ON THE SCHEDULE: Volleyball Travels to Akron/Buffalo

Volleyball at CHATTANOOGA CLASSIC
Date	Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. \| Friday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m.
Venue	James A. Rhoades Arena \| Akron, Ohio \| Alumni Arena \| Buffalo, N.Y.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Watch	Akron - ESPN+ \| Buffalo - ESPN+
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will continue Mid-American Conference play as it opens the 2023 conference away schedule this weekend with a trip to Akron, Ohio to face the Zips of the University of Akron, Thursday, Oct. 5, before heading east to Buffalo, N.Y. to meet with the Bulls of the University at Buffalo, Friday, Oct. 6.
      The Eagles (2-15, 0-5 MAC) are in search of its first conference victory of the season after dropping to the Chippewas of Central Michigan University, Sept. 26, in a five-setter before falling to the Cardinals of Ball State University in three straight, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29-30.
      Thursday's match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. with Jim Clark (play-by-play) on the call for the ESPN+ broadcast while Friday's match will stream at 6 p.m. with Ryan Maxwell (play-by-play) and Mark Anzalone (color analyst) on the call. Fans can also follow along for free via live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats.

QUICK SERVES:
» The program's 48th season began with the announcing of a new coaching staff. Head coach Kevin Foeman joined the Eagles in March and added Lainey Stephenson as his assistant coach. Additionally, the program named Remy Foeman as the Director of Volleyball Operations.
» This season, the Eagles opened their nest to four "true" freshmen and five transfers to complete their "soar of eagles".
» Sept. 2, 2023, marked the day first-year head coach Kevin Foeman earned his first win as an Eastern Michigan Eagle as he and his team overcame Western Illinois University, 3-2, in the Popcorn Classic, for the first win of the 2023 season. Since then, the Eagles earned their second win of the season in a 3-0 sweep over the Cougars of Chicago State University, Sept. 8. Additionally, that contest marked Foeman's 250th career match.
» Callie Minshew has led the Eagles in kills in 15 of the 17 total matches of the 2023 campaign, recording double-figure kills in all but two.
» Additionally, Callie Minshew recorded a career-high double-double with team-leading 25 kills and 21 digs, Sept. 26 against the Chippewas. The 25 kills tied for fifth most in a single match in program history.
» The Green and White registered two other Eagles with double-double performances over the weekend in Elle McLoughlin, who earned 44 set assists and 14 digs versus the Chips and Ava Siefke, who collected two double-doubles with 16 kills and 16 digs over CMU, Sept. 26, and 12 kills and 18 digs against Ball State, Sept. 30.
» Eastern Michigan ranks second in the MAC in terms of digs/set (15.98) behind the University of Toledo (16.00).

CONSISTENT CALLIE: Prior to the match at Toledo, Sept. 22, Callie Minshew led the Eagles in 13 consecutive competitions, recording double-digit figures in all. Only one other MAC member has a player record the sort or more as the University of Akron's Faith Johnson currently sits at 15 consecutive double-digit kill matches. The two will face-off Thursday, Oct. 5.

CAN YOU DIG IT?: Four Eagles registered double-digit digs in a single match, Sept. 26, for the third time this season and the second consecutive after doing so against Toledo, Sept. 22. Last season, EMU managed to record four Eagles all with double-digit digs in the same match just one time, the 3-2 upset over Bowling Green State University, Oct. 21, 2022. Additionally, it was the eighth time this season in which three different members of the team recorded double-digit digs in a single match after doing so against Ball State, Sept. 30.

SEEING DOUBLE: Three Eagles contributed double-double performances throughout the five-set loss to Central Michigan, Sept. 26. It marked the fourth time EMU has recorded two Eagles with double-doubles in the same match and the second with three this season. The last time three Eagles registered double-doubles in the same match was in the 3-2 loss to the University of Toledo, Sept. 21, which also featured Elle McLoughlin, Ava Siefke, and Callie Minshew.

BETTER THAN LAST YEAR: Last season, the double-double mark was reached a total of eight times by three different Eagles (Sabrina Gremm (4), Kendall Burk (3), Raeven Chase (1)). This season, the mark has been exceeded as four different Eagles (Ava Siefke (3), Hannah Kivett (1), Elle McLoughlin (5), Callie Minshew (8)) have combined for 17 double-double performances on the season.

SWIFTY SIEFKE: Ava Siefke's double-double performance against the Chippewas marked just the second of the rookie's career with her 16 kills topping her previous career-high 12, earned in the loss to Toledo, Sept. 22, and her 16 digs were an improvement from her previous 11. Additionally, the freshman recorded double-digit kills and digs in consecutive matches for the second time in her career. Then, Siefke recorded her third career double-double in the loss to Ball State, Sept. 30, with a team-leading 12 kills and 18 digs. The effort marked the third time this season in which she has registered a double-digit effort in kills and tied for her second-highest total.

BONNEY'S BOOMIN: Kendal Bonney was efficient in attacking situations in the loss to CMU, Sept. 26, accumulating a career-high eight kills while hitting .500. Her eight kills in the match topped the sophomore's previous career-high of three against Chicago State University, Sept. 8. Additionally, the transfer collected career-highs in attempts (16), hitting percentage (.500), digs (3), blocks (5), and points (8.0) throughout the week.

CALLIE'S CORNER: Callie Minshew recorded one serving ace in both losses to the Cardinals. In the two seasons Minshew has donned the Green and White, the service aces marked the 19th match in which the graduate student has recorded at least one ace in. Last season, Minshew recorded a single ace in seven contests compared to this season's 12. Additionally, the team-leader in both kills (232) and service aces (19) recorded a career-high 25 kills and 21 digs against the Chips, Sept. 26. Her performance made her the first Eagle since Franki Strefling (25 kills and 25 digs at Kent State, Feb. 15, 2021) to record at least 25 kills and at least 20 digs in a match. Minshew and Strefling are the only Eagles to tally 25-plus kills and 20-plus digs in a match in the modern statistical era (since 2008). Furthermore, Minshew's 25 kills ranks as the fifth most in a single match in EMU program history.

MINSHEW'S 25: Callie Minshew posted 25 kills in the setback to Central Michigan, Sept. 26. The career-high for the graduate student tied for the fifth most in a single match in EMU history. Additionally, the 25 kills rank third in the conference for an individual game-high behind Akron's Faith Johnson who recorded 27 against Harvard, Sept. 8, and Kent State's Mackenzie McGuire who leads with 28 against Youngstown State, Sept. 15.

GRAB A SHOVEL, WE'RE DIGGIN': As a team, the Green and White are averaging 15.98 digs per set, good for second in the MAC behind Toledo's 16.00. Leading the Eagles in the category for the 2023 season is Hannah Howard with 229 total digs. The 210 of the 229 that have come against MAC opponents rank the freshman 10th with 3.50 digs/set. Howard has led EMU in digs in eight matches and has recorded double-digit digs in 11.

SMASHIN' BASHAM: A five-year member of the volleyball program, Samantha Basham is approaching the 1,000 career kills milestone as she currently sits just 15 kills away with 985 total career kills. The fifth-year is averaging 1.88 kills per set in the 2023 season and is expecting to reach the mark over the weekend.

ALL-TIME VS. THE ZIPS: Thursday's match between the Eagles and Zips will be the 45th 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 22-22.
      In the last meeting, the Eagles' earned their fourth MAC victory of the 2022 season with a 3-2 decision at Akron, Oct. 29, inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The EMU offense was paced by Krista Blakely, who finished with 17 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .424. Samantha Basham added 17 more and MeKayla Koger chipped in with 13 as part of balanced Eastern Michigan attack. Defensively, had two players reach double figures in digs as Emma McMahon had 19 and Carlina Bender had 14.

ALL-TIME VS. THE BULLS: The Eagles trump the University at Buffalo 22-8 overall including a 13-win streak between 1996 and 2008. Dating back to 1996, the two teams have met a total of 30 times, with the most recent match favoring the Bulls 3-1.
      In the last meeting, the Eagles were paced by Krista Blakely, who finished with 16 kills on the match while accumulating a hitting percentage of .333. Samantha Basham trailed with 10. Defensively, the Green and White registered two players in double figures in digs as Emma McMahon had 20 and Kendall Burk had 10.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the split series with Akron and Buffalo, the Eagles are slated to stay on the road as the team travels to Dekalb, Ill., Thursday-Friday, Oct. 12-13, to meet with the Huskies of Northern Illinois University. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.

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

Kendal Bonney

Kendall Burk

Raeven Chase

Sabrina Gremm

Hannah Howard

Hannah Kivett

Elle McLoughlin

Emma McMahon

Callie Minshew

Ava Siefke

Eastern Michigan Athletics