Volleyball Hosts Toledo and Ball State in Home Weekend Finale

Volleyball vs. Central Michigan \| at Ohio
Date	Friday Nov. 2, 7 p.m. \| Saturday Nov. 3, 7 p.m.
Venue	Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	vs. Toledo \| vs. Ball State
Video Broadcast	vs. Toledo \| vs. Ball State
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com)- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team wraps up its final home weekend of the season with a pair of matches against Mid-American Conference West Division foes. EMU hosts the University of Toledo in the Convocation Center Friday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m., and welcomes Ball State University to town for Senior Night Saturday, Nov. 3, also at 7 p.m.
   Friday's contest between the Eagles and Rockets will be broadcast on ESPN3, with Greg Steiner bringing play-by-play and Kilee Goetz serving as analyst. Saturday's match will be available on ESPN+, with Adam Jaksa joining Goetz on the call. Live stats will be available for both matches.

SERIES HISTORY: Eastern has a long history against both Ball State and Toledo, dating back to the inception of the EMU volleyball program. The Eagles and Rockets began play in Eastern Michigan's inaugural volleyball season of 1976, and have played one another in all but the 1982 season. EMU's first match against BSU came nearly 40 years ago, with the Cardinals coming away with the 3-0 victory Sept. 30, 1978. The two have played at least once in every season since.
   EMU already defeated UT this season, triumphing 3-0 in the Glass City. Redshirt junior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Central Catholic) led the way with 14 kills, while sophomore Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan) added 11 and senior Jordan Smith tacked on 10. The Eagles hit .313 as a team and held the Rockets to a .189 mark.
   The Green and White suffered a 3-0 setback to Ball State when the two battled earlier this season, with junior Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) leading EMU with 11 kills. Eastern's last win over the Cardinals came in coach Kimi Olson's at the helm in 2015, defeating BSU 3-1 in Muncie.

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 (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) put together four 10+ kill performances in the past seven matches. The Minneapolis, Minn. native pounded out a season-high 14 against Miami, Oct. 12, finished with 12 against Bowling Green, Oct. 13, added 11 at Buffalo, Oct. 19, and had 10 against Central Michigan, Oct. 25. She's also hit at a higher percentage in that stretch, upping her season average from .215 to .249.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan's 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 (13.22), kills per set (13.92), and opponent hitting percentage (.153), while coming in second in hitting percentage (.227), digs per set (18.48), and fourth in blocks per set (2.11).
   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 (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) 5.99 digs per set is third nationally.

STREAKY: The Eagles have had a streaky season to date, winning three games in a row on four separate occasions. The Green and White started MAC play 5-1, but have since seen their record even out at 6-6 thanks to a 1-5 streak.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED?: Over the first six games of MAC play, Eastern Michigan had a .267 attack percentage while holding opponents to a .137 mark. They also outpaced opponents in blocks per set (2.03 to 1.52), service aces per set (1.20 to 0.60), and kills per set (15.50 to 10.75).
   Since then, Eastern has attacked at just a .196 clip and their opponents have increased to .177. Though still holding a smaller advantage in kills per set (14.09 to 12.57), the Eagles have been seen their fortunes reversed in both blocks per set (1.87 to 2.39) and service aces per set (0.91 to 1.26).

CLEAN SWEEP: Eastern Michigan swept the weekly MAC awards Oct. 22, for the first time since 2015. 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 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 .371 average, and is hitting an outstanding .399 in conference play. She's also fifth in total blocks (86) and blocks per set (1.01).
   The Eagles' middle blocker has won MAC West Offensive Player of the Week two times on the season.

LA-FAH-CHAY IN YOUR FACE: Senior Alyssa LaFace has won four Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2018, and needs just one more to match fellow libero Corynne Smith for most POW awards in a single season.
   The libero registered her sixth 30+ dig match of the season with her 35-dig output at Buffalo, Oct. 19, and currently ranks third in the nation in digs per set (5.99)

SURGING SMITH: Senior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) 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.

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 15 double-digit dig performances this season, compared to 10 a season ago. The outside hitter has averaged 3.18 digs per set over the last six games.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern finishes the regular season with a road trip west to take on Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., Friday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., and caps off the trip with a match in DeKalb, Ill. against Northern Illinois University Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.

Volleyball Hosts Toledo and Ball State in Home Weekend Finale

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Players Mentioned

Ariel Hamby

Cassie Haut

April Houston

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Franki Strefling

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics