The second set was a see-saw battle that was indicative of just how even the teams were on Friday, with the Broncos pulling slightly ahead midway through the set and doing everything they could to fend off the Eagles. With WMU trailing 1-0 i nthe match, the Broncos took a 16-13 lead in the second set when Caroline Rose recorded a back row kill to force Eastern Michigan into a timeout. The Eagles would pull to within 16-15, but the Broncos scored four straight points, including two kills from Gossen to make it 20-15. The Eagles battled back to tie the score, and the teams traded points until Yancy and Gossen combined for a block to make it 28-27. Gossen would notch a kill one point later to take the set 29-27.
The Broncos dominated the better portion of the third set, and although EMU would rally late, WMU would hold on to take the match lead 2-1. The Broncos trailed 9-4 in the third set before Gossen recorded a kill to uncork an incredible 15-1 run that saw the Broncos take a 19-10 lead. The Broncos would be the first team to reach 20 points when Gossen recorded another kill, and Berland would record a down line kill to reach set point. An EMU attack error would seal the set win for the Broncos.
Kent State def. Miami, 3-2
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team fell in a tough, 2-3 (25-19, 23-25, 25-15, 13-25, 7-15) defeat to Kent State Friday night at Millett Hall. The loss in the first conference match of the season brings the RedHawks overall record down to 5-9. The Golden Flashes improve to 4-9 and are 1-0 in the MAC.
Meg Riley notched a career high 21 kills in the game along with 21 assists and eight digs. Madison Dodd also contributed a double-double (11 kills and 12 digs). Christina Menche tallied her career high in assists with 15 while Amy Kendall added 30 assists and Madison Hardy contributed 20 digs.
Miami fell behind early in the first set by a score of 2-4, but the RedHawks gained the lead after a couple of kills from Riley and one from Menche to make the score 6-5. The RedHawks did not look back from there, never giving up the lead for the rest of the first set, which they captured by a score of 25-19. Riley led the RedHawks in set one with eight kills and Menche was right behind her with five of her own.
The second set of the evening started with kills from various RedHawks including Hardy, Riley, Chelsea Visk, Annie Reiswig, and Menche to put the Red and White up 9-4. From there the two teams traded points and the RedHawks slowly extended their lead to 20-14. After that Kent State went on a 10-3 run to claim their first lead of the set at 22-21. That was the first Kent State lead since they led 2-1 right off the bat. The RedHawks won two of the next three points with both kills coming from Riley, but that was not enough as the Golden Flashes grabbed the final two points, putting the RedHawks away 25-23 in the second set.
Miami came out of the break with lots of firepower, receiving two kills to begin the third set from Dodd and jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Over the course of the next several points, the RedHawks went on non-consecutive 7-4 and 7-3 runs to gain a 19-11 lead. The RedHawks had little trouble finishing off the Golden Flashes in set two, and won the second set 25-15 with the 25th point coming off a lengthy rally that ended with a kill from Visk.
Kent State jumped out to an early 9-4 lead in set four. The RedHawks replied immediately with a 5-2 run to bring the score to 9-11. That attempt from Miami was their last push in set four as the Golden Flashes went on an impressive 14-4 run to capture set three by a score of 25-13. By the end of the fourth set, both Riley (19 kills, 19 assists) and Dodd (10 kills and 11 digs) had double-doubles for the RedHawks.
A lone kill from Riley was all the Red and White could muster as Kent State jumped out to a commanding 7-1 lead in set five. Riley’s next kill brought her over her previous career high of 20 kills in a game, but Miami was unable to pull off the comeback as the Golden Flashes finished the RedHawks off 15-7 in set five.
Miami volleyball will attempt to improve their conference record tomorrow night at 5 pm when Ohio University comes to Oxford.
Bowling Green def. Ohio, 3-0
Bowling Green, Ohio - Ohio Volleyball was swept in its 2012 Mid-American Conference opener at Bowling Green this evening, 25-23, 25-15, 25-20. The Bobcats dropped to 5-8, 0-1 while the Falcons improved to 5-7, 0-1
“I thought Bowling Green outplayed us at every position and their energy, effort and execution was better than ours,” Head Coach Ryan Theis said. “They deserved the win tonight. Typically after a loss we have been able to evaluate some things we did very well but tonight, we just can’t find anything.”
Chelsea Bilger’s eight kills led Ohio offensively with Serena Warner adding six and the duo of Kelly Lamberti and Faith Robins notching five apiece. Abby Gilleland finished with 20 aces and Lamberti paced the squad with 12 digs. Hartnett added four blocks with Warner tacking on three denials.
With the first set tied 8-8 a kill by Warner and a BG attack error gave Ohio its first two-point lead. A ball handling error at 12-10 pushed the lead to three for the first time but BG drew even at 13-13 on a kill by Paige Penrod.
The Bobcats took a 17-14 lead on two BG errors and a combo block by Warner and Gilleland but one more, the Falcons responded and tied the score 18-18 on a block. An attack error and kill by Robins allowed Ohio to push back out in front but the Falcons tied it for an 11th time at 21-21.
A kill from Lindsey Butterfield gave BG its first lead since 8-7 as Ohio used its first timeout. Out of the huddle, Lexie Hartnett notched a kill but the Falcons responded with two points of their own for a 24-22 lead. After the ‘Cats used their second timeout, they got a kill from Lamberti, but it was not enough as they dropped the first frame, 25-23.
BG was forced to take a quick timeout in the second set after Bilger and Warner recorded kills before combining on a block to give Ohio a 7-4 lead. The Falcons tied things and eventually took a 14-9 lead thanks to an eight-point run.
The Bobcat deficit eventually hit double digits as they dropped the second set 25-15. Through the first two games, BG hit .262 as opposed to .157 for Ohio. The Falcons also held a 5-0 edge in service aces. Warner’s five kills were tops among Bobcat hitters at the break and she, along with Gilleland and Hartnett each had two blocks.
With the third set tied 8-8, BG scored three in a row to take a lead. The Ohio deficit increased to four at 15-11 on a kill by Butterfield but the Bobcats would not stop fighting and tied the set on a ball handling error by the Falcons.
BG reopened a two-point lead on a kill by Laura Avila at 18-16 but the Green and White evened things once more on a combo block from Bilger and Hartnett. The momentum was short-lived as the Falcons took a 21-19 lead and forced an Ohio timeout.
A Bilger kill cut the gap to one out of the stoppage but it would be as close as the Bobcats could get, allowing the final four points and falling 25-20 in the third set.
The Bobcats had won seven in a row and 17 of 18 against BG with the last loss occurring at Anderson Arena in 2008. This was only the second loss to the Falcons since 2001.
Ohio suits up again tomorrow as it looks to even its MAC record in a contest at Miami. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. at Millett Hall.