Eastern Michigan Athletics
Volleyball Back Out for the Final Road Swing of the Season
11/3/2008 4:05:33 PM | Volleyball
Eagles to play Northern llinois, Nov. 7, and Western Michigan, Nov. 8
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Click Here for Live Stats vs. NIU.
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VOLLEYBALL BACK OUT FOR THE FINAL ROAD SWING OF THE SEASON: The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team hits the road for its final regular season road trip with stops in DeKalb, Ill., Nov. 7, and Kalamazoo, Mich., Nov. 8. The Eagles battle Northern Illinois University Friday evening at 7 p.m. on Victor E. Court, before trekking to University Arena for a 7 p.m. tilt versus Western Michigan University. Heading into the weekend, the Eagles hold a 9-18 overall record and a 3-8 MAC mark after falling to both Ball State University (Oct. 31) and the University of Toledo (Nov. 1). NIU sports a 14-12 (6-6 MAC) mark after falling to the Broncos (Oct. 30) and Miami University (Nov. 1). WMU sits in a tie with Central Michigan atop the West Division with a 10-2 MAC record and 19-4 overall record following a win over the Huskies (Oct. 30) and 3-2 setback to Bowling Green State University (Nov. 1).
EAGLES AND HUSKIES SET FOR FRIDAY SHOWDOWN: Northern Illinois holds a slim 19-18 lead in the all-time series that dates back to the 1981 season. Earlier this season at the EMU Convocation Center, Oct. 4, the Eagles claimed a 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-13) victory over the Huskies. Senior Hayvolla Leite collected her first double-double of the season, as she tallied a team-high 22 kills and 19 digs, hitting .280 against the Huskies. Freshman Ashley Mason hit a team-best .583 against the Huskies, while dishing out 48 assists and collecting 13 digs in the match.
EAGLES AND BRONCOS BATTLE FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON: In-state rivals EMU and WMU are hooking up for the 67th time in the all-time series. Western Michigan holds a 47-19 edge in the series, including a 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17) victory in Ypsilanti, Oct. 3 . Senior Hayvolla Leite tallied seven kills and hit .200 in the match, while freshman Ashley Mason collected a team-high 21 digs.
JUST TWO HOME MATCHES REMAIN: EMU will take to the court just twice more at the Convocation Center this season, battling in-state rival Central Michigan University (Nov. 13) and Kent State University (Nov. 15). It will mark the final time that seniors Jill Wolosiansky and Hayvolla Leite will play in front of the home crowd.
BERRINGTON PICKS UP NUMBER 200: Already the winningest coach in the program’s history, head coach Kim Berrington picked up her 200th EMU victory Saturday, Oct. 25, as the Eagles swept the University at Buffalo. In 17 years of coaching, Berrington has posted a 303-267 record, including a 200-191 mark in 13 years as the head coach at EMU. Prior to coming to Eastern Michigan, Berrington recorded a 103-76 mark in four years at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Green and White have enjoyed the friendly confines of the EMU Convocation Center over the past eight seasons, posting a 60-24 mark in the "Nest," including a pair of home victories this season.
FIVE-SET THRILLERS BECOMING ALL TOO FAMILIAR: Fans watching the 2008 EMU volleyball team have certainly gotten their monies worth this year. The Eagles have played in eight five-set matches this season. The Eagles are 3-5 in those five-set matches, including posting a perfect 1-0 mark inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center with a win over Northern Illinois, Oct. 4. Last season, EMU played in just four matches that went to a deciding fifth set, while the 2006 squad had to go to a fifth stanza on six occasions. The Green and White are 16-19 since the 2002 season in matches that have gone five sets.
A TALE OF TWO TEAMS: The Eagles have had their share of ups and downs during the 2008 season, posting an 9-18 mark in 27 contests. In the nine victories, EMU is recording a .213 attack percentage to go along with 12.8 kills, 16.6 digs and 2.1 blocks per set. The opposition is also posting just a .140 hitting percentage in those contests. On the other side of the ledger in the setbacks, Eastern Michigan is managing just a .129 attack percentage and a drop to 10.9 kills, 15.9 digs and 1.9 blocks per set. The opponents are also posting a much better attack percentage at .211.
RANDOLPH SOLID AS A ROCK: Junior Victoria Randolph stood out as the Eagles posted a 1-1 weekend of Mid-American Conference play (Oct. 24-25). On the week, Randolph averaged 3.38 kills, 3.00 digs, 0.38 blocks and 3.63 points per set against Akron, Oct. 24, and Buffalo, Oct. 25. She recorded a double-double versus the Zips with a team-best 19 kills and 14 digs and then followed it up with eight kills and 10 digs against the Bulls. In the five-set thriller versus Akron, the Cincinnati, Ohio native posted a .386 attack percentage (19-2-44).
EASTERN REMAINS PERFECT VERSUS BUFFALO: The number 13 is one that superstitious people usually shy away from, but the number 13 was just the opposite for Eastern Michigan. The Eagles moved to 13-0 all-time versus the University at Buffalo with a 3-0 sweep of the Bulls Saturday, Oct. 25, at Alumni Arena in Amherst, N.Y. EMU has won every meeting in the series versus the Bulls dating back to Aug. 31, 1996, when the Green and White notched a 3-2 win in the opening match of the UB Tournament at Alumni Arena.
EMU DUG PINK VERSUS MIAMI: The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team went all pink as they host the second annual "Dig Pink" Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 18, versus Miami University. All proceeds from the event benefited the Side-Out Foundation. The team wore wear pink jerseys. The fundraiser was just one of many events in October – a national effort by the Side-Out Foundation to help educate and raise money to eliminate breast cancer.
EMU CONTINUES TO DOMINATE OAKLAND: The Eagles continued its domination of Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University, posting a 3-2 victory (26-24, 18-25, 25-16, 24-26, 15-8), Oct. 7, in non-conference action at the O’Rena. Senior outside hitter Hayvolla Leite paced the EMU offense with a match-best 18 kills and seven digs along with a .277 attack percentage (18-5-47) in the victory. With the win the Eagles push their winning streak over the Golden Grizzlies to 21 consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 15, 1977.
CHARLIE BATCH AND THE STEELERS TAKE TIME OUT FOR VOLLEYBALL: EMU graduate and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch recently took time out of his schedule to visit with the players and coaches from the volleyball team. While the Eagles were in Pittsburgh, Pa., Sept. 19-20, for the University of Pittsburgh Invitational, Batch arranged for the team to visit the Steelers’ practice facility and observe the walk-through prior to the Sept. 21 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers’ Community Relations Manager, Michele Rosenthal, welcomed the team to the facility and showed the team around the library that contained the five Super Bowl trophies, the defense team room, training room, weight room and practice fields. Steelers placekicker Jeff Reed also gave the team a tour of the locker room. After observing the walk-through, Batch met the team, posed for pictures and signed autographs.
LEITE Named MAC West Volleyball Player of the Week: Senior outside hitter Hayvolla Leite was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Volleyball Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 5. This marked Leite’s first career MAC weekly award. Leite led the Eagles to a 1-1 week, including a 3-2 victory over MAC West Division rival Northern Illinois University, Oct. 4. The senior outside hitter averaged 3.22 kills, 2.11 digs and 0.67 blocks per set and a .253 hitting percentage. In the win over the Huskies, Leite collected her first double-double of the season, as she tallied a career-best 22 kills and 19 digs to go along with her .280 hitting percentage.
AM I IN THE RIGHT PLACE?: The EMU Convocation Center sported a new look as the EMU volleyball team played host to Western Michigan, Oct. 3, and Northern Illinois, Oct. 4. Instead of playing on their traditional home floor, the Eagles were playing on the floor of the WNBA’s Detroit Shock. Due to a scheduling conflict with The Palace of Auburn Hills, the Convocation Center was used as the temporary home of the Shock during their playoff run. The Convo played host for two games of the Eastern Conference Championship versus the New York Liberty and then the WNBA Finals game versus the San Antonio Silver Stars. The Shock swept the Silver Stars in the best-of-five series, for their third championship in six seasons. It is believed that the pair of EMU matches were the first time a volleyball contest had ever taken place on the Shock’s floor. It also marked the first time a WNBA playoff game has been hosted on a college campus.
LEITE LIGHTS IT UP VERSUS NORTHERN ILLINOIS: In the win over the Huskies of Northern Illinois, Oct. 4, senior Hayvolla Leite collected her first double-double of the season, as she tallied a career-best 22 kills and 19 digs to go along with her .280 hitting percentage. Her 22 kills are tied for the 17th most in the EMU Convocation Center’s 10-year history and are the most by an EMU student-athlete since Becky Reenders posted 25 put-a-ways at Kent State University, Nov. 10, 2007.
BERRINGTON REACHES VICTORY NUMBER 300: Eastern Michigan University head volleyball coach Kim Berrington joined some select company Friday, Sept. 26, at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio. Berrington captured her 300th career victory as the Eagles swept the University of Toledo, 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 34-32), to open Mid-American Conference play. In 17 years of coaching, Berrington has posted a 303-265 record, including a 200-189 mark in 13 years as the head coach at EMU. Prior to coming to Eastern Michigan, Berrington recorded a 103-76 mark in four years at Concordia University in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Wolosiansky Named MAC West Volleyball Player of the Week: Senior outside hitter Jill Wolosiansky was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Volleyball Player of the Week for the period ending Sept 14. This marks Wolosiansky’s first career MAC weekly award.Wolosiansky turned in a stellar week as the Eagles posted a perfect 4-0 record, including capturing Georgia Southern University’s Bash in the Boro Invitational championship, Sept. 12-13. For her efforts, the Uniontown, Ohio native was named the MVP of the tournament with 2.42 kills, 1.83 digs and 0.83 blocks per set for the Eagles.
MVP HONORS FOR WOLOSIANSKY: Senior Jill Wolosiansky won MVP honors at the Georgia Southern University Bash in the, Sept. 12-13after leading her team to a tournament win. The senior from Uniontown, Ohio, recorded 37.0 points on the weekend with 29 kills and 10 blocks. Juniors Victoria Randolph and Kim Jarzynka were also named to the All-Tournament team.
