EMU Volleyball Opens MAC Play This Weekend

Volleyball vs. Ball State & Toledo
Date	Friday, Sept. 22 - Saturday, Sept. 23
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center
Game Notes	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. Ball State \| vs. Toledo
Live Video	vs. Ball State \| vs. Toledo
Twitter	@EMU Volleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team opens up the Mid-American Conference season by welcoming Ball State (3 p.m., Fri. Sept. 22) and Toledo (7 p.m., Sat. Sept. 23) to the friendly confines of the Convocation Center this weekend.

EMU is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Chicago State Tournament where it defeated Southeast Missouri State in straight sets, but fell to host Chicago State in five sets and Louisiana-Lafayette in four.
Freshman Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) was named to the Chicago State Tournament all-tournament team after turning in an average of 3.42 kills per set while averaging 1.92 digs per set. Strefling set a new career high in kills for a single match, pounding 18 against Chicago State.

Eagles' setter Mallory Rajewski eclipsed the 1,500 assist mark in the win over Southeast Missouri State, and is now in the Top 10 in the EMU record book for career assists.
Eastern Michigan has matched its 2016 total for wins before hitting conference season. EMU finishes the non-conference season with a 7-4 record in neutral site matches and is 1-3 in away bouts. The Eagles lost their home opener against Fort Wayne, 3-1.

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 OPPONENTS: EMU is 25-47 all-time against Ball State, having gotten beat in both matches in the 2016 season. The Green and White hold a home record of 6-7 against the Cardinals since the 1999 season, and have won three of the previous five matches against BSU.

Eastern Michigan's second opponent of the weekend is Toledo, a team the Eagles hold a 55-14 all-time record against. EMU and UT split last season's matches, each winning in the other's home arena. The Eagles have won nine of the last 11 matchups against the Rockets, including a run of six straight before last season's home loss.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: The 2017 season serves as a special opportunity for setter Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland), as the junior is quickly climbing the Eagle ranks in career assists. In her third season with the Green and White, the Midland, Mich. native moved into the 10th-place spot on the all-time list, passing Sandy Burke (1993-96), in a Sept. 15 loss to Chicago State. She's just 19 assists shy of the 1,600 mark, which will also put her in ninth place on the career list. 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 323 in 2017.

Also making her way up the Eastern Michigan record books this season is junior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon), who collected her 600th kill Sept. 12 against Fort Wayne. The Solon, Iowa native has averaged over 233 kills per season in her first two years, and is already at 159 in 2017. She is 345 kills away from joining the Eagles' Top 15.

ON THE HORIZON: After EMU opens up Mid-American Conference play against Ball State and Toledo, the Eagles will travel to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan Sept. 29 & 30 respectively. Eastern Michigan will play NIU at 7:00 p.m. and WMU at 3:30 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Mallory Rajewski

Jordan Smith

Franki Strefling

Eastern Michigan Athletics