Eagles Set to Close Out Regular Season on the Road

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vs. Ball State: Live Stats/Live Video

vs. Toledo: Live Stats/Live Video

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will close out its regular season this weekend when it travels to Ball State University, Nov. 13, and the University of Toledo, Nov. 14. The Eagles (12-15, 4-10 MAC) look to grab its fifth and sixth wins of the Mid-American Conference season, in hopes of catching the currently seventh and eighth-seeded University at Buffalo and Central Michigan University.

The Green and White head to Muncie, Ind. to square off with the Cardinals (13-15, 7-7 MAC) in a Friday night matchup at Worthen Arena. The EMU vs. BSU match will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and begins at 7 p.m.

The Eagles will then flock to the Buckeye State Saturday for a contest with its MAC West counterpart, the Rockets (5-22, 2-12 MAC) at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. Eastern will hit the court at 7 p.m. to square off with UT. The match will also be broadcast live on ESPN3.

CATCHING UP ON THE CARDS: Eastern Michigan, unfortunately, has not had the same
success against Ball State as it has versus Toledo. The Eagles trail the all-time series with Ball State, 24-45. Earlier this year, the Green and White dispatched of the Cardinals in quick fashion, defeating BSU, 3-1, Oct. 10.

Despite winning four-straight from Oct. 23-31, the Cardinals have dropped their last two decisions to the top-two teams in the MAC West, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. Jenna Spadaford is the leader of the BSU offense, averaging 9.70 assists per game, good for fourth in the Mid-American Conference, while Kati Vasalakis is the captain of the defensive line, posting 4.33 digs per frame, which ranks eighth in the MAC. In addition to Vasalakis, Kelly Hopkins is a force at the net, posting 1.01 blocks per frame, the seventh-most in the MAC.

DISMANTLING THE ROCKETS: Eastern Michigan has owned the series with the Rockets, dropping just 13 matches in 66 contests. With a dominant 53-13 lead in the overall series with Toledo, the Eagles took both matches with UT a season ago. Most recently, the Green and White defeated Toledo, 3-0, earlier this season at the Convocation Center, Oct. 9, and looks to complete the regular season sweep for the second-straight season.

Toledo comes into Saturday evening's matchup struggling. With just a 5-22 record, the Rockets are currently on a two-match losing streak, with their last win coming against Akron, Oct. 31. Toledo has yet to beat a team from the MAC West as its only two conference wins have come against Akron and Bowling Green. Saige Thomas leads the Rockets in kills with 2.59 per frame, while Rachel Vidourek ranks sixth in the MAC in htting percentage (.314). Alex Hines posts 9.13 assists per contest, good for eighth in the conference, while Maurissa Leonard anchors the defense with 4.62 digs per set, good for fifth in the MAC.

ONE WAY IN: The Eagles are currently on the outside looking into the MAC Tournament. To make their way to Athens, Ohio, the Green and White will have to sweep this weekend, while Central Michigan must go 0-2. This would give EMU a 5-5 record in MAC West matches, while CMU will have gone 4-6 in conference tilts, giving the Eagles the No. 8 seed in the 2015 MAC Volleyball Tournament.

JUST ANOTHER ONE FOR THE MANTLE: Corynne Smith was again named the Mid-American Conference Volleyball West Defensive Player of the Week, Nov. 10. The honor marks the 10th of Smith's career and the fourth time this season that she has earned the award.
   Smith grabbed a season-best 37 digs versus Central Michigan, Nov. 5, before notching 19 more at Kent State, Nov. 7. In total, Smith posted 56 digs on the weekend, good for seven per set. The mark of seven per frame is 1.40 more per set than the MAC leader, and it would rank No. 1 overall in the country as well. In addition, the senior made just two receiving errors on the weekend, notching a .965 reception percentage.

THEN THERE WERE THREE: Senior libero Corynne Smith has put together an extremely successful career at Eastern Michigan. Smith is already third on the all-time digs list. Smith has recorded 2,039 digs for her career, making her just the third in school history to record 2,000-or-more digs. The other two Eagles to complete this feat are all-time digs leader Ashley Cudney (2,198) and Haley Stein (2,158).

AMONG THE EMU BLOCKING ELITE: A pair of EMU senior middle blockers have seen their numbers rise the charts of the all-time block assists leaders in Eastern Michigan volleyball history during their careers. Kelsey Jones and Katie Krasowski are currently ranked in the top-15 in EMU history for block assists. Krasowski has 220, putting her at 12th all-time, while Jones' 211 ranks as 14th in Eastern Michigan laurels.

ACING THE COMPETITION: Senior outside hitter Stacey Perinar has been an extremely effective offensive weapon for the Eagles and it hasn't been solely at the net. The Channahon, Ill. native has recorded 76 aces in her career, which is just one away from joining the top-15 list of all-time at Eastern Michigan. In addition, Corynne Smith's 72 aces is just five shy of that mark.

ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS: It comes as no surprise following her successful career at EMU, that senior Corynne Smith will go down as one of the best to pass through EMU, including her playing time. With 457 sets played, Smith is currently eighth all-time.

ANOTHER HISTORIC SEASON: Eastern Michigan libero Corynne Smith continues to etch her name in the EMU record book, and the 2015 campaign has been more of the same. Smith currently has 547 digs on the year. That number is good for 10th in a single season. She is in some slim company as the senior is just one-of-two EMU liberos to have three seasons which rank in the top-10 single season dig totals all-time. The only other Eagle to complete that feat is Haley Stein, who owns the No. 1, 3 and 6 spots, while Smith has posted the No. 2, 7 and 10 positions. With two matches remaining, Smith should move at least two more spots up the list as the next two numbers are 554 and 558.

THE EAGLES ON ESPN3: The Eastern Michigan volleyball team will again appear on ESPN3 this weekend when the Eagles travel to Muncie, Ind. and Toledo, Ohio. In their first seasons producing in-house ESPN3 productions, both Ball State and Toledo will be producing live action over ESPN3. Unfortunately, this season when the Green and White have played on ESPN3, the Eagles are 0-3.

A LOOK AT THE CONFERENCE LEADERS: As of the most recent full statistical release by the MAC, the EMU volleyball team is near the top in multiple categories. In fact, Eastern ranks second in a handful of categories. The Eagles are second in opponent hitting percentage (.198) and digs per game (17.02).

Individually, Stacey Perinar is second in the the conference in kills per set at 3.66 per frame, while Corynne Smith is second in the MAC in digs per set (5.36). Cassie Haut ranks ninth in the conference in blocks per set at 0.89.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: EMU's senior libero, Corynne Smith, has been one of the top libero's in the conference since taking over the spot in 2013. In fact, Smith has become one of the best in the NCAA. She is averaging 5.36 digs per set which is 13th in the country. In addition to Smith's success, fellow senior Stacey Perinar has made her way onto the national scene as well. Perinar also 14th in country in attacks per set.

Overall, the Eagles have become well-known for their defensive prowess. As a team, the Green and White's 17.02 digs per set is the 24th-best in the country.

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Players Mentioned

Cassie Haut

Kelsey Jones

Katie Krasowski

Stacey Perinar

Corynne Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics