ON THE SCHEDULE: Volleyball Prepares for CEFCU Invitational

Volleyball at CEFCU Invitational
Date	Friday, Aug. 25 at 10 a.m. CT and 3 p.m. CT \| Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. CT
Venue	Renaissance Coliseum - Peoria, Ill.
Preview Info	EMU Notes
Watch	ESPN+
Live Stats	Live Stats
Twitter	@EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics

PEORIA, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will officially begin its 2023 campaign when it treks to Peoria, Ill. to participate in the CEFCU Invitational hosted by Bradley University, Friday-Saturday, Aug. 25-26, inside the Renaissance Coliseum.
      The Eagles are slated to square off with Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in this year's lid-lifter. The contest against the Cougars will take place Friday at 10 a.m. CT, with a matchup against Indiana University Purdue University - Indianapolis (IUPUI) following at 3 p.m. CT. EMU will battle the host Braves, Saturday, Aug. 26 to close out the tournament. That contest is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start.
      Fans can watch the action live on ESPN+. Of course, you can follow the action for free via live stats at EMUEagles.com/livestats.

QUICK SERVES:
» Eastern Michigan is playing its 48th competitive season and sports a 715-752-16 overall record and stands 284-376-1 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 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.
» A highly-accomplished program leader with a 153-89 career record in eight seasons as a women's volleyball head coach, Foeman departed an Ashland University program he led to a 99-44 mark in five seasons.
» This season, the Eagles opened their nest to four "true" freshmen, and five transfers to complete their "soar of eagles", with key returners such as Samantha Basham, Callie Minshew, Bella Hommes, and Olivia Szylar.
» EMU's 12 non-conference matches will come against opponents from seven different leagues, including three from the Ohio Valley Conference, three from the Horizon League, and two from the Missouri Valley Conference.

WHAT'S AHEAD: Looking to improve from their 2022 campaign, the Eagles will take the court in 12 non-conference matches beginning Friday, Aug. 25, with opponents coming from seven different leagues before seeing MAC play. The #MACtion will begin with the Green and White in the "Glass City" as the team takes on the University of Toledo in a two-game series, Sept. 21-22.

WELCOME COACHES: 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.
      Kevin Foeman has been the head coach at two previous schools, posting an all-time winning percentage of .632 (153-89). He was selected as the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) Coach of the Year and twice helped Ashland earn a spot in the NCAA Division II Championships (2018 and 2022). The Eagles have also captured the conference division title four times (2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022), while winning the 2022 GMAC Regular Season Championship.
      Prior to accepting the full-time gig, Stephenson served as the graduate assistant at her alma mater, Wright State University, for a short time upon graduating. A standout on the court, Stephenson was the first player in Wright State volleyball program history to be named the Horizon League's Setter of the Year when she claimed the title in 2020 for the first time before earning it again in 2022. In addition, Stephenson was named to the All-Conference first team three times in her career, earning the distinction first in 2019, then 2020, and 2022, respectively. In 2021, she was placed on the all-conference second team after a season in which she reached over 3,000 career assists along with reaching the 1,000 career digs milestone.
      Prior to her arrival in Ypsilanti, Remy Foeman previously served as an assistant volleyball coach at Hillsdale (2014), Lake Erie (2015-17), and Ashland (2018-2022) and was a two-year captain at Maryland. She ranks fifth all-time in Terrapin history in assists and later she played volleyball professionally in Puerto Rico with the Mayaguez Indias, Naranjito, Humacao, as well as with the Puerto Rican National Team.

BASE-VOLLEY?: In addition to his coaching career, Kevin Foeman had a prolific playing career in baseball. Foeman was one of the best baseball players to come out of University of Mary Washington, as he was named All-American during the 2003-04 season.
      He also earned All-Region, three first-team all-conference honors, and was named regional Pitcher of the year twice. Foeman holds numerous records, as he has the most career wins (33), strikeouts (360), and complete games (22). He also holds records for wins in a season with 12, strikeouts in a season with 145, and complete games with nine complete games in a season.
      Foeman led the Eagles to three NCAA tournament appearances and was nominated for the D3Baseball.com team of the decade. He was inducted into the Mary Washington Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. After his time at Mary Washington, Foeman played for numerous minor league teams, starting in San Francisco Giants organization, from 2006-12.

THE FOEMANS: Head coach Kevin Foeman and director of volleyball operations Remy Foeman are married and have three children, KJ, Evie and Jax, and three dogs, Chandler, Joey, and Anakin. The duo coached the Ashland Eagles to a 23-9 overall record and posted the best mark in the league at 16-1 in the GMAC.
      During that season, the Eagles earned a spot in the Division II postseason as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region. Champions of the Great Midwest South Division, Ashland posted the longest winning streak in program history (15) as well as the longest number of consecutive sets won (20) under the guidance of "The Foemans".

NEW FACES: In addition to a new coaching staff, the Eagles opened their nest to four "true" freshmen, and five transfers to complete their "soar of eagles", with key returners such as Samantha Basham, Callie Minshew, Bella Hommes, and Olivia Szylar. Full bios for every team member can be found in the individual player pages of these official game notes (see PDF if reading online).

THE "EAGLETS": The Green and White welcomed four "true" freshman to Ypsilanti over the summer. Begining their college careers are Hannah Howard, Surabhi Srinivasan, Aubriegh Oswald, and Ava Siefke. Of the four, three hail from Ohio, while Oswald comes from Lowell, Mich.

FROM EAGLES TO EAGLES: EMU also welcomes five transfers to the team in the 2023 season. Coming to Ypsilanti with some prior college experience is Hannah Kivett, Angel Baylark, Elle McLoughlin, Kendal Bonney, and Abigail Stanford. Of the five, four were also Eagles in their prior schools in Kivett at Florida Gulf Coast University, and McLoughlin, Bonney, and Stanford all coming from Ashland University.

RETURNING FIREPOWER: The 2023 EMU volleyball roster returns six outside hitters, highlighted by fifth-year Samantha Basham and graduate student Callie Minshew. Basham currently sits 107 kills shy of 1,000 career kills. Last season, she was one of just two members of the team to appear in all 30 matches, starting in 13 matches and seeing action in 114 sets- the most by any Eagle. Additionally, she led the team in kills (306), kills per set (2.68), service aces (32), points (363.5), and points per set (3.19).
      Looking to fill the hole former team member Raeven Chase left in the middle is MeKayla Koger with the help of transfers Angel Baylark, Abigail Stanford, and freshman Aubriegh Oswald.
      Defensively, senior Bella Hommes and sophomore Emma McMahon bring stability on the back end for EMU. Hommes served as EMU's primary libero in 2021, and mainly played the 2022 season as a defensive specialist. A year ago, Hommes appeared in 27 matches with five starts, seeing action in 83 sets. Her 187 digs on the season was good for second on the team while her 24 service aces also ranked second.
      Returning to the setter position this season is senior Olivia Szylar with help from transfers Hannah Kivett, and Elle McLoughlin. Szylar ranked second on the team in terms of assists, gathering 410 helpers in 18 appearances with 12 starts over 67 total sets played in the 2022 season.

EAGLES IN THE CLASSROOM: EMU received its 19th consecutive recognition by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) who announced the Eagles as recipients of the 2023 USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award, July 14.
      In a list of over 1,300 colleges and high school volleyball teams, EMU stands out for its 23rd USMC/AVCA Team award as well as its impressive 19-year win streak dating back to 2005.

FIRST TIME TAKING THE COURT: The 2023 roster got its first feel of playing as a new team when it welcomed the Chargers of Hillsdale College to the George Gervin GameAbove Center for an unofficial scrimmage prior to the start of the 2023 regular season. With prior agreements to play the entire five sets, first to 25 in all, the Eagles defeated the Chargers in the fifth for a 3-2 victory.

OH-HI-OH: Of the 19 members on the 2023 volleyball roster, nine are natives of the state of Ohio. These nine Eagles represent eight different cities in Ohio (Dublin, Zanesville, Granville, Kirtland, Toledo, Cincinnati, North Royalton, and Pioneer).

ALL-TIME VS. SIUE: Tied 1-1 in the all-time series, the Eagles and Cougars will battle for the upperhand in Friday's contest. The Green and White hold the most recent win, a four set victory over SIUE in the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Invitational during the 2014 season. Prior to that match, the two teams met for the first time in Peoria, Ill., competing in the Wingate by Wyndham Invitational hosted by Bradley University, Sept. 5-6, 2008. Despite a valiant come-from-behind effort, EMU dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 decision.

LAST TIME VERSUS THE COUGARS: Heading into the second tournament of its season, EMU began the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Invitational on the right foot Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, with a four set victory over SIU-Edwardsville. The Eagles dropped the first set to the Cougars, 20-25, but return-fired with three-straight, 25-18, 25-23, 25-11, to nab their third victory of the 2014 campaign.

HAVE WE BEEN HERE BEFORE?: The Eagles and the Cougars first met in Peoria, Ill., Sept. 5, 2008. The match was played at the Illinois Central College Gymnasium due to construction of the Braves' new on-campus facility, now known as the Renaissance Coliseum.

ALL-TIME VS. IUPUI: Eastern and IUPUI will meet for the fifth time in their respective program histories Friday, Aug. 25. The two schools first played in Indianapolis, Ind., Sept. 1, 2001, when the Green and White swept the Jaguars in three sets to claim the first series victory before the Jaguars returned fire in the second faceoff, Sept. 17, 2004, in a neutral site in Cleveland, Ohio. IUPUI defeated the Eagles in three-straight to even the score, 1-1 in the all-time series. EMU then took the ledger, claiming victory over the Jaguars in the following two matches. Both played on the road, the Eagles succeeded in a four-set match, Sept. 4, 2011, before sweeping the home team once more, Sept. 5, 2015.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE JAGUARS: EMU used a balanced offensive attack to continue its hot start to the 2015 campaign, Sept. 5, with a victory over IUPUI in the second match of the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational. The Eagles had four student-athletes hit at a .350-or-better clip to record the victory over the Jaguars, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21.

ALL-TIME VS. BRADLEY: The Eagles and Braves will battle for the seventh time in their all-time history Saturday inside the Renaissance Coliseum. Bradley currently leads the series, 4-2, with the last decision in favor of the Braves, Sept. 4, 2021. The series began in 1984 when the two teams battled on a neutral site in Evanston, Ill. The Eagles dropped that match in four sets before sweeping the Braves in three at home one year later.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE BRAVES: The last time the two institutions met was in Ypsilanti, Sept. 4, 2021. The Eagles' attack was paced by Annie Lockett, who finished with 11 kills on the day, and by then-sophomore Samantha Basham, who had 10, however the attack wasn't enough as the Green and White fell in three straight.

ON THE HORIZON: Following the CEFCU Invitational in Peoria, Ill., the Eagles will continue their non-conference journey to the next tournament, the Popcorn Classic hosted by Valparaiso University, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 1-2. There, the Eagles will face Oakland University, Friday at 12 noon CT, then Chicago State University later that afternoon. Saturday's match will feature the Eagles and Western Illinois University at noon CT.

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

Angel Baylark

Kendal Bonney

Raeven Chase

Bella Hommes

Hannah Howard

Hannah Kivett

Elle McLoughlin

Emma McMahon

Callie Minshew

Aubriegh Oswald

Ava Siefke

Surabhi Srinivasan

Abby Stanford

Olivia Szylar

Eastern Michigan Athletics