Eastern Hosts Central, Travels to Ohio for #MACtion this Week

Volleyball vs. Central Michigan \| at Ohio
Date	Thursday Oct. 25, 6 p.m. \| Saturday Oct. 27, 6 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center \| Athens, Ohio - Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. Central Michigan \| at Ohio
Video Broadcast	vs. Central Michigan \| at Ohio
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. & ATHENS, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team returns to #MACtion with its second split weekend of the season, hosting in-state rival Central Michigan University Oct. 25 at 6 p.m., and traveling to Ohio University Saturday, Oct. 27 for a 6 p.m. match.
   Thursday's contest between the Eagles and Chippewas will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Adam Jaksa bringing play-by-play and Kilee Goetz serving as analyst. Saturday's match at Ohio will also be available on ESPN+, with Jake Hromada and Carley Remmers on the call. Live stats will be available for both matches.

SERIES HISTORY: EMU has a long history against both Central Michigan and Ohio, having an all-time mark of 27-59 against the Chippewas, and a 16-39-1 record against the Bobcats.
   Eastern and Central squared off in Mount Pleasant Sept. 20 and after falling in the first set, the Green and White rallied off wins in the next three to take home the victory. The last time EMU defeated CMU in the Convocation Center was in head coach Kimi Olson's first season of 2015 when the Eagles won 3-1.
   Ohio has held a firm advantage in the series over the last 20 years, as EMU has won just two times since the 1998 season. Eastern's last win in the series was Oct. 18, 2001, and its last win in Athens was Oct. 1, 1998.

CLEAN SWEEP: For the first time since 2015 the Eagles swept the weekly MAC awards, redshirt junior Cassie Haut (Offensive), senior Alyssa LaFace (Defensive), redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski (Setter), and junior Riley Taylor (Setter) all earned Player of the Week honors. Eastern Michigan has now won a weekly MAC award 10 times in 2018, its most in program history.

STAYING HAUT: Redshirt junior Cassie Haut leads the Mid-American Conference in hitting percentage on the season with an incredible .384 average, and is hitting an outstanding .431 in conference play. She's also fourth in total blocks (86) and fifth in blocks per set (1.08).
   The Eagles' middle blocker was named the Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after 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 with a 13-kill performance while hitting a personal-record .812 for the match against Akron.

LA-FAH-CHAY IN YOUR FACE: Senior Alyssa LaFace earned her fourth Defensive Player of the Week honor of the season behind another stellar performance, putting up a total of 49 digs in Eastern's two games for a 7.00 digs per set mark. The Allen Park, Mich. native did not commit an error in 32 reception chances, and upped her season digs per set total to 6.13.
   The libero registered her sixth 30+ dig match of the season with her 35-dig output at Buffalo, Oct. 19. The libero needs just one more Player of the Week honor to match fellow libero Corynne Smith for most POW awards in a single season.

TWO SETTERS, ONE AWARD x THREE: For the third time in 2018, the 6-2 setting duo of redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor was honored by the Mid-American Conference as the collective Setter of the Week, Oct. 22.
   The pair has averaged 11.50 assists per set on the season, nearly one full assist more than the next closest setter. In addition, the duo has been even better in MAC play, averaging 12.05 assists per set.
   Rajewski and 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 Eagles' three-set rout of Akron.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan's superb 2018 season has the Eagles ranked near the top in almost every major statistical category in the Mid-American Conference. EMU leads in assists per set (13.26), kills per set (14.00), and opponent hitting percentage (.148), while coming in second in hitting percentage (.231), digs per set (18.64), and blocks per set (2.16). The Eagles' lowest team ranking is in service aces per set, where it is currently ranked sixth (1.29).
   The Green and White's 18.64 digs per set average ranks fifth in the NCAA while its .148 opponent attack percentage is good for seventh overall. Libero Alyssa LaFace's 6.13 digs per set is third nationally.

SURGING SMITH: Senior Jordan Smith is clearly saving her best performance for last, as the outside hitter is putting up the best numbers of her career in her final season in the Green and White. The Solon, Iowa native has 295 kills and a hitting percentage of .213, 80 points higher than her career average coming into the season (.132).
   The disparity is even greater when looking at the senior's numbers in Mid-American Conference play, as Smith has 126 kills with a .212 attack percentage in 2018, compared to her .120 career attack average in the MAC coming into the season.

HOUSTON, WE HAVE LIFT OFF: After having just one double-digit kill performance on the year through the first seven weeks of the season, sophomore April Houston put together three 10+ kill performances in the past four matches. The Minneapolis, Minn. native pounded out a season-high 14 against Miami, Oct. 12, finished with 12 against Bowling Green, Oct. 13, and added 11 at Buffalo, Oct. 19. She's also hit at a higher percentage in that stretch, upping her season average from .215 to .243.

STREFLING THE DEFENSIVE WIZ: After proving herself as one of the top attacking freshmen in the MAC in 2017, sophomore Franki Strefling has upped her game on the defensive side of the ball in 2018. The Niles, Mich. native has 13 double-digit dig performances this season, compared to 10 a season ago. The outside hitter has put up 11-or-more digs in each of the past five matches.

LIVE FROM YPSILANTI, ITS THURSDAY NIGHT!: In the three and a half seasons under head coach Kimi Olson, Eastern Michigan has a record of 4-5 overall when playing on Thursdays. The Eagles are 3-4 against Central Michigan, 1-0 against Buffalo, and 0-1 against Western Michigan.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern wraps up the home portion of its 2018 schedule with a pair of matches against MAC West foes. The Eagles welcome the University of Toledo to the Convocation Center Friday, Nov. 2, and then host Ball State University Saturday, Nov. 3. Both matches will begin at 7 p.m.

Eastern Hosts Central, Travels to Ohio for #MACtion this Week

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Players Mentioned

Cassie Haut

April Houston

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Franki Strefling

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics