Volleyball Set for Season-Opening Weekend at Michigan State

Volleyball at Auto Owners Spartan Invitational
Date	Friday, Aug. 26 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. \| Saturday, Aug. 27 at 12 p.m.
Venue	Breslin Center - East Lansing, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Watch	BTN Plus ($)
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

EAST LANSING, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will officially begin its 2022 campaign when it treks to East Lansing, Mich. to participate in the Auto Owners Spartan Invitational, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 26-27, inside the Breslin Center.
   The Eagles are set to square off with the University of Louisiana in this year's lid-lifter. The contest against the Ragin' Cajuns will take place Friday at 12 p.m., with a matchup against Fairfield University following at 5 p.m. EMU will battle host, Michigan State University to close out the tournament. That contest is slated for noon, Saturday.
   Fans can watch the action live with a paid Big Ten Plus subscription. Of course, you can follow the action for free via live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Looking to improve from their 2021 campaign, the Eagles will take the court in 12 non-conference matches beginning Friday, Aug. 26, with opponents coming from 10 different leagues before seeing Mid-American Conference play. The #MACtion will begin with the Green and White's home opener against the University of Toledo Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m. in the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

EMU IN SEASON OPENERS: The 2022 campaign marks the 47th in program history for Eastern Michigan. The Eagles have compiled a 29-16-1 record (.630 percent) in season openers, including a 21-16 mark (.568 percent) on the road.

TROPHY HUNTING: Eastern Michigan will search for its second conference championship in program history in its 43rd season in the Mid-American Conference. The Eagles notched its first MAC Tournament title in 2018 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Green and White also claimed the MAC West Division title in 2005, and advanced to its first postseason tournament (Women's Invitational Volleyball Championships) in program history in 1990.

TEAM THEME: This year's team theme is "OTD," which stands for "Only Today Matters." This year's senior class is taking a one-day-at-a-time mantra into the 2022 campaign, and focusing on giving 100-percent effort into each day of preparation.

NEW FACES: This season, the Eagles opened their nest to four true freshman, and three transfers. Joining the Eagles out of high school are freshmen Carlina Bender, Emma McMahon, Jessica Wilson, and Sabrina Gremm. Meanwhile, transfers Callie Minshew, Mekayla Koger, and Emily Surin all bring high-level collegiate experience to this year's roster. Full bios for every team member can be found in the individual player pages of these official game notes (see PDF if reading online).

RETURNING FIREPOWER: The 2022 EMU volleyball roster returns three outside hitters, highlighted by seniors Samantha Basham and Krista Blakely. During the traditional 2021 season, Basham was named to the All-MAC Second-Team after a stellar junior year performance. Playing in all 29 matches for the Eagles, the Ohio-native led the team in kills (361), kills per set (3.34), points (402.5), and points per set (3.73). Blakely saw action in all 29 matches with 20 starts, amassing 110 sets played. She finished the 2021 season with 253 kills, 2.3 kills per set, 73 total blocks, and 2.66 points per set. The Detroit native set a career-high of 17 kills in a four-set victory over Miami University (Oct. 15).
   Entering her final season as an Eagle, Raeven Chase's name appears in the program's record book over 10 times since the start of her career. She currently holds the program's all-time single match record for block assists with 14 coming against Ball State University (Mar. 27, 2021), and second in the program's total blocks during a single season (135) in 2021. Returning to Chase's side is sophomore Madeline Timmerman. Timmerman comes off an outstanding rookie season, where she posted 126 kills on 393 attempts and an impressive 59 total blocks.
   Defensively, senior Kamryn Stilwell and junior Bella Hommes bring stability on the back end for EMU. In her junior season at EMU, Stilwell led the Eagles in total digs (513) with an astounding career high of 30 in a single match against Western Michigan University (Sept. 23). The Ohio-native enters her senior season at Eastern in the 2022 volleyball campaign.
    Hommes served as EMU's primary libero in 2021, playing in 28 matches, 104 sets, and tallying 203 digs, 33 assists, and 18 service aces. Hommes collected a season-high 17 digs at Bowling Green (Oct. 23) and another season-high four assists in a four-set road victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago (Sept. 10).

EAGLES IN THE CLASSROOM: EMU received its 18th consecutive recognition by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) who announced the Eagles as recipients of the 2022 USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award, July 18.
   In a list of over 1,200 colleges and high schools, EMU stands out for its 22nd USMC/AVCA Team award as well as its impressive 18-year win streak dating back to 2005.

A FAMILY AFFAIR: A native of Detroit, Mich., senior Krista Blakely came to EMU as a 'legacy' student-athlete in 2019. Blakely is the daughter of Werner Blakely and Donna (Stevenson) Davis, both of whom were student-athletes at Eastern. Blakely was a four-year letterwinner in football (1988-91), while Davis was a member of the 1990 EMU volleyball team that won a program-record 30 games.

TOP-DOG TYLER: After two years as an assistant coach with the program, Tyler Golsteyn was elevated to Associate Head Coach ahead of the 2021 campaign. Golsteyn has mentored volleyball student-athletes from the collegiate and high school levels for over nine years. With EMU, the Nashville, Tenn. native primarily focuses on defense and passing. In addition, Golsteyn serves as the recruiting coordinator where he is the primary contact for potential student-athletes, and coordinates on-campus visits and recruiting trips.

ALL-AMERICAN (COACH) ADDED: In addition to the promotion of Tyler Golsteyn, Head Coach Darcy Dorton also bolstered the coaching staff with the addition of former All-American and Purdue University Standout, Jena Otec, during the most recent offseason.
   In her new position, Otec will primarily work to develop the team's passing and defensive strategies. Prior to EMU, she spent five years with The Academy Boiler Juniors, a Lafayette, Ind.-based organization that offers club teams, camps, clinics, lessons, tournaments, and more for youth volleyball players in that area. There, Otec has served as the head coach for numerous teams, including The Academy Boiler Juniors 15 Gold (2020-21), 16 Gold (2021-22), and 12 Regional (2017-18). She led her teams to numerous championships during her time guiding them, and has also mentored multiple standout junior players.
   A standout collegiate player, Otec was a nationally recognized defensive specialist at Purdue University. A five-time letterwinner with the Boilermakers, Otec was twice named an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American (2020, 2021), was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree (2020, 2021), earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2020, and was a multiple-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2020, 2021). Additionally, she collected All-American honors from VolleyballMag.com following both the 2020 and 2021 campaigns.

AMONG THE LEADERS: Eastern Michigan's 2.13 blocks per set ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference and the team's 1.29 aces per set ranked fifth in the league in 2021.
Individually, Raeven Chase led the conference averaging 1.23 blocks per set (135 total) which was good for 46th in the NCAA. Additionally, her total blocks ranked 38th in the nation. Furthermore, Chase's 36 blocks solo in the 2021 campaign tabbed the middle blocker fifth in the NCAA. Chase also ranked third in the MAC with a .352 hitting percentage (311-86-639).
   Kamryn Stilwell ranked sixth in the conference, averaging 4.66 digs per set. She tallied 513 total digs in 2021, placing her fourth in the MAC and 54th in the NCAA. Samantha Basham finished fifth in the MAC, averaging 3.34 kills per set. Additionally, Basham and Chase finished fifth and ninth in the league, averaging 3.73 and 3.65 points per set, respectively.

POSTSEASON AWARDS: Along with the two All-MAC honors, the Eagles also tabbed five student-athletes to the 2021 Academic All-MAC Team in 2021, four of which return in 2022. Krista Blakely, Raeven Chase, Bella Hommes, and Kamryn Stilwell were among the 90 student-athletes to receive the honor.
   Chase grabbed the distinction for the third straight season, while Blakely, Otto, and Stilwell each collected the honor for the second time.

CHASE-IN RECORDS: Senior Raeven Chase finished the 2021 season seventh all-time with 62 career solo blocks, tied with former Eagle Cassie Haut (2015-19). Former all-region selection Roxanne Munch (1986-1989) holds the record at 140 career solo blocks.
   Chase's 36 blocks solo in the 2021 campaign is also good for eighth in EMU's single-season history books. Former Eagle Cornelia Koller holds the top spot for most block solos in a single season with 97 in 1983.

ALL-TIME VS. LOUISIANA: The Eagles and Ragin' Cajuns have history coming into their season-opening matchup in 2022. Friday's contest will be the fourth all-time between the two schools. Louisiana leads the ledger, 2-1, and has taken consecutive contests against the Green and White. Eastern's lone win came in 2010, when it took down its Lafayette, La.-based foe, 3-1, Aug. 27, in Huntsville, Texas.

LAST TIME VERSUS THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Eastern and Louisiana last met during the 2019 campaign. A true road contest for the Eagles, the Ragin' Cajuns took the contest, 3-0, Sept. 6. The contest was played as part of the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. EMU did pull out a 3-1 win over Florida International on the same day.

ALL-TIME VS. FAIRFIELD: Eastern and Fairfield will meet for just the second time in their respective program histories Friday. The two schools first played on a neutral court in West Point, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2009. The Stags took the matchup, 3-1.

ALL-TIME VS. MSU: The Eagles and Spartans will battle for the 30th time in their all-time history Saturday inside the Breslin Center. Michigan State currently leads the series, 21-8. Despite their extensive history, the two squads have not battled since the 2013 campaign. Fairly matched as of late, EMU has taken four of the last 10 contests against MSU.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE SPARTANS: Despite the deep history between the two programs, it has been nearly a decade since the Eagles and Spartans last matched up. The most recent contest came in 2013, when MSU earned a 3-0 victory over EMU, Sept. 20, in East Lansing. Eastern took that matchup before that, winning 3-2 on the road, Sept. 11, 2010.

MAC PRESEASON POLL: Eastern was picked to finish sixth in the West Division in a vote by the Mid-American Conference's 12 head coaches, the league announced, Aug. 24. The Eagles received 15 points in the preseason poll. Defending MAC West Division and Tournament Champions Ball State University were unanimously chosen to take the West Division's regular season title with 72 points. The Cardinals also received 12 first place votes and four more to repeat as tournament champions.

Individually, Raeven Chase was selected to the Preseason All-MAC Team as one of 13 of the league's top volleyball student-athletes. Chase represents the Eagles as one of seven athletes chosen in the preseason poll's Western Division.

MAC Volleyball East Division Poll
1. Bowling Green (11) - 71 points
2. Ohio - 59 points
3. Kent State (1) - 40 points
4. Buffalo - 34 points
5. Miami - 32 points
6. Akron - 16 points

2022 MAC Volleyball West Division Poll
1. Ball State (12) - 72 points
2. Western Michigan - 55 points
3. Toledo - 49 points
4. Northern Illinois - 32 points
5. Central Michigan - 29 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 15 points

Predicted Tournament Champion: Bowling Green (7), Ball State (4), Western Michigan (1)

ON THE HORIZON: Following the Auto Owners Spartan Invitational, the Eagles will remain on the road to participate in the Xavier Tournament, hosted by Xavier University, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 2-3.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Samantha Basham

Carlina Bender

Krista Blakely

Raeven Chase

Sabrina Gremm

Bella Hommes

Mekayla Koger

Emma McMahon

Callie Minshew

Kamryn Stilwell

Emily Surin

Madeline Timmerman

Jessica Wilson

Eastern Michigan Athletics