Volleyball Heads to Ball State and Toledo for #MACtion This Weekend

Volleyball at Ball State \| at Toledo
Date	Friday Sept. 28, 7 p.m. \| Saturday Sept. 29 \| 5 p.m.
Venue	Muncie, Ind. - Worthen Arena \| Toledo, Ohio - Savage Arena
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Live Stats	at Ball State \| at Toledo
Video Broadcast	at Ball State \| at Toledo
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

MUNCIE, Ind. & TOLEDO, Ohio - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team hits the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches this weekend, taking on Ball State University Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m., and the University of Toledo, Saturday, Sept. 29, also at 7 p.m.
   Friday's match between the Eagles and Cardinals will be broadcast on ESPN+, while EMU's Saturday match against UT can be found on ESPN3. 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.
   Last season, the Green and White suffered two setbacks at the hands of Ball State, falling in four at home and pushing the Cardinals to five on the road before losing to the eventual MAC West champions. Eastern's last win in Muncie came in coach Kimi Olson's first season in charge, defeating BSU 3-1.
   EMU and UT split their 2017 matches, each winning by sweeps in the friendly confines of its own venues. The Eagles' last won in the Glass City in 2016, as then-sophomore Jordan Smith tallied 10 kills in EMU's 3-2 victory.

LAFACE RACKS UP ANOTHER HONOR: Senior libero Alyssa LaFace (Allen Park, Mich.-Allen Park) earned her second MAC West Defensive Player of the Week honor, Sept. 24, after she finished the week with an eye-popping 8.14 digs per set mark, 57 total digs, and did not commit a reception error in 27 attempts. The Allen Park, Mich. native is second in the country in digs per set with a 6.16 mark.
   Not only did the MAC recognize LaFace's stellar week, but so did national volleyball online publication VolleyMob.com, listing the libero's week among five honorable mention nominees across the NCAA.

TWO SETTERS, ONE AWARD x TWO: For the second time in 2018, the 6-2 setting duo of redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski (Midland, Mich.-Midland) and junior Riley Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.-Perry Meridian) was honored by the Mid-American Conference as the collective Setter of the Week.
   The pair averaged 13.14 assists per set in the Eagles' two victories over Central Michigan and Kent State to open up MAC play. They divvied out an outstanding 57 assists in a four-set win on the road at CMU to kick off the weekend, and then put up 35 in a sweep of KSU in the Convocation Center.
   The twosome were able to up their combined season average to 11.82 assists per set, and also provided fantastic defense with a 4.57 digs per set average over the weekend.
   Rajewski and Taylor lead an Eastern team that is No. 1 in the conference in assists per set (12.96), and are contributing 4.89 digs per set to the league's top defense (18.58 digs per set).

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Eastern Michigan's start to the 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 (12.96), blocks per set (2.35), digs per set (18.58), kills per set (13.58), and opponent hitting percentage (.146).
   The Green and White's 18.58 digs per set average also ranks third in the NCAA, while libero Alyssa LaFace's 6.16 digs per set is second nationally.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (THE GOOD): For the first time since the Mid-American Conference began awarding both offensive and defensive Player of the Week awards, Eastern Michigan has garnered multiple MAC West Players of the Week multiple times. Senior Alyssa LaFace was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week while redshirt senior Mallory Rajewski and junior Riley Taylor were collectively MAC West Setter of the Week, Sept. 24.
   It marked the second win of the season for both LaFace and the setting duo of Rajewski and Taylor.
   The threesome join senior Jordan Smith (Solon, Iowa-Solon) 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 (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary Central Catholic) were crowned by the conference as Defensive and Offensive Players of the Week, respectively.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (THE BAD): In each instance that Eastern has won a Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honor, the Eagles have gone on to lose their first match following the announcement.
   Libero Alyssa LaFace won MAC West Defensive POW, Sept. 1, and EMU fell on the road to Purdue Fort Wayne in four on the same day. Outside hitter Jordan Smith and setters Mallory Rajewski and Riley Taylor won Offensive Player and Setter of the Week, respectively, Sept. 10, and the Green and White fell to the University of Houston in four at the Robert Morris Invitational.

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 currently sits in seventh place in Eastern laurels with 2,569 assists. The Midland, Mich. native set a personal-best for assists in a season with 891 last year, and needs 817 assists to move into the top five all-time.
   Additionally, Rajewski needs just seven digs to join the 1,000 dig club. She will become just the fifth player in the 42-year history of the program to amass 2,500+ assists and 1,000+ digs, joining Kate Sulewski, Ashley Mason, Sherry Anderson, and Camila Olaio.

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 has the chance to become number eight.
   The outside hitter has 823 digs in her career, and would be the first Eagle to join the 1,000/1,000 club since Paige Roback in 2013.

STAYING HAUT: Over the last five matches, redshirt junior Cassie Haut has been on a tear. The middle blocker has averaged 10.1 kills and 6.2 blocks over the five-match span, and has led the team in total points with 70.5 in that stretch.
   The Monroe, Mich. native had a busy non-conference season, being named to the All-Tournament teams at the St. John's Kaiser Classic, the William and Mary Colonial Classic, and the Robert Morris Invitational.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan returns to action with its longest home stretch of the season, beginning Oct. 5-6. The Eagles kick off the four-match homestand by taking on Northern Illinois University, Friday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. EMU then welcomes in-state rival Western Michigan University to the Convocation Center for a 5 p.m. match Saturday, Oct. 6.

Volleyball Heads to Ball State and Toledo for #MACtion This Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cassie Haut

Alyssa LaFace

Mallory Rajewski

Corynne Smith

Jordan Smith

Riley Taylor

Eastern Michigan Athletics