Eastern Michigan Athletics
Six Eagles Named Academic All-Mac
12/1/2017 12:23:00 PM | Volleyball
EMU Volleyball had six members of its squad on the 2017 Academic All-MAC team
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) — The Mid-American Conference announced Friday, Dec. 1 that six Eastern Michigan University volleyball players were named to the Academic All-MAC team.
Senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), sophomore Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central), junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park), redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland), and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) all received the honor for the Eagles.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
"We're so proud of this group for all of their hard work," said head coach Kimi Olson. "They've proven that you can have success in the classroom and on the court this year. Pursuing excellence in both is a big part of EMU volleyball, and these girls did an amazing job setting the standard for our program."
Ferguson holds a 3.34 GPA in public relations and finished her two-year EMU career as one of the top middle blockers in the MAC, averaging 2.86 kills per set with a conference-best .370 attack percentage. Her performance in her senior season earned her a spot on the All-MAC Honorable Mention and academic list for the first time in her career. The Lemont, Ill. native had 11 double-digit kill performances, including two 15-kill games that marked her career-highs.
Hamby, a first-time member of the Academic All-MAC team, completed her second season in the Green and White playing primarily as the right-side attacker. The political science major has a 3.28 GPA and finished the 2017 season with 93 kills and 43 total blocks while averaging 1.22 points per set. The Oak Park, Ill. native registered a season-best eight kills in Eastern's win over Butler Aug. 26, attacking at a .500 percentage and adding four digs in the match.
Haut, earning a spot on the team for the first time, put together the best season of her young career, finishing with 2.47 kills per set and 309 total kills, good for second on the team. With a 3.25 GPA as an exercise science major, she also added 122 digs and 9 service aces to her account on the 2017 campaign. Her breakout performance came in a do-or-die match for the Eagles at Central Michigan, Nov. 9, when the Monroe, Mich. product crushed a career-high 23 kills in Eastern's 3-2 comeback victory.
LaFace is one of three repeats to the Academic All-MAC team. The junior played in 26 matches on the season, starting mostly at libero, and led the team with 486 digs on the season and a 5.12 digs per set average. The Allen Park, Mich. native majors in elementary education and set the single-game three-set digs record with 24 (8.00 per set) against Toledo, Sept. 23.
Rajewski, another repeat to the Academic All-MAC list, acted as the primary setter on the season. She led the team in assists with 891 and finished with a 7.02 assists per set average. The redshirt junior started 31 of 34 matches for the Eagles, finishing with a career-high 64 kills and amassing 355 digs. The Midland, Mich. native surpassed the 2,000 career assist mark during the year and currently sits in seventh place in the all-time ranks with 2,164 assists. She also set a new personal record for assists in a game, dishing out 52 in the comeback win at Central Michigan, Nov. 9.
Smith, a psychology major and two-time member of the list, is the final member of the Academic All-MAC team for the EMU. The Solon, Iowa native led the team in kills with 373 on the campaign, averaging 2.89 per set. The junior had 24 games of double-digit kills and topped the double-digit digs plateau 14 times. She became one of the only Eagles in program history to register a 20-20 performance when she logged 20 kills and 22 digs against Ohio, Oct. 7.
Eastern Michigan won its final four matches of the regular season to make the MAC Tournament as the eight seed. Its first round upset victory over No. 5 Buffalo was the first win in the conference tournament in the Olson era, and first since the 2013 season.
Senior Kelly Ferguson (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), sophomore Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest), redshirt sophomore Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central), junior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park), redshirt junior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland), and junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) all received the honor for the Eagles.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
"We're so proud of this group for all of their hard work," said head coach Kimi Olson. "They've proven that you can have success in the classroom and on the court this year. Pursuing excellence in both is a big part of EMU volleyball, and these girls did an amazing job setting the standard for our program."
Ferguson holds a 3.34 GPA in public relations and finished her two-year EMU career as one of the top middle blockers in the MAC, averaging 2.86 kills per set with a conference-best .370 attack percentage. Her performance in her senior season earned her a spot on the All-MAC Honorable Mention and academic list for the first time in her career. The Lemont, Ill. native had 11 double-digit kill performances, including two 15-kill games that marked her career-highs.
Hamby, a first-time member of the Academic All-MAC team, completed her second season in the Green and White playing primarily as the right-side attacker. The political science major has a 3.28 GPA and finished the 2017 season with 93 kills and 43 total blocks while averaging 1.22 points per set. The Oak Park, Ill. native registered a season-best eight kills in Eastern's win over Butler Aug. 26, attacking at a .500 percentage and adding four digs in the match.
Haut, earning a spot on the team for the first time, put together the best season of her young career, finishing with 2.47 kills per set and 309 total kills, good for second on the team. With a 3.25 GPA as an exercise science major, she also added 122 digs and 9 service aces to her account on the 2017 campaign. Her breakout performance came in a do-or-die match for the Eagles at Central Michigan, Nov. 9, when the Monroe, Mich. product crushed a career-high 23 kills in Eastern's 3-2 comeback victory.
LaFace is one of three repeats to the Academic All-MAC team. The junior played in 26 matches on the season, starting mostly at libero, and led the team with 486 digs on the season and a 5.12 digs per set average. The Allen Park, Mich. native majors in elementary education and set the single-game three-set digs record with 24 (8.00 per set) against Toledo, Sept. 23.
Rajewski, another repeat to the Academic All-MAC list, acted as the primary setter on the season. She led the team in assists with 891 and finished with a 7.02 assists per set average. The redshirt junior started 31 of 34 matches for the Eagles, finishing with a career-high 64 kills and amassing 355 digs. The Midland, Mich. native surpassed the 2,000 career assist mark during the year and currently sits in seventh place in the all-time ranks with 2,164 assists. She also set a new personal record for assists in a game, dishing out 52 in the comeback win at Central Michigan, Nov. 9.
Smith, a psychology major and two-time member of the list, is the final member of the Academic All-MAC team for the EMU. The Solon, Iowa native led the team in kills with 373 on the campaign, averaging 2.89 per set. The junior had 24 games of double-digit kills and topped the double-digit digs plateau 14 times. She became one of the only Eagles in program history to register a 20-20 performance when she logged 20 kills and 22 digs against Ohio, Oct. 7.
Eastern Michigan won its final four matches of the regular season to make the MAC Tournament as the eight seed. Its first round upset victory over No. 5 Buffalo was the first win in the conference tournament in the Olson era, and first since the 2013 season.
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