Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eagles Sweep MAC West Players of the Week
10/22/2018 4:55:00 PM | Volleyball
Eastern's sweep of the weekly awards marks the first occasion since 2015
CLEVELAND, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - For the first time since 2015, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team has swept the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week honors. Redshirt junior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) earned her second MAC West Offensive Player of the Week honor, senior Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) was named the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, and redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) and junior Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) were collectively named MAC West Setter of the Week, the league office announced Monday, Oct. 22.
Redshirt junior Cassie Haut was a stalwart on the offensive side of the ball for Eastern in its 1-1 weekend, pounding out 30 total kills and hitting a whopping .500 in seven sets. The Monroe, Mich. native had 17 kills while hitting .344 in the weekend's opener at Buffalo, and followed that up with a 13-kill performance while hitting a personal-record .812 for the match. Haut upped her already-MAC-best attack percentage to .384 over the two matches, and now has her points per set mark at 3.84 for the season.
Senior Alyssa LaFace had another stellar performance for Eastern Michigan, putting up a total of 49 digs in its two games for a 7.00 digs per set mark. The Allen Park, Mich. native did not commit a single error in 32 reception chances, upped her season digs per set total to 6.13, and tallied her sixth 30+ dig game of the season with her 35-dig output against Buffalo. The libero is third in the country in digs per set on the season with a 6.13 mark.
Redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor orchestrated the Eagles' offense beautifully over the weekend, dolling out a combined 52 assists in the four-set loss at Buffalo, and distributing 36 in the Green and White's three-set rout of Akron. The two averaged 12.57 assists for the weekend, upping their season average to 12.02, but were also able to contribute on the offense with the attack, finishing with 1.00 kills per set while hitting .429. The pair also provided stout defense, putting up 5.43 digs per set. Overall, the two contributed to a weekend in which EMU hit .268 as a whole, including an outstanding .354 output at Akron.
Eastern Michigan continues conference play with its annual Dig Pink match Thursday, Oct. 25 against in-state foe Central Michigan, beginning at 6 p.m.
