Aug. 28, 2010
Box Score
HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS - The Marist volleyball team fell to Eastern Michigan 3-0 (16-25, 20-25, 18-25) on Saturday evening in the team's final match of the Comfort Suites Sam Houston State University Invitational. Freshman Grace Hill (Portage, Mich.) was named to the All-Tournament Team after finishing the tournament with 46 kills and 32 digs.
The first set featured six ties as both teams traded points throughout the early stages. With the score even at 13-13, Eastern Michigan began to pull away from the Red Foxes behind a service ace from Paige Roback and two kills and two service aces from Jennifer Swartz. Trailing 21-14, Marist received kills from Katie Estes (Saugus, Calif.) and Hanna Stoiberg (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) to trim the Eagles' lead to 24-16, but an Erin Short kill sealed the first set victory for Eastern Michigan.
Marist (1-3) remained within striking distance of the Eagles for much of the second set which saw 11 ties and five lead changes. The Red Foxes clung to a 16-15 lead over the Eagles after kills by Leeann Harridsleff (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Stoiberg, but Eastern Michigan earned the next three points to pull ahead 18-16 and eventually held on for a 25-20 victory.
Eastern Michigan (4-0) scored the first point of the third set on another ace by Swartz, but Marist responded with a run to take a 6-3 lead on kills from Harridsleff, Hill, and Estes. From there, both teams traded points until the set was tied at 17-17 as Marist looked to force the match to a fourth set. But the Eagles would not let the Red Foxes regain the lead, as they scored five straight points to take a 23-17 lead. A kill by Kaitlyn Vincek and a Marist attack error gave the Eagles a 25-18 victory and the team championship.
For the match, Eastern Michigan outhit Marist .303 to .200 in addition to holding a 46-31 advantage in kills and a 37-30 advantage in digs. Both teams finished the match with five blocks each.
The Red Foxes will return to action Tuesday at 7 p.m. when they host Hartford at the McCann Center. All home volleyball matches are FREE and open to the public.
