Volleyball Opens MAC Tournament with University at Buffalo

Volleyball at MAC Tournament (Buffalo)
Date	Thursday, Nov. 16 4:30 p.m.
Location	Oxford, Ohio
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. #5 Buffalo
Live Video	vs. #5 Buffalo
Twitter	@EMU Volleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball won its last four matches of the season to sneak into the MAC Tournament, opening up the conference tournament by taking on No. 5 University at Buffalo
   EMU (15-17, 7-9 MAC) played itself back into playoff contention by sweeping both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois at home on Senior Weekend, and then secured itself a spot in the conference tournament with road wins at Central Michigan and Kent State.
   On the flip side, Buffalo (15-12, 8-8 MAC) took the fifth seed of the tournament after losing its final three matches and four of its last five. The Bulls defeated the Eagles, 3-0, in the Convocation Center earlier this season.
   The match can be seen on ESPN3 with Steve Baker (pxp) and Lisa Dankovich (analyst) on the call, and can be followed on live stats.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING! Eastern Michigan's four-match winning streak to finish the regular season is the first time an Eagles squad has accomplished such a feat in over a decade. The last team to do so was in the 2005 season, the only EMU squad to win a MAC West title.

STAYING HAUT: Redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) has been on fire since moving to outside hitter in the latter half of the MAC season. The Monroe, Mich. native averaged 12.2 kills per match over the final six contests, including a career-best 23 kills in a crucial five-set road victory at Central Michigan.
   Haut has also averaged eight digs per game in that time frame, and added help at the service line, with seven of her nine aces coming in the last six games.

STEPPING UP: Also taking big steps forward for the Eagles over the last portion of the season has been freshman right side hitter April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest). The Minneapolis, Minn. native has totaled more kills in EMU's last eight matches than she had combined in the first 24 matches.

SENIOR SENDOFF: EMU celebrated the careers of the middle blocking duo of Samantha Falco (Antioch, Ill.-Antioch Community) and Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) with its first two-match MAC sweeps since the 2005 season.
   The two have teamed up to make the Eagles' front line defense one of the best in the Mid-American Conference, as EMU is first in blocks per set (2.49) and tied for second in opponent attack percentage (.174).
   Falco smashed 16 kills on 42 attempts and had just four errors in the two wins for the Green and White, and also added to her MAC-leading block total with nine. Her final kill in the Convocation Center secured the Eagles' 25-13 victory in the sweep of the Huskies.
   Ferguson had a fantastic showing herself, totaling 15 kills in 36 chances with just three errors for a .333 attack percentage. The Lemont, Ill. native also added eight blocks, two digs and an ace over the weekend.

CARRYING THE LOAD: Eastern junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) has been forced to carry the offensive load in the second half of the MAC season, and has responded by averaging 12.1 kills and 11.1 digs over the last 10 matches. The Solon, Iowa native leads EMU in kills (346), points (408.5), and aces (34), while adding 326 digs and 52 total blocks.
   Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) has also seen her production rise as the Eagles have switched from a 6-2 to a 5-1 system over the last few weeks of play. She's put up 32.88 assists per game with a 8.77 assists per set average.
   Fans can follow the games via live stats through the links found on the volleyball schedule page of EMUEagles.com. Additionally, the action on the court will be live-tweeted from the team's account, @EMUVolleyball.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE OPPONENT: The Eagles dominate the all-time record against the Bulls, holding an 18-4 record. However, the most recent meeting with UB, which took place earlier this season, Oct. 21, saw the Eagles fall 3-0 in the Convocation Center.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski continues to topple milestones in her third season with the Green and White, passing the 1,900 assist plateau against Ball State Oct. 28 and moving into the EMU top eight in all-time assists. She now trails Lisa Hayes by 127 assists for seventh place. The Midland, Mich. native is averaging 6.62 assists per set and has eight matches of 30 or more assists on the season. To add to her distribution prowess, Rajewski is also averaging 2.78 digs per set and has a team-high 17 double-doubles on the season. After a 2015 campaign in which she tallied the fifth-most assists by a freshman (747), Rajewski totaled 479 assists in 2016 and already has 803 in 2017.
   Also making her way up the Eastern Michigan record books this season is junior Jordan Smith, who collected her 800th kill Oct. 28 at Ball State. The Solon, Iowa native has averaged over 233 kills per season in her first two years, and is already at 346 in 2017. She is 123 kills away from joining the Eagles' top 15.

WHERE THEY RANK: The Eagles are in the top half of the MAC in seven team categories, including first in blocks per set (2.49), third in opponent hitting percentage (.174), fifth in digs per set (16.74) and fifth in hitting percentage (.196), assists per set (11.94), kills per set (12.74), while ranking seventh in service aces per set (1.20).
   Several individuals are in the top 10 of conference rankings as well, including Samantha Falco and Kelly Ferguson, who are first and sixth in blocks per set, respectively. Ferguson is first in the conference in attack percentage, libero Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich-Allen Park) is seventh in digs per set average, and sophomore setter Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) is eighth in service aces per set.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan snagged the final spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament after finishing out its regular season with four-straight wins and earning some help from other programs. The Eagles' fate for the rest of the postseason lies on the first match of the tournament, which will take place Thursday, Nov. 16, against Buffalo in Oxford, Ohio.

Fans can follow the games via live stats through the links found on the volleyball schedule page of EMUEagles.com. Additionally, the action on the court will be live-tweeted from the team's account, @EMUVolleyball.

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Players Mentioned

Samantha Falco

Kelly Ferguson

Cassie Haut

April Houston

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Jordan Smith

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics