Eagles Hit the Road for a Pair of Conference Tilts

Volleyball at Central Michigan & Ohio
Date:	October 6 \| October 8
Location:	Mount Pleasant, Mich. - McGuirk Arena \| Athens, Ohio - Convocation Center
Weekly Notes:	EMU Notes
Live Stats:	at Central Michigan \| at Ohio
Watch Live:	at Central Michigan \| at Ohio

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- With the second week of Mid-American Conference play in the books, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team continues its quest for a MAC title this weekend with a pair of MAC matches on the road.

The #MACtion continues Thursday night, Oct. 6, when the Eagles (7-10, 2-2 MAC) travel up state to square off with Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The Chippewas (7-9, 1-3 MAC) come into the match after a hard fought 3-2 victory over Western Michigan University last weekend. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena. Thursday evening's contest can be streamed live on ESPN 3 or the WatchESPN app. Following their match with CMU, the Eagles will take a day off before heading to Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University. The Bobcats (7-9, 3-1 MAC) have lost just one MAC contest and most recently defeated Bowling Green, 3-0, on the road. The Saturday match up between EMU and Ohio is slated for 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN 3 and WatchESPN app as well.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS: With the beginning of Mid-American Conference play in the rearview mirror, the Eagles will face-off with familiar foes throughout the remainder of the 2016 season. In fact, against this weekend's competition, the Green and White hold a 41-92-1 record, totaling 134 matches played.

CHIP DIP: Eastern Michigan will begin the weekend with in-state and MAC West foe Central Michigan on Thursday night. The Eagles and Chippewas have met on the hardwood 81 times. The series is heavily in favor of Central Michigan, as the Green and White trail, 25-56. A year ago, the Eagles met the Chippewas on two occasions and the two squads split those contests. In fact, the two Michigan institutions have split their two matches in every season for the past five. The last sweep came during the 2010 campaign when EMU knocked off the Chippewas in a pair of 3-2 victories.

CATCHING UP WITH THE CATS: The Bobcats have been a thorn in the Eagles' side throughout the years, holding a 36-16-1 edge over Eastern in 53 meetings. Last year, the Green and White dropped its only match with the Bobcats, 3-0, Oct. 3, 2015. Additionally, the Eagles are riding a 14-match losing streak versus Ohio. The last victory for Eastern Michigan came during the 2001 season when EMU swept the Bobcats, Oct. 19. In addition, the Green and White have only taken more than a set in a single match from OU on three occasions over that 14-match span.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Eastern posted a 1-1 record when it completed the second weekend of Mid-American Conference play last weekend. The Eagles returned to the Convocation Center to open the home portion of #MACtion with Western Michigan, Sept. 30. The Green and White defeated the Broncos for the first time since 2013. On the following evening, Oct. 1, EMU was swept by Northern Illinois.

ROAD WOES: Like most teams in intercollegiate athletics, EMU has had much less success on the road. So far this season, the Eagles are 1-6 in true road matches. In the history of the program, the Green and White holds a 183-263 overall record away from Ypsilanti. In addition to that number, Eastern Michigan holds just a 100-162 mark away from the Convo. Last year, EMU went 5-8 in true road matches.

COMFORTS OF THE CONVO: Since beginning play in 1976, Eastern Michigan has compiled a 227-166 record on their home court, highlighted by a 116-79 mark since moving to the Convocation Center in 1998.

A CAT CONNECTION: EMU assistant volleyball coach Michael Shearer is familiar with the Bobcat squad. Shearer spent the 2014 campaign as a volunteer assistant coach for Ohio's MAC East Division Championship winning team.

TWO SETTER OFFENSE: As the 2016 campaign progresses, it looks as though EMU Head Volleyball Coach Kimi Olson has decided to go with a two setter offense. Redshirt sophomore Mallory Rajewski and freshman Riley Taylor have been splitting the setting duties for the Green and White, totaling 603 assists this season. That total averages out to what would be 9.73 assists per frame over 62 sets of action this year.

BLOCKS ON BLOCKS ON BLOCKS: In her first season as a starter for Kimi Olson's squad, junior Samantha Falco is making a difference at the net. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker has racked up a team-high 48.0 blocks this season and is averaging 1.00 per set, good for third-best in the Mid-American Conference.

ALREADY IN THE RANKS: Redshirt sophomore setter Mallory Rajewski racked up 794 assists in her first year competing for the Green and White. This season, Rajewski has registered 280 assists, pushing her career total to 1,182. That number ranks as the 12th-most in Eastern Michigan history. Rajewski does have quite a bit of ground to make up, as Kate Sulewski holds the all-time career assists record with 5,474.

ON THE HORIZON: After hitting the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches this weekend, Oct. 6-Oct. 8, the Eagles will return to the Convocation Center next weekend. EMU will host Bowling Green Friday, Oct. 14, before Miami, who is undefeated in MAC play, comes to Ypsilanti, Saturday, Oct. 15. The match with BGSU will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday night, while the Saturday contest is slated for 5 p.m. Both tilts will be aired live on Eagle All-Access.

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Players Mentioned

Samantha Falco

Mallory Rajewski

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics