Volleyball Hosts Central Michigan Wednesday

Volleyball vs. Central Michigan
Date	Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
Venue	Convocation Center -Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Match Sponsor	EMUCU
Watch	ESPN3
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics
COVID-19 Policy	Masks are required inside the Convocation Center regardless of vaccination status

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team concludes a three-match homestand when the Eagles welcome in-state rival Central Michigan University to Ypsilanti Wednesday, Oct. 20. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
   EMU (8-11, 3-5 MAC) snapped a two-match losing skid with a 3-1 victory over Miami, Oct. 15. CMU (8-12, 2-6 MAC) is on a three-match losing streak after falling in straight sets against Bowling Green, Oct. 16.
   Fans can catch the action on ESPN3, where Greg Steiner will be providing play-by-play. Kristy King will serve as the analyst. As always, fans can follow along on EMUEagles.com/livestats or Twitter by following @EMUVolleyball.

GAME THEME: Totally tubular, man! Wednesday's night against Central Michigan is '90s Night. The first 100 fans will receive an EMU-branded scrunchie. Additionally, EMUCU is the presenting sponsor for the match.

AMONG THE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan ranks third in the Mid-American Conference averaging 2.30 blocks per set.
   Individually, redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase leads the conference averaging 1.29 blocks per set (90 total). Additionally, the middle blocker ranks fourth with a . 337 hitting percentage (176-48-380). Sophomore Kamryn Stilwell is averaging 4.44 digs per set, which is good for fifth in the league, while classmate Jayden Otto ranks fifth in assists (9.89 aps) and ninth in aces (0.30 s/aps).

IF THE MAC TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY: If the Mid-American Conference started today, Eastern Michigan would just barely miss the cut into the top-six spots. With a 3-5 conference record, the Eagles sit in seventh place.
   Bowling Green would be the No. 1 seed in the tournament with an 8-0 league record, followed by Ball State (7-1) and Western Michigan (7-2). Toledo (6-2), Kent State (4-4), and Ohio (4-4) would round the last three spots.
   The regular-season champion will host the tournament which will be played Nov. 22-24.

BACK-TO-BACK: Sophomore Samantha Basham recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the series against Miami, Oct. 14-15. The outside hitter tallied 19 kills and 16 digs in a 3-1 loss to the RedHawks, Oct. 14. The following day, Basham recorded a career-high 17 digs and 15 kills in a four-set victory.
   Basham has three career double-doubles, all from the 2021 fall season.

CHASE-IN RECORDS: Redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase is closing in on the top-10 for career block solos. The middle blocker has 49 block solos and needs two more to pass Sharon Dunovsky (1986-89) who tallied 50 solo blocks in her career.
   Former all-region selection Roxanne Munch (1986-1989) holds the record at 140.

SMITH'S CAREER DAY: Freshman Makayla Smith earned her first collegiate start against Miami, Oct. 14. She posted a career-high four kills on eight attempts and tallied one block.

BASHAM HEATING UP: Sophomore Samantha Basham posted two strong performances in two matches against Miami last week, Oct. 14-15.
   The outside hitter tallied back-to-back double-doubles. Basham recorded 19 digs and 16 digs in a 3-1 loss to MU, Oct. 14. The following day, she added 15 kills and a career-high 17 digs in a four-set win, Oct. 15. Additionally, the sophomore has three career double-doubles, all from this season.
   Basham leads the team averaging 3.10 kills per set (211 total) and has led the Eagles in the category eight times. Additionally, Basham has tallied 10-or-more kills in 10 matches this season. In Mid-American Conference play, the Granville, Ohio native averages 3.45 kills per set (114 total), which ranks ninth.

CAN YOU DIG IT?: Sophomore Kamryn Stilwell has started as Eastern's primary libero in every match so far this season. The defensive specialist has tallied a team-high 311digs, which doubles the next highest at 134. She's averaging 4.44 digs per set, good for fifth in the Mid-American Conference.
   Stilwell has recorded double-figure digs in nine straight matches, with her most recent performance with 24 versus Miami, Oct. 15. In MAC play, the defensive specialist ranks seventh averaging 5.06 digs per set.

BLOCK PARTY: Redshirt sophomore Raeven Chase continues to be a strong force at the net for Eastern Michigan. She leads the team with 90 total blocks (23-67) for a 1.29 blocks-per-set average which leads the Mid-American Conference. In league play, Chase averages 1.58 blocks, good to lead the MAC.
   Chase tied a season-high nine blocks (3-6) in a 3-1 loss against Miami, Oct. 14. Additionally, she has led the team in blocks in 16 matches this season.
   The middle blocker has tallied 259 career blocks (49-210). She needs two more block solos and 44 block assists to break into the top-10 of the EMU record book.

OTTO-MATIC: Quarterbacking the EMU offense again this season is sophomore Jayden Otto. Most recently, the setter notched 40 assists and eight digs in a 3-1 win over Miami, Oct. 15.
   Otto etched her name in the EMU record book as she tallied 40 assists in a 3-0 victory over Boston College, Sept. 18. The 40 assists tied for seventh in program history for a three-set match in the modern statistical era (since 2008). Additionally, the sophomore tallied 41 assists in a three-set sweep over Belmont, Sept. 11. Her 41-assist performance is tied for fifth in program history for a three-set match in the modern statistical era (since 2008).
   Otto averages 9.90 assists per set, which is good for sixth in the Mid-American Conference. She has led the Eagles in assists every match so far this season and needs 295 more assists (1,669 total) to break into the top-10 of the EMU record books.

ACE, ACE BABY: Eastern Michigan has tallied 99 service aces this season, which is more than what the Eagles produced all of last year (81 total).
   The Green and White average 1.41 aces per set, which ranks fifth in the Mid-American Conference. Last season, the Eagles tallied 1.0 aces per set.
   Six Eagles have recorded double-digit aces this season with sophomore Jayden Otto leading the way with 21. Freshman Madeline Timmerman and junior Mackenzie Garis follow Otto with 19 and 15, respectively. Freshman Annie Lockett, sophomore Samantha Basham, and freshman Bella Hommes have 14, 13, and 10, respectively.

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Led by sixth-year Head Coach Mike Gawlik, Central Michigan enters Wednesday's match with an 8-12 overall record and a 2-6 Mid-American Conference mark. The Chippewas are on a three-match losing streak after falling 3-0 to conference leader Bowling Green, Oct. 16.
   CMU is paced offensively by Savannah Thompson, who has a team-best 239 kills for a 3.62 kills-per-set average. Following Thompson is Linnea Willer with 2.62 kills per set. Guiding the Chippewa offense is Grace Butler, who is dishing out 6.02 assists per set, while Kamryn Olson is adding 5.48. Defensively, CMU is led by Aly Gurtiza with 5.32 digs per set, and Maddie Whitfield is tallying 0.96 blocks per set.
   Central Michigan averages 13.9 kills per set and boasts a .200 attack percentage (1016-412-3015). CMU's opponents are recording 12.9 kills per set and posting a .197 hitting percentage (945-377-2885). The Chippewas are recording 1.1 service aces per set while adding 12.8 assists per game. Defensively, Central Michigan is averaging a conference-leading 19.2 digs per set.

ALL-TIME VERSUS CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Wednesday's match will be the 92nd meeting between the Eagles and Chippewas in program history. Eastern Michigan trails in the all-time series, 29-62. EMU split the two-matches series during the 2021 spring season. Eastern Michigan post a five-set win in Mount Pleasant, March 16, 2021, before falling 3-1 inside the Convocation Center, Match 23, 2021.
   The Eagles have won four of the last seven meetings, but the Chippewas hold the 6-4 advantage over the last 10 contests.

LAST TIME VERSUS THE CHIPPEWAS: In a tough in-state rivalry game, Eastern Michigan was beaten by Central Michigan in four sets (15-25, 25-16, 19-25, 16-25), March 23, 2021, inside the Convocation Center.
   The Eagles were paced by a nine-kill night by Franki Strefling. Samantha Basham chipped in eight kills, and Raeven Chase added six.
   EMU's offense was guided by setter Jayden Otto, who logged a team-high 29 assists. On the defensive end, Strefling led the way with 19 digs. Also providing double-digit digs was Bella Hommes with 17, while Otto and Alayna Jansky each added 10, respectively. In terms of blocks, Chase led the way with eight.
   The Eagles held the advantages in blocks (22-21), digs (73-67), and aces (6-4). However, the Chippewas led in kills (50-36) and assists (48-34). Eastern Michigan ended the game with a .065 attack percentage (36-27-139), compared to Central Michigan's .170 clip (50-24-153).

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE MAC: The Green and White hold a 279-353-1 program mark against Mid-American Conference teams. Eastern has played Western Michigan the most (95 times) while facing Central Michigan 91 times, and Ball State 80 times. Since the 1980 season when EMU started competing in the MAC, EMU has won one MAC Tournament title (2018) and one MAC West title (2005). Under Darcy Dorton, the Eagles hold a 17-27 MAC record.

ON THE HORIZON: Eastern Michigan will head on US-23 to challenge the Mid-American Conference leader Bowling Green State University Friday and Saturday, Oct. 22-23. Friday's match is slated for a 6 p.m. start, while Saturday's match is set to begin at 5 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Samantha Basham

Raeven Chase

Mackenzie Garis

Bella Hommes

Alayna Jansky

Annie Lockett

Jayden Otto

Makayla Smith

Kamryn Stilwell

Franki Strefling

Madeline Timmerman

Eastern Michigan Athletics