Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
13-16,7-8MAC
Akron
10-17,6-9MAC
Volleyball Suffers Loss to Akron
11/8/2024 7:59:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles are back on the court against the Zips for Senior Night Saturday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m.
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team fell to Akron in three sets Friday, Nov. 8, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles found themselves in an early hole, losing a tough first set, 25-16. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as nine points as Akron never gave up the lead as they led wire to wire in the stanza.
SET 2 | Eastern then lost set two, 25-22, falling behind in the match, 2-0. Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 23-22 in a set that was tied up 10 times before the Zips took over in the second half of the frame.
SET 3 | Eastern could not win set three and was swept by Akron. The Eagles came up short by a score of 25-21. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as six points as Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 14-13 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Zips gained control.
Match Notes
» Freshman Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) led the team in assists for the sixth time in her career and recorded her 15th match with double-digit assists. Smith has totaled 10+ dimes in 15 of her 18 matches played this season and has the third-most of all MAC freshmen.
» Hannah Blaney (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island) paced the squad in digs for the 23rd time this season with 10. Blaney leads the MAC and ranks inside the top-30 in the country in digs with 453 on the year.
» Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Southern Miss./Jacksonville State) brought her career assists total to 493 with two in the match. She is seven away from reaching 500 in her career.
Historical Notes
» Friday's match marked the 46th all-time between the Eagles and Zips. Overall, Eastern holds a 23-23 all-time record against Akron and a 11-12 mark when facing it in Ypsilanti.
» The 2024 team has proven to be one of the best blocking teams in Eastern history as it has totaled 278.5 rejections this season. That number is good for the second most in program history as they passed the 2013 squad who totaled 276 TB. Eastern would need 46 more TB to tie the 2017 squad (320 TB) for the most in a single season in program history.
» In terms of blocks per set, the 2024 team currently holds the top spot in program history, averaging 2.48 rejections per set.
» Welker increased her block total to 120 on the season, ranking fifth all-time in the Eastern rally scoring era (2008-pres.). Welker currently holds the freshman blocks record and needs six more total blocks to take over the No. 4 spot held by Megan Crawshaw (2012 – 125 TB).
Up Next
The Eagles are back on the court against the Zips Saturday at 6 p.m. as they will celebrate their 2024 senior class on Senior Night.
Follow Us
Stay connected with the Eagles all season long by following @EMUVolleyball and @EMUAthletics on X for all of the latest EMU volleyball updates. Be sure to also follow the Green and White on Instagram, @EMU_Volleyball and @emuathletics
