Volleyball to Host MAC West Foes This Weekend

Volleyball at Toledo & Ball State
Date:	September 30-October 1
Location:	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center
Weekly Notes:	EMU Notes
Live Stats:	vs. Western Michigan \| vs.Northern Illinois
Watch Live:	vs. Western Michigan \| vs.Northern Illinois

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After opening up Mid-American Conference play last weekend by going 1-1 on the road, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will return to the Convocation Center this weekend, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, for its second home weekend of the 2016 campaign.

The #MACtion returns to the Convocation Center for the first time this season Friday, Sept. 30, when the Eagles (6-9, 1-1 MAC) take the floor to square off with in-state rival Western Michigan University at 7 p.m. The Broncos (5-10, 0-2 MAC) come into Friday's matchup after an 0-2 weekend to begin MAC play. The match can be watched live on ESPN 3 or the WatchESPN app on mobile devices. The Green and White will welcome Northern Illinois University to the Convo the next day, Oct. 1, when the Huskies (10-4, 2-0) come calling. Northern Illinois started conference play with a perfect 2-0 record, most recently defeating Bowling Green.

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 43-93 record, totaling 136 matches played.

ROPING IN THE BRONCOS: Eastern Michigan will begin the weekend with in-state and MAC West foe Western Michigan on Friday night. The Eagles and Broncos have met on the hardwood 83 times. The series is heavily in favor of Western Michigan, as the Green and White trail, 21-62. A year ago, the Eagles met the Broncos on three occasions and WMU came away with the victory in all three. In fact, EMU's last win versus the Broncos came in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament, Nov. 23, 2013. The Eagles have lost five in a row versus Western.

KENNELING THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois has been a thorn in the Eagles' side throughout the years, holding a 31-22 edge over Eastern in 53 meetings. Last year, the Green and White dropped both matches versus the eventual MAC Champions without winning a set. The last time EMU defeated NIU was in the regular season finale of the 2014 campaign when the Eagles took Northern Illinois to a five set match in DeKalb, Ill. However, in the last three seasons, the Green and White has gone just 1-5 versus the Huskies, but look to turn the tide Saturday evening.

COMFORTS OF THE CONVO: Since beginning play in 1976, Eastern Michigan has compiled a 226-165 record on their home court, highlighted by a 115-78 mark since moving to the Convocation Center in 1998.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Eastern posted a 1-1 record when it opened Mid-American Conference play last weekend. The Eagles first traveled south down US-23 to square off with the Rockets from Toledo, Sept. 23, and left the Glass City with a 3-2 victory. EMU then traveled to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State. The Green and White were on the wrong side of a 3-2 setback to the Cardinals, Sept. 24.

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.

SCHOMER SHOWS OUT: As the search for the replacement for Corynne Smith at libero continues, Head Coach Kimi Olson went with freshman Camille Schomer for the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play. Schomer started both matches versus the MAC opponents, putting together a solid weekend, totaling 41 digs. That number included a career-best for the Rochester, Mich. native who picked up 26 digs in the Eagles' loss to Ball State, Sept. 24.

TAMING THE TIGERS: For the first time in over 20 years, the Eastern Michigan volleyball team defeated a squad from the very successful Southeastern Conference when the Eagles took down the Auburn Tigers, 3-1, Saturday, Sept. 17. EMU had not won a match versus the SEC since Sept. 8, 1996, when EMU took down the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. at a tournament hosted by the Bulldogs. The last time the Eagles had defeated a team from the 'Power Five' conferences is when the Green and White defeated Pac-12 member, Utah, Sept. 9, 2011.

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 44.0 blocks this season and is averaging 1.07 per set, good for third-best in the Mid-American Conference.

ON THE HORIZON: After hosting a pair of Mid-American Conference matches this weekend, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, the Eagles will hit the road again next weekend. EMU will travel upstate to Central Michigan University Thursday, Oct. 6, before heading down to Athens, Ohio to square off with the Bobcats of Ohio University Saturday, Oct. 8. Both matches will be played at 7 p.m.

MURRAY AND FERGUSON PICK UP ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: A pair of Eagles picked up College of Charleston Classic All-Tournament honors for their play in South Carolina, Sept. 9-10. Senior Devon Murray registered her second all-tournament accolade of the season, while junior Kelly Ferguson earned the first honor of her EMU career. Murray was a beast for the Eagles over the weekend, leading the team with 32 kills and 34 points. Ferguson led the squad with a blistering .368 kill percentage. Her 38 total kills was second on the team and she led the Eagles in kills per set.

SUTTON REELS IN RECOGNITION: Freshman Alysa Sutton shined for the Eagles over the weekend, Sept. 2-3, ultimately taking home Cleveland State Invite All-Tournament honors. In EMU's second match of the weekend, Sutton posted the first double-double of her career, registering a career-high 16 kills and 11 digs, both of which led the team. She rounded out her stat line with three assists, two aces, and a block against Tennessee. Then, in the Eagles' finial match of the weekend, Sutton posted her second double-double in as many matches. Hitting a team-best .320, Sutton tallied 11 kills and a career-high 13 digs to pace the Green and White. Overall, Sutton accounted for 35 points on the weekend and led the Eagles in kills (32) and ranked second on the team in digs (26).

EMU DUO EARNS ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Following a 2-1 performance at the Maryland Invite, the EMU volleyball team had two of its student-athletes named to the all-tournament team. Jordan Smith and Mallory Rajewski were recognized after their sensational starts to the season. Smith hit at a .395 clip while totaling 35 kills, 15 digs, seven blocks, and two aces. Rajewski churned out 68 assists, fueling the Eagles attack to a .241 attacking percentage, and added 14 digs and four kills.

STUFFING THE STAT SHEET: In Eastern Michigan's 3-1 win over Sacred Heart, Aug, 27, sophomore Jordan Smith filled up the stat sheet in a career day on the court. Smith paved the way for an Eagles attack that hit .288 in the match, cranking out 20 kills while boasting a .395 attacking percentage. Smith added five digs and four blocks to round out her stat line and fuel the Eagles to their first win of the 2016 season.

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 1,150. That number ranks as the 13th-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.

SEVEN NEW EAGLES LAND IN YPSI: With Kimi Olson looking ahead to her second season at the helm of the EMU volleyball program, the New Castle, Ind. native has revamped the Eagles' roster with seven newcomers for the 2016 campaign. Olson added six freshmen to the roster in Mary Helen Beacom, Rachel Irbe, Ariel Hamby, Camille Schomer, Alysa Sutton and Riley Taylor, while junior middle blocker Kelly Ferguson joins Eastern Michigan after spending two seasons competing for Austin Peay University.

A LOT OF NUMBERS TO REPLACE: Head coach Kimi Olson will need to rely heavily on her newcomers. The Eagles lost five of their starters from a season ago, including its all-conference libero Corynne Smith. This season, the Green and White will need to replace multiple student-athletes ranked in the top-15 of multiple career statistical categories. Alyssa Davis ranks 12th in all-time digs, while Katie Krasowski and Kelsey Jones each rank in the top-15 in block assists. Stacey Perinar is 10th in kills, fourth in attack attempts and 14th in aces, while Smith ranks third all-time in digs.

QUICK LOOK BACK AT 2015: Under then first-year head coach Kimi Olson, the Eagles went 14-16 overall, while posting a 6-10 MAC record. Despite being on the outside looking in heading into the last weekend of the regular season, the Green and White were able to rattle off a pair of road victories to make it to the MAC Tournament. The Eagles had one route into the tournament and were able to make it happen by defeating Ball State, 3-1, before going five sets with Toledo, but squeaking out the victory in the Glass City.

EMU PICKED FIFTH IN THE WEST: After ballots were filled out by all of the head volleyball coaches in the Mid-American Conference, the EMU squad is slated to finish fifth in the MAC West Division. Northern Illinois was selected as the division favorite with 11 first place votes, while Miami ranks at the top of the MAC poll in the East Division after garnering nine first place votes. As for the predicted MAC Tournament Champions, Miami led the race with five votes to take the championship, while Northern Illinois received four, Kent State grabbed two and Western Michigan earned a single vote.

EMU VOLLEYBALL LIVE: With Eastern Michigan Athletics heading into its second season of production on ESPN3, while also utilizing Eagle All-Access for a seventh consecutive season, EMU volleyball fans will be able to watch 11 home matches over the web during the 2016 campaign. Currently, four matches are scheduled to appear live on ESPN3, while the remaining seven matches will air live on Eagle All-Access. The current home schedule is as follows:

Saturday, Sept. 17 - Colgate vs. Auburn at 11 a.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Saturday, Sept. 17 - vs. Auburn at 7 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Sunday, Sept. 18 - vs. Colgate at 1 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Friday, Sept. 30 - vs. Western Michigan at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, Oct. 1 - vs. Northern Illinois at 5 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Friday, Oct. 14 - vs. Bowling Green at 7 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Saturday, Oct. 15 - vs. Miami at 5 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Friday, Oct. 28 - vs. Ball State at Noon (ESPN3)
Saturday, Oct. 29 - vs. Toledo at 7:30 p.m. (Eagle All-Access)
Thursday, Nov. 10 - vs. Central Michigan at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, Nov. 12 - vs. Kent State at 5 p.m. (ESPN3)

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Players Mentioned

Mary Helen Beacom

Alyssa Davis

Samantha Falco

Kelly Ferguson

Ariel Hamby

Rachel Irbe

Kelsey Jones

Katie Krasowski

Devon Murray

Stacey Perinar

Mallory Rajewski

Camille Schomer

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Alysa Sutton

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics