Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Buffalo
EMU Volleyball Travels to Buffalo and Akron
10/26/2022 6:03:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles face the Bulls Friday and the Zips Saturday
| Volleyball at Buffalo/Akron | |
| Date | Friday Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. | Saturday, Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. |
| Venue | Alumni Arena | Buffalo, N.Y. | James A. Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio |
| Preview Info | EMU Notes (PDF) |
| Watch | ESPN 3 |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| @EMUVolleyball | @EMUAthletics | |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team continues Mid-American Conference play, this week on the road after a stellar performance against then-league leaders Bowling Green State University. The team will begin their weekend road trip in Buffalo, N.Y. as they take on the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, Friday, Oct. 28 before heading to Akron, Ohio Saturday, Oct. 29, for a meeting with the Zips of Akron University.
Friday's match is scheduled for 6 p.m. while Saturday's has been moved up to 5 p.m. Both matches will be streamed via ESPN3. Of course, you can follow the action for free all season long via live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats.
QUICK HITS:
» Eastern Michigan is playing its 47th competitive season and sports a 714-746-16 overall record and stands 283-370-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
» Dating back to 1975, the start of the EMU volleyball program, the team has earned one MAC West Division title (2005), one MAC Tournament crown (2018), and has had one appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2018).
» The program's 47th season began with Head Coach Darcy Dorton announcing the promotion of Assistant Coach Tyler Golsteyn to Associate Head Coach back in early May 2022. Additionally, former standout at Purdue University and All-American libero Jena Otec joined the staff in mid-April.
» Under Dorton, who took the reins in 2019 as the programs ninth head coach, the Green and White hold a 32-66 overall record and stand 21-44 in league play.
» This season, the Eagles opened their nest to four "true" freshmen, and three transfers to complete their "soar of eagles", with key returners such as Raeven Chase, and Samantha Basham. In the 2021 campaign, Chase led the conference in total blocks (135) while Basham posted a total of 361 kills. Both were named to All-MAC teams with Chase earning first, and Basham second.
» Leading the team in kills with 236 on the year is senior Samantha Basham, who also leads the Eagles in service aces with 23. Sophomore setter Kendall Burk tops the Green and White in assists (485) while freshman Emma McMahon leads the way with 347 digs and fifth year senior Raeven Chase sits atop with 96 total blocks.
EAGLES IN THE MAC: Five Eagles are currently ranked in various statistical categories throughout the Mid-American Conference with three finding spots in the top 10. Holding the highest ranking for the Eagles is senior middle-blocker Raeven Chase in the number two spot in the conference for total blocks (96). Additionally, she is fourth in the league in both total blocks per set (1.14), and has moved up four spots in hitting percentage (.334). The fifth-year senior also holds the 30th position in kills per set (2.42). Also in the kills per set category is senior Samantha Basham (2.68), ranking 22nd, with fellow senior Krista Blakely (1.85) in 44th and sophomore Madeline Timmerman (1.28) following in 55th. Moreover, Basham is also ranked third in league for total attacks (789) on the season. Freshman Emma McMahon is the third Eagle to be listed in the top 10 within the conference ranking eighth in both total digs (347) and total digs per set (3.99).
BIGGEST UPSET: Prior to Saturday's match, Bowling Green had an RPI ranking of 29, while Eastern Michigan was ranked 281. The Eagles' win made the victory the biggest upset in all of NCAA Division 1 volleyball this season.
MATCH THEMES: The month of October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in efforts to support and raise money for the cause, the Eastern Michigan volleyball team is a proud partner of the Side-Out Foundation and began the "Dig Pink" Initiative with its match against Ohio, Oct. 7. A QR code was provided in-game as well as on the EMU Volleyball social media accounts for anyone interested in donating to the cause through Eastern volleyball. Fans are encouraged to wear pink throughout the month of October.
THE ULTIMATE GOAL: At the conclusion of regular-season play, the top six teams in the MAC standings will earn nods into the MAC Tournament, with the highest seed gaining home court advantage. The start of the tournament will see the bottom four duke it out for a chance at the top two-seeded. In instances where two teams are tied for a top-six position, the team with a better overall record would win the tie. Furthermore, in cases where the two institutions are also knotted in overall records, the team who performed best against the higher seeded teams within the regular season will get the upper hand.
Through the first five weeks of conference play, Bowling Green and Ball State hold the upper hand with a 9-2 mark in league play. Ohio Uiversity follows in second place with an 8-3 record while Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Central Michigan all share 7-4 records and the third spot. Western Michigan and Buffalo share 5-6 records with Eastern Michigan and Kent State at 3-8. Akron follows at 2-9 in league play with Miami at 1-10. Despite the early 0-6 record, the Green and White earned their first two conference victories over Miami University, Oct. 14-15 and another this past weekend over Bowling Green. The Eagles still have seven conference matches left in the regular season for a chance to earn a berth into the MAC tournament.
NUMBER FIVE ALL-TIME: In the series with Miami, Oct. 14-15, senior Raeven Chase registered six block solos to add to her total 83 in an Eastern Michigan uniform. The middle blocker holds sole possession of the number five spot in the all-time individual career record book for block solos, passing Lindsay Piccolini's (2003-2006) 80 block solos. Chase now needs 10 more to take the number four spot held by Stacy Graham (1988-1991), and Roxanne Munch (1986-1989) holding the top spot with 140.
SCOUTING BUFFALO: The Bulls currently possess an 13-10 overall record, and a 5-6 mark in league play. The New-York based team opened its 2022 conference season with back-to-back losses to Western Michigan University, Sept. 23-24. The Bulls earned their first conference victory at Akron University in three sets before splitting with Northern Illinois University and Ohio University. Moreover, Buffalo took single-match losses to the University of Toledo and defending MAC Champions, Ball State. As of recent, the Bulls swept the Golden Flashes of Kent State University in two three-setters.
ALL-TIME VS. THE BULLS: The Eagles trump the University at Buffalo 22-7 overall including a 13-win streak between 1996 and 2008. Dating back to 1996, the two teams have met a total of 29 times, with the most recent match favoring the Bulls 3-1.
In the last meeting, the Eagles were led by a double-double from Samantha Basham, who registered 19 kills and 10 digs on the day. Raeven Chase also added 16 kills to help the offense. On the defensive end, Kamryn Stilwell chipped in for EMU with 23 digs to go with a career-high six blocks from former Eagle Makayla Smith.
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips currently possess a 5-17 overall record, and a 2-9 mark in league play. The Ohio based team opened its 2022 conference season with three-straight losses, two coming at Northern Illinois, and one against Buffalo. The Zips only two conference victories came in a split-series with the Broncos of Western Michigan and another split-series with the Golden Flashes. As of recent, the Zips took two defeats from the Bobcats of Ohio inside the James A. Rhodes Arena located on the campus of Akron.
ALL-TIME VS. THE ZIPS: Saturday's match between the Eagles and Zips will be the 44th meeting in program history dating back to 1983. In the last 10 matches between the two, the Eagles have overpowered Akron, 7-3, for an overall record of 21-22. This season's meeting could even out the playing field for the Eagles.
In the last meeting, the Eagles' offense was paced by Samantha Basham, who finished with 18 kills on the day. Raeven Chase added 15 and Krista Blakely chipped in with 12 as part of a balanced Eastern Michigan attack. MacKenzie Garis also pitched in with a career-high five service aces in the contest. Defensively, EMU had three players reach double figures in digs, including Kamryn Stilwell with 19, Garis with 14, and 11 more from former Eagle Jayden Otto. From the front row, Chase contributed eight blocks and Blakely added a career-tying six rejections.
TIMMY-TIMMY: Against the Chippewas, Oct. 19, sophomore middle blocker Madeline Timmerman earned 10 kills on the day to lead the Eagles attack while finishing with a hitting percentage of .261. Her 10 kills was a season-high. It topped her previous best of eight kills, which she has recorded in three matches this season. Additionally, the 10 kills matched her career-high set at Bowling Green State University, Oct. 22, 2021.
BASH-EM: The Eagles offense was paced by senior Samantha Basham, who finished with 20 kills in the five-set thriller victory over Bowling Green, Oct. 21. Basham's 20 kills on the match was good for the senior's season-high topping her previous 19 kills recorded Oct. 7, against Ohio University. This was Basham's 34th career match with double-digit kills, and her ninth of the season. Additionally, the Ohio native also collected a season-high 22.5 points.
BURK'S HELPING HANDS: Sophomore Kendall Burk topped her previous career-high 44 assists set versus Ohio, Oct. 7 with the 48 helpers she provided in the win over the Falcons, Oct. 21. Overall against the Bowling Green, Burk recorded a total 82 assists, the most by any Eagle in one weekend this season. Burk's 485 season assists leads the Green and White, making her just 15 assists away from milestone 500.
MAKING A NAME: Sophomore Mackenzie Gross provided a career-high three blocks in the victory, Oct. 21. Her previous best was two, set in three different matches. Additionally, she earned a career-high 7.5 points.
DORTON'S FIRST: The five-set thriller on Oct. 21 was head coach Darcy Dorton's first victory over Bowling Green in her time as head coach. Before the match, Dorton was 0-5 with BGSU. The all-time series record against the Falcons moved to 39-26, over the weekend, in favor of BGSU. With the split, it is the first time the Green and White have split the series with the Falcons since 2018.
ONE OF TWO: Prior to the first meeting of the series, the Falcons had been defeated only once in the 2022 MAC campaign. The Huskies of Northern Illinois University defeated the Falcons in four sets to give one of the league leaders their first loss of the conference season, Oct. 7. Eastern Michigan is now one of two MAC members to take a win from Bowling Green thus far with its victory, Oct. 21.
FIVE-SET WINS: The last time Eastern Michigan saw a fifth set was in a loss against Coppin State University, Sept. 16. Previously to the five-set victory on Oct. 21, the last time EMU defeated their opponent in five was at Ohio, Oct. 8, 2021.
SOMEONE GRAB A SHOVEL: Defensively, the Green and White had four players reach double figures in digs in the win over BGSU, Oct. 21, highlighted by freshman Emma McMahon's 23, 12 from junior Bella Hommes, and 10 more from freshman Carlina Bender and senior Kamryn Stilwell. With four players in double figures in digs, this was the most in a single match thus far in the 2022 season. The last time the Green and White had four or more players in double-digit digs was Oct. 23, 2021 at Bowling Green. The four players highlighted that day included Stilwell (27) Hommes (17), and former Eagles Mackenzie Garis (12) and Jayden Otto (12).
THE GREEN AND WHITE WALL: Senior Raeven Chase earned a collective 17 block assists against Bowling Green, Oct. 21-22. Chase's 11 block assists in the second match, Oct. 22, added to the Canadians total 317 and accrued the tie for fourth most block assist in a match in Eastern volleyball history, trailing only herself once, Roxanne Munch, Keely Nunamker, and sharing the tie with Sam Falco and Alexis Tipton.
Additionally, sophomore Kendall Burk set a career-high in blocks with four, besting her previous high of two set at Ball State, Oct. 1.
POINTS GALORE: In the second match up of the series with Bowling Green, Eastern had three players tally double-digit points in Raeven Chase (13.5), Samantha Basham (13.5) and Madeline Timmerman (11.5). Coupled with the victory the night before, Oct. 21, this was the second consecutive match that the Eagles have had three players in double-digits in points and 11th in the 2022 season.
OUT-BLOCKING OPPONENTS: Eastern Michigan has bested its opponent in the total blocks battle 11 times this season. The Eagles put up 10 total blocks against the Falcons four, Oct. 21 before putting up 13 more total blocks to Bowling Green's six, the following day, Oct. 22.
Moreover, the Eagles 190 total blocks this season leads the Mid-American Conference. The teams 2.13 blocks per set is good for fifth. Additionally, of the 334 ranked, EMU's team blocks ranks 66 nationally, and is the best national ranking for the Green and White within all statistical categories.
DIGGING FOR MILESTONES: Freshman Emma McMahon continues to hold the top spot in digs for the Eagles with 347. The rookie has been a consistent passer for the Green and White as she is ahead of the next Eagle, Kamryn Stillwell by over 200 digs. Additionally, the Indiana native is ranked eighth within the MAC and has jumped to 88th nationally, of the 299 ranked.
SOARIN' SURIN: Sophomore Emily Surin recorded her first kill in an Eastern uniform in the fourth set against BGSU, Oct. 22. Additionally, the transfer picked up another half point on a block assist with Chase. Those 1.5 points are the first as an Eagle for the Illinois native.
DOUBLE-DIGIT BLOCKS: Middle-blocker Raeven Chase set a season-high 11 blocks in the match with BGSU, Oct. 22. It was her second double-digit block match of the season, with the first coming against the University of Louisiana, Aug. 26, where she registered 10. She continues to jump up the NCAA total blocks ranking, vaulting into 36th place in the nation and second in the Mid-American Conference with 96.0 blocks on the season.
ON THE HORIZON: Following the road trip to Buffalo and Akron, the Eagles will continue the #MACtion as they continue their away travel to Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich. to face the Broncos in a two-match series. The first is slated for Friday, Nov. 4 at 6 p.m. and the second the next day, Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. Both matches can be followed via live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats.
FOLLOW THE ACTION ALL SEASON LONG: Stay connected with the Eagles all season long by following @EMUVolleyball and @EMUAthletics on Twitter for all of the latest EMU volleyball updates. Be sure to also follow the Green and White on Instagram, @EMU_Volleyball.
