Volleyball Kicks Off MAC Play This Weekend

Volleyball at Central Michigan \| vs. Kent State
Date	Thursday Sept. 20, 7 p.m. \| Saturday Sept. 22 \| 5 p.m.
Venue	Mount Pleasant, Mich. - McGuirk Arena \| Ypsilanti, Mich. - Convocation Center
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	at Central Michigan \| vs. Kent State
Video Broadcast	at Central Michigan \| vs. Kent State
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team kicks off Mid-American Conference play with a split week, traveling to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on Central Michigan University, Thursday, Sept. 20, and then hosting Kent State University in the Convocation Center, Saturday, Sept. 22.
    Thursday's match between the Eagles and Chippewas will be broadcast on ESPN+, while EMU's Saturday match against KSU can be found on Eagle All-Access. Live stats will be available for both matches.

SERIES HISTORY: EMU has a long history against both Central Michigan and Kent State, having an all-time mark of 26-59 against the Chippewas, while holding a 35-20-1 advantage over the Golden Flashes.
    A season ago, Eastern and Central split the matches between the two schools, each winning on the other's home court. The Eagles' win at McGuirk Arena was the first for the Green and White since 2013, and EMU's first win after starting the match down 0-2 under Head Coach Kimi Olson.
    Last season, EMU needed a win at Kent State in order to secure a spot in the MAC Tournament and came away with a 3-1 victory. It was the first win over the Golden Flashes since Sept. 27, 2014, and the first win in Kent since Nov. 16, 2013.

STAYING HAUT: Redshirt junior Cassie Haut (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Catholic Central) was named to the Robert Morris Invitational All-Tournament team thanks to her best defensive effort of the season, putting up seven total blocks, including three solo, in Eastern's match against Houston, and following that up with a season-high eight total blocks against Robert Morris. In total, Haut finished with 29 kills to go along with 18 total blocks (six solo, 12 assist) for the weekend.
    The All-Tournament team marks the third in-season tournament honor for the Monroe, Mich. native having also been named to the William and Mary Colonial Classic All-Tournament team and the St. John's Kaiser Classic All-Tournament team.
    The middle blocker tied a career-high with 23 kills against Harvard, Sept. 2, while also hitting .629 in the match. She is second in the Mid-American Conference in total blocks with 71, and is third in the league with a 1.03 blocks per set average.

CHASING THE 1,000/1,000 CLUB: Only seven women in the history of Eastern Michigan volleyball have reached 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for their respective careers. After reaching the 1,000 kill mark against Savannah State, Sept. 8, senior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) has the chance to become number eight.
    The outside hitter has 804 digs in her career, and would be the first Eagle to join the 1,000/1,000 club since Paige Roback in 2013.

MILESTONE WATCH: Senior setter Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) spent the 2017 season chasing 2,000 assists, becoming just the eighth player in EMU history to pass the mark, and currently sits in seventh place in Eastern laurels with 2,520 assists. The Midland, Mich. native set a personal-best for assists in a season with 891 last year, and needs 866 assists to move into the top five all-time.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: For the first time since 2015, Eastern Michigan has garnered multiple Mid-American Conference West Players of the Week. Senior Jordan Smith was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week while redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) were collectively MAC West Setter of the Week, Sept. 10.
    The trio join senior libero Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) as Eagles who have earned conference honors in 2018, as she was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, Sept. 5.
    The last time EMU had multiple Player of the Week honors in the same week was Nov. 17, 2015, when Corynne Smith and then-freshman Cassie Haut were crowned by the conference as Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively.

SMITH'S ACCOLADES KEEP STACKING: Senior Jordan Smith became just the 15th player in program history to reach the 1,000 kill mark this season, while also earning the title of the William and Mary Colonial Classic Most Valuable Player. The Solon, Iowa native kicked off the 2018 season with a spot on the St. John's Kaiser Classic All-Tournament team, and to cap off the busy start to the season was named MAC West Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 10.

HANDY HAMBY: Junior Ariel Hamby (Oak Park, Ill.-Oak Park River Forest) has been a game-changer for the Eagles on the right side in her third season in the Green and White. The Oak Park, Ill. native has four double-digit kill performances on the campaign, and has the second-best attack percentage on the team at .271.
    After averaging 0.85 kills per set as a freshman and 0.98 as a sophomore, Hamby is averaging 1.80 kills per set in 2018, good for fourth on EMU's squad.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to the hardwood with a pair of road matches, Sept. 28-29. The Eagles kick off the weekend with a Friday night match at Ball State University, beginning at 7 p.m. EMU finishes the second week of MAC play with a 7 p.m. match at the University of Toledo.

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Players Mentioned

Ariel Hamby

Cassie Haut

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics