Eagles Look to Continue Winning Streak On the Road

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eagles of the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team are currently riding a three match winning streak, in which they have dispatched a trio of Mid-American Conference East oppositions. However, the Green and White returns to taking on stingy MAC West opponents this week at the University of Toledo and Ball State University.

Friday, Nov. 1, the Eagles will head south just 50 miles to Toledo for the shortest road trip of the 2013 campaign. EMU will take on the Rockets for the second time this season at 7 p.m., looking to sweep the season series. It is a different story with Ball State Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., as the Green and White is looking to avenge a loss in their first MAC match of the season, Sept. 27.

ON THE HORIZON: After this weekend's competition, the Eagles return home for the final home weekend of the season at the Convocation Center. Eastern will host Western Michigan University Friday, Nov. 8, before its 2013 swan song when it squares off with Northern Illinois University for Senior Day. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

ALL-TIME AGAINST THE OPPONENTS: EMU has played in a total of 126 matches combined against this week's opponents.

Eastern will see a pair of MAC West foes this week, first squaring off with Toledo Friday, Nov. 1. The Eagles and Rockets have met on the hardwood 61 times in the history of the two programs. Eastern holds a commanding 49-12 edge in the series. Earlier this year, EMU got the best of Toledo, diffusing the Rockets in four sets for its first conference win of 2013, Saturday, Sept. 28.

Ball State has been dominant in the all-time series against the Eagles, boasting a 43-22 record in the 65 matches between the pair. The Green and White opened conference play with the Cardinals this season and did not fare well. The Eagles fell in straight sets to Ball State at the Convocation Center Friday, Sept. 27.

RIDING A STREAK: The EMU volleyball team is riding a three-match winning streak heading into Friday's contest with Toledo. That is the most conference wins in a row since the Green and White took six straight matches during the 2011 season. Eastern started that streak against Friday's opposition, Oct. 7, and that streak lasted until Saturday, Oct. 22, when the Eagles took down Akron in straight sets. During that time frame, Eastern dropped just one set, and swept five-of-six matches, including two on the road.

SEVEN IN THE 1,000/1,000 CLUB: Senior Paige Roback recently amassed her 1,000th kill while donning the Green and White. The Maumee, Ohio native's first kill of the four set win over Toledo, Sept. 28, made her just the 12th ever student-athlete at Eastern to notch 1,000 kills in a career.

Roback also notched her 1,000th dig Saturday, Oct. 26, when she totaled 17 digs in a match against the University at Buffalo. With her performance against the Bulls, Roback became just the seventh volleyball student-athlete to accumulate both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

WANTING TO BE LUCKY NUMBER 13: Senior Erin Short is closing in on becoming the 13th player in EMU volleyball history to record 1,000 kills this season. The Orrville, Ohio native is just 30 kills shy of the 1,000 mark heading into the final six matches of the regular season. The outside hitter needs to average just five kills per match to surpass the 1,000 marker. She is averaging 2.28 kills per set this season, which, if playing only three sets per match, Short would end her career with 1,011 kills.

FILLING THE VOID: Following the untimely injury of redshirt sophomore Kelsey Jones, the Eagles have been attempting to fill the starting middle blocker position. EMU has turned to freshman Devon Murray and redshirt sophomore Katie Krasowski to do just that. Murray started the first five matches since the injury after which Krasowski has taken over the final three matches in that span.

BIG TIME BRINER: Since taking over as the Eagles' primary setter, Jill Briner has been putting up big numbers. The junior has been averaging 9.06 assists per set in the last four matches, while notching 2.35 kills, 2.35 digs and a team best 0.41 aces per frame. She has totaled 40 kills over the four match span and holds a .337 attack percentage in 89 tries.

KRASOWKSI'S ON A HOT STREAK: Since entering the lineup on a regular basis Thursday, Oct. 17 against Miami, middle blocker Katie Krasowski has been tearing up the competition on both sides of the court. In those four matches, the Oak Lawn, Ill. native has totaled 39 kills on 71 attempts, with just eight attack errors, good for a hitting percentage of .437. Hitting at that clip is the best of any Eagle over the last four matches. She set a career-best 14 kills against Bowling Green, Oct. 18, and the best hitting percentage of any Eagle this season, .833, when she went 10-for-12 on attack attempts in a three set win over Akron, Oct. 25.

Defensively, Krasowki has rejected at least two of the oppositions attack attempts in each match, including setting a career-high seven blocks against Bowling Green. She has totaled 19 blocks since entering the lineup and is averaging 1.19 per set, the best on the squad in that span.

IF IT STARTED TODAY: Heading into the final three weekends of the 2013 Mid-American Conference season, the Eagles, like the rest of the conference are jockeying for position and trying to nab one of the top-eight records in the conference to earn a trip to the 2013 MAC Volleyball Tournament in Geneva, Ohio at the SPIRE Institution.

If the season ended today, the Eagles would be the No. 8 seeded team in the conference. Despite a 4-6 conference record, the Green and White is tied with Buffalo and Kent State for the eighth best MAC record. According to MAC rules, the Eagles own the tiebreaker because they have the best winning percentage against the two teams. EMU is 1-0 in matches against UB and KSU, while Kent is 0-1 and Buffalo is 1-1.

Currently, Ball State would be the first seed, followed by Ohio as the second. In third would be Toledo and fourth is Bowling Green. The fifth spot would be owned by Western Michigan, sixth is Northern Illinois and seventh is Western Michigan.

SMITH'S STELLAR SEASON: Despite not leading the conference in digs per set, Corynne Smith is posting 5.21 digs per set to this point. If the Eagles were to play just three sets per match through the rest of the 2013 regular season and if her average held true, she would total 589 digs. That number would surpass Haley Stein for the fifth-most in a single season at Eastern Michigan. Stein holds the single season record with 757 in the 2010 season.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE MAC, AS USUAL: Over the last few years, EMU has been near the top of the Mid-American Conference in digs and this season is no different. The Eagles are currently leading the league in total digs with 1,599. The next closest is Northern Illinois who has notched just 1,440 in the same amount of sets, while the Green and White is currently posting 16.83 digs per set and Ball State is second in that category with 16.28 per game.

Corynne Smith is third in the conference with 5.21 digs per set, but is leading the conference in overall digs with 495. The leaders in the conference, Jenna Coates (Central Michigan) and Kelly Svoboda (Buffalo), are averaging 5.62 and 5.59 digs, respectively, but have accumulated 435 and 449.

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: The Eagles are not only leading the MAC in a few categories, but they are ranked in the top-50 nationally in a pair of them as well. EMU is ranked 39th overall in aces per set at 1.53, while it is 22nd overall in digs per set with 16.83.

Individually, redshirt-sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Jones is posting 1.31 blocks per set, which ranks at the 30th best total in the nation. Corynne Smith is currently ranked 19th overall in the country in digs per set. The sophomore is averaging 5.21 digs in her first season starting at libero for the Green and White.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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