Eastern Hits the Road to Begin MAC Play

Volleyball at Toledo & Ball State
Date:	September 23-24
Location:	Toledo, Ohio - Savage Arena \| Muncie, Ind. - Worthen Arena
Weekly Notes:	EMU Notes
Live Stats:	vs. Toledo \| vs.Ball State
Live on ESPN3:	vs. Toledo \| vs.Ball State

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- After finishing up the non-conference portion of its schedule by co-hosting the Michigan Challenge, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team begins Mid-American Conference play this weekend on the road against a pair of MAC West foes. Last weekend, the Eagles (5-8) went just 1-2, but their one victory was a big one. In its home opener, the Green and White faced off with Southeastern Conference opponent, Auburn University, Saturday, Sept. 17. Eastern knocked off the Tigers, 3-1, at the Convocation Center.

EMU will hit the road this weekend to begin #MACtion. First, the Eagles square off with the University of Toledo, Friday night, Sept. 23, before traveling to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State University, Saturday evening, Sept. 24. Eastern's match at Savage Arena with the Rockets (7-5) will begin at 7 p.m., while EMU and the Cardinals (4-10) will hit the hardwood at Worthen Arena, Saturday night at 7 p.m. Both of this weekend's matches can be watched live on ESPN 3 or on your mobile device through the WatchESPN app.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS: Heading into MAC play, the Eagles will begin to faceoff with more familiar opponents from here on out in the regular season. The Green and White will have taken on this weekend's competition a total of 137 times through the course of the program's history.

ROCKET SCIENTISTS: Eastern Michigan will begin MAC play versus the Toledo Rockets Friday, Sept. 23, inside Savage Arena. It appears that EMU has turned their success into a certain science against UT. The overall series stands at 54-13 in favor of EMU. Last season, Eastern continued to add to its lopsided stranglehold on the series tally by winning both matches between the two MAC West squads. Those victories included the last match of the 2015 campaign, when the Green and White secured a spot into the 2015 MAC Tournament, knocking off Toledo, 3-2, at Savage Arena.

BATTLE OF THE BIRDS: The Green and White has not fared so well versus the Cardinals in the series history. In fact, Ball State holds a 45-25 edge over Eastern Michigan in the 70-match tally between the two. Despite their struggles versus BSU, the Eagles have won the last three contests between the two squads, including a victory last year in the last weekend of the season, 3-1, at Worthen Arena. Without victories over Ball State and Toledo at the end of the season, the Green and White would have missed out on grabbing the eighth seed in the MAC Tournament.

ROAD WOES: Like most teams in intercollegiate athletics, EMU has had much less success on the road. So far this season, the Eagles are 0-5 in true road matches. In the history of the program, the Green and White holds a 182-262 overall record away from Ypsilanti. In addition to that number, Eastern Michigan holds just a 99-161 mark away from the Convo. Last year, EMU went 5-8 in true road matches.

COMFORTS OF THE CONVO: Since beginning play in 1976, Eastern Michigan has compiled a 226-165 record on their home court, highlighted by a 115-78 mark since moving to the Convocation Center in 1998.

TAMING THE TIGERS: For the first time in over 20 years, the Eastern Michigan volleyball team defeated a squad from the very successful Southeastern Conference when the Eagles took down the Auburn Tigers, 3-1, Saturday, Sept. 17. EMU had not won a match versus the SEC since Sept. 8, 1996, when EMU took down the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. at a tournament hosted by the Bulldogs. The last time the Eagles had defeated a team from the 'Power Five' conferences is when the Green and White defeated Pac-12 member, Utah, Sept. 9, 2011.

BLOCKS ON BLOCKS ON BLOCKS: In her first season as a starter for Kimi Olson's squad, junior Samantha Falco is making a difference at the net. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker has racked up a team-high 35.0 blocks this season and is positioned third in the Mid-American Conference in that category.

WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Eastern posted a 1-2 record when it co-hosted the Michigan Challenge last weekend. The Eagles first went across Washtenaw County to square off with the No. 22-ranked Wolverines and fell, 3-0. EMU then returned to host a pair of matches at the Convocation Center, defeating Auburn, 3-1, before falling the following day to Colgate, 3-0.

LOCKING DOWN A LIBERO: The EMU volleyball program saw one of the best liberos in program history graduate following the 2015 campaign. Corynne Smith finished her Eagle career with 2,119 digs, ranking third all-time in Eastern Michigan record book. Head coach Kimi Olson had an opportunity to give several players time at the spot over the first two weekends and looks like sophomore Alyssa LaFace has taken the lead in the race for the starting job. LaFace has appeared in 44 sets, the most of any defensive specialist on the squad and has registered a team-high 159 digs, along with a squad-best 3.61 digs per set.

ON THE HORIZON: After opening Mid-American Conference play on the road this weekend, Sept. 23-24, the Eagles will return home to begin the home portion of their MAC schedule, Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Next weekend, the Green and White will first host Western Michigan, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m., before the Huskies of Northern Illinois head to Ypsilanti the following evening for a 5 p.m. match at the Convocation Center.

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Players Mentioned

Samantha Falco

Alyssa LaFace

Corynne Smith

Eastern Michigan Athletics