EMU Volleyball Opens NCAA Tournament at No. 3 Illinois

Volleyball at NCAA Tournament
Date	Friday, Nov. 30, 8 p.m.
Venue	Champaign, Ill. - Huff Hall
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	at No. 3 Illinois
Video Broadcast	Big 10 Network Plus
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team made history by winning the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament, earning the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles' reward is to take on the No. 3-ranked University of Illinois Friday, Nov. 30 in Huff Hall at 7 p.m. CT.
   The Eagles' match against the Fighting Illini will be broadcast on Big Ten Network Plus. Additional coverage can be found by following @EMUVolleyball on Twitter, and through live stats at EMUEagles.com.

A RUN FOR THE AGES: EMU took home its first Mid-American Conference Tournament crown by taking down No. 8 Kent State and then upsetting No. 4 Buffalo, No. 1 Bowling Green, and No. 2 Miami on consecutive days. It was the first time since 2014 that a team had to play all four days to win the MAC title (No. 5 Western Michigan) and tied for the second-lowest seed to ever earn the NCAA automatic bid (No. 8 Central Michigan, 2011).

BRINGING HOME THE HARDWARE: Not only was the MAC Tournament championship the first in EMU volleyball history, but the team racked up its most individual postseason awards in program history.
   Redshirt junior Cassie Haut was an All-MAC First Team member, earned a spot on the MAC All-Tournament team, and brought home MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Seniors Jordan Smith and Alyssa LaFace were each named All-MAC First Team and garnered spots on the MAC All-Tournament team.

SHARING THE GLORY: Though redshirt junior Cassie Haut was named MAC Tournament MVP, the honor could have been bestowed on any number of players through the tournament.
   Senior Jordan Smith led the team with 66 kills and 4.12 kills per set in the four games in Oxford, and also put up 30 digs. Sophomore April Houston had 36 kills and attacked at a .325 clip while leading the team in blocks with 16. Senior libero Alyssa LaFace had 95 digs for a 5.94 digs per set average, and redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski  had 7.81 assists per set playing as one of the 6-2 setters.

PICK YOUR POISON: Eastern showed its flexibility as a team in its run to the MAC Tournament Championship, winning each match in very different ways.
   Running a 5-1 against No. 8 Kent State, EMU hit just .203 as a team but had nine total blocks and held the Golden Flashes to just .089 hitting. In the next game against No. 4 Buffalo running a 6-2, the Eagles out-slugged the Bulls .324 to .296.
   Facing the tournament's top seed, Eastern was able to stymie Bowling Green's offense, holding them to a .114 attack percentage while acing the league's best defense nine times. The title game saw the Eagles out-dig (95 to 82), out-kill (66 to 57), and out-ace (8 to 5) defending champion Miami.

SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Michigan has never faced the University of Illinois in its 42-year history, and the Fighting Illini's No. 3 ranking by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is the highest ranked opponent the Eagles have ever faced.

THE MAC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: With Eastern Michigan's first MAC Tournament Championship, it becomes the eighth program to play in the NCAA postseason.
   The last Mid-American Conference school to pull off a win in the first round was Bowling Green in 2012 when it upset Yale, 3-2. The farthest a team from the MAC has made it is a bit tricky. Western Michigan made it to the final eight in 1983, but only 28 teams made the tournament that year. The Broncos made it to the Sweet 16 in 2008 before falling to eventual-champion Penn State, 3-0.
   Perhaps the MAC's banner year came in 2011 when four teams made the NCAA postseason (Ball State, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan).

STAYING HAUT: Redshirt junior Cassie Haut was a consistent force throughout the 2018 season, finishing with 386 kills, 3.24 kills per set, and a Mid-American Conference-leading .377 attack percentage. The Monroe, Mich. native earned All-MAC First Team honors, as well as MAC Tournament MVP and MAC All-Tournament team.
   Haut's four-game stretch in the MAC Tournament saw her finish with 65 kills and hitting at a .416 clip. She added 16 digs, 11 total blocks, and a team-leading eight aces.

ALL TIME AGAINST THE BIG TEN: EMU has compiled an all-time record of 23-68 against schools from the Big Ten Conference, with 71 of those games coming against the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.
   The Green and White's last victory over a B1G opponent was in 2010 when they defeated Michigan State, 3-2, as part of the Michigan State Tournament.

MAC IN THE POSTSEASON: In addition to Eastern making the NCAA Tournament, Ball State University, Bowling Green State University, and Miami University all accepted bids to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

SURGING SMITH: Senior Jordan Smith clearly saved her best performance for last, as the outside hitter put up the best numbers of her career in her final season in the Green and White. The Solon, Iowa native has 445 kills and a hitting percentage of .219, 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 had 205 kills with a .223 attack percentage in 2018, compared to her .120 career attack average in the MAC coming into the season.

ALL TIME VS. THE LAND OF LINCOLN: The Eagles have faced 10 different schools from the state of Illinois in history, having compiled a record of 47-51. Of course, MAC West foe Northern Illinois is the majority of those games (26-30 all-time), with the second-most games coming against Eastern Illinois (5-6 all-time). EMU has also taken on Chicago State (4-1), Illinois-Chicago (4-4), Illinois State (0-1), Loyola Chicago (2-2), Northwestern (0-1), Southern Illinois (2-3), and SIU Edwardsville (1-1).

LA-FAH-CHAY IN YOUR FACE: Senior libero Alyssa LaFace's 718 digs in 2018 is the second-most in a single season in EMU history, trailing Haley Stein by 39. The Allen Park, Mich. native currently ranks fifth in EMU history with 1,666 career digs. LaFace won four Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2018, and fell just one shy of former EMU libero Corynne Smith for most POW awards in a single season.
   The libero registered her seventh 30+ dig match of the season with her 31-dig output against Miami in the MAC Tournament Championship, Nov. 18, and currently ranks seventh in the nation in digs per set (5.84).

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 (13.35), kills per set (14.16), and opponent hitting percentage (.162), while coming in second in hitting percentage (.236), digs per set (18.26), and fifth in aces per set (1.30).
   The Green and White's 18.26 digs per set average ranks seventh in the NCAA while its 13.35 assists per set is good for 15th overall. Libero Alyssa LaFace's 5.84 digs per set is seventh in the country.

EMU VS TOURNAMENT TEAMS: Eastern Michigan has only played one other team from the 2018 NCAA Tournament field, a 3-0 loss to Michigan, Sept. 1.
   The Eagles have played five games against teams bound for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, going 0-1 against St. John's, and 1-1 against Ball State, Bowling Green, and Miami.

RECORD-SETTING RAJEWSKI: Redshirt senior setter Mallory Rajewski became just the fifth player in the 42-year history of the program to amass 3,000+ assists and 1,000+ digs in her career.
   The Midland, Mich. native set the modern-era record (2008-present) for assists in a three-set match (47 vs. Northern Illinois, Oct. 5), and also tied the modern-era mark for assists in a four-set match (56 at Northern Illinois, Nov. 10).

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 six 10+ kill performances over the final 12 matches. The Minneapolis, Minn. native had 36 kills and a .325 attack percentage during the Eagles' MAC Tournament run, and also led the team in total blocks with 16 during that stretch.

STREFLING THE DEFENSIVE WIZ: After proving herself as one of the top attacking freshmen in the MAC in 2017, sophomore Franki Strefling upped her game on the defensive side of the ball in 2018. The Niles, Mich. native had 20 double-digit dig performances this season, compared to 10 a season ago. The outside hitter put up a double-digit dig efforts in each MAC Tournament game, including a personal-best 23 in EMU's upset win over No. 1 Bowling Green

HANDY HAMBY: Eastern Michigan saw a dramatic increase in production from junior right side Ariel Hamby, who pounded out 224 kills in 2018 after having 140 career kills in her first two seasons.
   The Oak Park, Ill. native also had more total blocks in 2018 (70) than her first two years combined (58), had a 1.87 kills per set mark, and set a new career-high for kills with 13 against Western Michigan, Oct. 6.

TOP ROOKIE: Freshman Julia Fisher was the top first-year player for the Eagles in 2018, finishing with 130 kill, 53 total blocks, 45 digs, and a 1.20 kills per set average.

NEVER SAY NEVER: The highest seed to lose in the first round since seeding 1-16 began in 2000 was in 2010 when Missouri beat No. 5 Northern Iowa. The Tigers would go on to lose in the regional semifinal to No. 12 Duke.

ON THE HORIZON: Should Eastern Michigan pull off the upset of No. 3 Illinois, the Eagles would play the winner of the University of Dayton and University of Louisville matchup Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Julia Fisher

Ariel Hamby

Cassie Haut

April Houston

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Franki Strefling

Eastern Michigan Athletics