EMU Volleyball Returns to Action at Michigan Invite

Volleyball at University of Michigan Invitational
Date	Saturday, Sept. 1 - 12 p.m. & 7 p.m. \| Sunday, Sept. 2 - 1 p.m.
Venue	Ann Arbor, Mich. - Cliff Keen Arena \| Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	Live Stats - AT Michigan \| vs. Cleveland State & Harvard
ESPN+	Cleveland State \| Harvard
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team looks to continue its strong start to the 2018 campaign with a trio of games as part of the Michigan Invitational. EMU will serve as co-hosts with the University of Michigan, while also welcoming Cleveland State University and Harvard University to Washtenaw County for the weekend.

The Eagles kick off action in Ann Arbor with a 12 p.m. match against No. 23 Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 1, at the University of Michigan. The Green and White then open up play in the Convocation Center with a 7 p.m. match against Cleveland State. Eastern wraps up the weekend with "Sundae Funday" in the Convo, playing Harvard University at1 p.m., and hosting an ice cream party after the match.

SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Michigan has a long history against Washtenaw County foe Michigan, holding a 10-41 record against the Wolverines all-time. EMU and U-of-M last played in Head Coach Kimi Olson's first season, with the Maize and Blue sweeping the match. Eastern's last win over Michigan was Sept. 7, 1994, when the Green and White took a 3-1 victory by scores of 15-12, 8-15, 16-14, and 15-9.

Eastern's last win over a Big Ten opponent was Sept. 10, 2010, when the Eagles captured the Spartan Invitational crown with a 3-2 victory over Michigan State.
Saturday night's opponent, Cleveland State, also holds a lead in the all-time series, as Eastern Michigan narrowly trails, 9-11. The Eagles' last win was a 3-2 defeat in Cleveland, Sept. 16, 2003. CSU has won five straight matches in the series.

The final match of the weekend pits Eastern against Harvard for the first time in program history.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: After a successful weekend on the court at the St. John's Kaiser Classic, Eastern Michigan returns home as the Mid-American Conference leader in hitting percentage (.279), opponent hitting percentage (.135), and service aces (22).
Individually, redshirt junior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) leads the MAC in hitting percentage with a .466 mark. Sophomore April Houston (Minneapolis, Minn.-Southwest) is second in the conference in service aces (seven), and total blocks (12), while redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) is second in assists per set (10.64).

The 2017 season saw the Green and White lead the league in blocks per set (2.46), assists (1,558), total attacks (4,831), and total blocks (320.0).

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior setter Mallory Rajewski spent the 2017 season chasing 2,000 assists, becoming just the eighth player in EMU history to pass the mark and sits in seventh place in Eastern laurels with 2,281 assists. The Midland, Mich. native set a personal-best for assists in a season with 891 last year, and needs 1,105 assists to move into the top five all-time.

ACCOLADES FOR SMITH: Senior outside hitter Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) made good on her Preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Team honor with an outstanding showing at the St. John's Kaiser Classic. The Solon, Iowa native posted double-digit kill efforts in three of the four matches, finishing the weekend with 47 kills, 25 digs, four blocks, four assists, and a strong .273 attack percentage. For her efforts, Smith was named to the Kaiser Classic All-Tournament Team.

CHASING 1,000: After two consecutive years leading the team in kills, senior Jordan Smith now sits at 932 for her career. Not only is 1,000 kills in sight, but the Solon, Iowa native also needs just 269 digs to reach the 1,000 digs plateau. She would become just the sixth player in Eastern history to join the 1,000 kill - 1,000 dig club.

MILESTONE ALERT: With senior libero Alyssa LaFace's (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) 33-dig performance against St. John's Universty Aug. 25, the Allen Park, Michigan native topped the 1,000 dig plateau for her career.
While playing primarily at libero over the four games in New York City, LaFace averaged 5.67 digs per set, good for the fourth-best mark in the Mid-American Conference. In 2017, the libero put up 5.12 digs per set and finished with 486 digs on the season.

HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU?: Redshirt senior setter Mallory Rajewski was named to the St. John's Kaiser Classic All-Tournament team after leading Eastern Michigan to a 3-1 record to start the season.

The Midland, Mich. native set a new career-high for assists in a three-set match, distributing 40 in the Eagles' sweep of Central Connecticut State. The total ties the mark for fifth-most assists in a three-set match since the modern statistical era began (2008). Rajewski added 15 assists against the Blue Devils and another 17 against tournament host St. John's, giving her double-doubles in two of the three matches she played in on the weekend.

STAYING HAUT: Redshirt junior Cassie Haut was named to the St. John's Kaiser Classic All-Tournament team after posting double-digit kill efforts in all three matches she played in and averaging 3.64 kills per set at an exceptional .466 attack percentage.

The Monroe, Mich. native set a new personal-best in terms of attack percentage with her .652 mark (15 kills - 0 errors - 23 attempts) against Central Connecticut State, topping her mark she set against UT Martin during the 2015 season (12 kills - 0 errors - 19 attacks, .632%). Haut also averaged 4.0 blocks per match (1.09 per set), turning aside a season-high five in the Eagles' five-set loss to the Big East's St. John's University.

WELCOME BACK FRANKI: The opening weekend marked the return of sophomore Franki Strefling (Niles, Mich.-Buchanan), who had her 2017 rookie campaign cut short due to an ACL injury suffered Oct. 7 against Ohio University. The Niles, Mich. native set a new career-high for kills in a match with 20 against St. John's University, Aug. 25, while also posting two double-doubles on the weekend.

HOUSTON WE HAVE LIFT OFF: Sophomore April Houston kicked off the 2018 campaign with a strong showing at the St. John's Kaiser Classic, averaging 1.50 kills per set and a team-high 1.17 blocks per set mark. Her 14 total blocks over the four game stretch is second in the Mid-American Conference.

The Minneapolis, Minn. native also had a tremendous performance from the service line, finishing the weekend with seven aces (0.58 per set), good for second-best in the conference.

LID LIFTERS: Eastern's 3-1 start to the season is the best under Kimi Olson and the school's best since 2012. The Eagles won its first nine sets of the season, also the best during Olson's reign.

In fact, EMU has not left a season-opening tournament with a losing record since the 2009 season. On two occasions, the Green and White went 4-0 (2010 and 2012).

DELAYED DEBUT: After sitting out the entire 2017 season, redshirt freshman Carissa Spalt (Tucson, Ariz.-Sabino) had two kills and a block assist in her Eastern Michigan debut against Manhattan college at the St. John's Kaiser Classic. The Tucson, Ariz. native is the first player in EMU history from the Grand Canyon State and plays outside hitter.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan hits the road for its next eight matches, starting with a mid-week journey to Fort Wayne, Ind., Sept. 4, to take on Purdue Fort Wayne at 6 p.m.

The Eagles then travel to Williamsburg, Va. for a trio of games against Norfolk State University, Savannah State University, and William and Mary College, Sept. 7-8.

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Players Mentioned

Cassie Haut

April Houston

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Jordan Smith

Carissa Spalt

Franki Strefling

Eastern Michigan Athletics