Eastern Hosts Miami and Bowling Green for Cross-Divisional MACtion

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team is in the middle of its grueling 2014 Mid-American Conference schedule and has had a slow start. The Eagles (11-9) have been stymied by MAC opponents, posting a 2-4 record to open the conference slate. Eastern looks to right the ship as it welcomes in Miami University and Bowling Green State University this weekend.

The Eagles and RedHawks (10-8, 3-3 MAC) will tangle Friday, Oct. 17, at the Convocation Center in Ypsilanti at 7 p.m. Following its match with Miami, the Green and White will square off with the Falcons (4-14, 1-5 MAC) from Bowling Green. BGSU will take the court with Eastern at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18.

PUTTING THE TRAIN BACK ON THE TRACKS: After three weekends of Mid-American Conference play, the Eagles have seen their ups and downs. Eastern is 2-4 in MAC play, but look to put the train back on the tracks this weekend.

READING INTO THE REDHAWKS: The Eagles and Miami have met on the hardwood 50 times in the history of each program. EMU trails in that series 15-35, holding a 3-7 record versus the RedHawks in the last 10 matches. Last season, the Green and White fell to Miami in Oxford, Ohio, 2-3.

The RedHawks have began Mid-American Conference play 3-3, and sit tied for second in the MAC East Division behind Ohio. MU's offense is led by Olivia Rusek who has totaled 191 kills on the season, good for 2.89 per frame. The RedHawks run a two-setter offense as Meg Riley sets and attacks and Krista Brakauskas has racked up 419 assists on the season. Defnesively, Maeve McDonald leads Eastern with 304 digs, good for a 4.34 average, while Paige Hill leads the RedHawks at the net on the defensive side. Hill averages 0.99 blocks per frame, while thje next closest is Jenny Ingle at 0.61 per set.

FOLLOWING THE FALCONS: Bowling Green and Eastern Michigan have had a closely contested series history in 55 matches. The Eagles trail the Falcons 25-30, including a five-set victory last season in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Green and White have split the last six matches with BGSU.

Bowling Green comes into Saturday's contest riding the proverbial "struggle bus". The Falcons hold a 4-14 record this year, while owning a 1-5 record in Mid-American Conference play. Bowling Green's only MAC victory came against Kent State when the Falcons swept the Golden Flashes. Nicole Sumko is BGSU's offensive leader, averaging 3.41 kills per set, while Erica Fullenkamp sets up the Falcons' offense, posting just over nine assists per set. Defensively, Madeline Garda keeps the ball in the air, notching 4.15 digs per set. At the net, the Falcons have three student-athletes averaging 0.85 blocks per set or more. Kelsey Bates leads that charge posting 1.10 blocks per frame.

INCREASING HER AVERAGE: Senior setter Jill Briner averaged just 6.84 assists per set last season, totaling 862 on the year. With her 683 assists this year, she has already racked up 80.4 percent of her total from the 2013 campaign and is averaging 8.87 assists per game, good for eighth in the MAC.

LET'S PLAY THE REPEATER: Despite being one of the most talented libero's in the conference, Corynne Smith is having trouble breaking into her form from last season. This year, Smith has tallied a season-high 23 digs on three separate occasions, helping her to an average of just 4.51 digs per frame. Last season, the Norwalk, Ohio native tallied her career-high of 38 digs versus Miami, Oct. 17, 2013. Smith looks to repeat that performance Friday, Oct. 17, versus Miami, and help lift her dig average toward the 5.34 per frame that she totaled during the 2013 campaign.

STOUT DEFENSIVE PLAY: As a team, the Eagles have held teams to a .189 attack percentage this season. That number ranks third in the MAC. Eastern is completing that feat while averaging just 1.95 blocks and 16.10 digs per frame, adjusting attack attempts and forcing opponent errors.

IN MAC PLAY...: Eastern has been known as one of the top squads on the defensive side of the net in the Mid-American Conference and this season has been no different. In MAC contests EMU leads the conference in digs with 426 overall, good for a 17.75 per set average. Corynne Smith is tied for fifth in the conference in digs at 4.67 per set, while Megan Crawshaw's 1.08 blocks per frame are good for eighth in the MAC.

RESPECT FOR SMITH: After posting a .957 reception percentage and proving to be one of the best defensive players in the MAC during the 2013 season, Corynne Smith has earned some respect amongst the Eagles' opponents. The Norwalk, Ohio native averaged 5.09 reception attempts per set last season. This season, it seems as though the opposition is veering away from the libero as she is averaging just 4.51 reception attempts per game. However, when she is targeted, the 5-foot-3 junior has been stout, making just nine errors in 370 attempts, good for a .976 reception percentage.

MIDDLE ATTACK SQUAD: The EMU volleyball squad has shown quite the improvement in the middle this season, especially on the offensive side. The three primary middle blockers have accounted for just over 47 percent of the Eagles' kills, while last season the Green and White had just 30.4 percent of its kills come from the middles.

BLOCK BOOKS: Eastern senior middle blocker Megan Crawshaw has proven to be a force at the net defensively. In her first three seasons, Crawshaw recorded 278 block assists which ranked eighth in EMU's all-time records. This season, Crawshaw has recorded 66 block assists, ranking her third all-time in Eastern laurels with 344 block assists. She trails Eastern's leader Jill Hutton by 58. At her current average, Crawshaw needs to play in 60 more sets through the rest of the season to break Hutton's mark.

CLOSING IN ON 400: Head coach Kim Berrington is in her 19th season at Eastern Michigan and her 22nd overall as a collegiate volleyball coach. With that being said, the former South Carolina student-athlete has racked up 383 career wins including her time as the head coach at Concordia (Mich.).

AMONG THE CONFERENCE RANKS: Individually, multiple Eagles can be touted as the top student-athletes in their respective positions based on the statistics so far this season. From the setter position Jill Briner has proved to be a dual-threat. Not only is Briner eighth in the MAC in assists per contest (8.87 apg) but she ranks sixth in the league in attack percentage (.322).

Stacey Perinar is fifth in the MAC in kills per set (3.26), while Corynne Smith is averaging 4.51 digs per contest, which is tied for fifth in the conference. Finally, Natalie Folk 's average of 0.29 aces per game is good for eighth in the MAC.

Eastern Hosts Miami and Bowling Green for Cross-Divisional MACtion

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Players Mentioned

Jill Briner

Megan Crawshaw

Natalie Folk

Stacey Perinar

Corynne Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics