Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
13-17,7-9MAC
Akron
11-17,7-9MAC
Volleyball Falls to Akron on Senior Night
11/9/2024 8:22:00 PM | Volleyball
The Eagles honored their 2024 senior class
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team honored its 2024 senior class, as the Eagles fell to the University of Akron inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center Saturday, Nov. 9.
Eastern seniors Hannah Blaney (Saline, Mich./Saline/Rhode Island), Angel Baylark (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington/Tennessee-Martin), Lauren Welch (Union, Ky./Ryle/Ashland), Mackenzie Gross (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven), and Maddie Stayer (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor/Southern Miss./Jacksonville State) each played their final home game as an Eagle.
How it Happened
SET 1 | The Eagles fell behind early, losing a tough first set, 25-10. Eastern Michigan trailed by as many as 15 points as Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 3-2 in a set that was tied up two times before the Zips took control.
SET 2 | A 25-16 second-set loss put Eastern Michigan in a 2-0 hole in the match. The Eagles trailed by as many as 10 points as Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 in a set that was tied up seven times before the Zips took over the lead.
SET 3 | EMU was not able to win set three and was swept by Akron. The Eagles dropped set three, 25-23. Akron grabbed the advantage for good at 21-20 in a set that was tied up two times before the Zips took over in the second half of the stanza.
Match Notes
» Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich./Pewamo-Westphalia) totaled 10 assists in the match, marking her 16th match with double-digit dimes in her 19 matches played.
» Blaney led the team in digs for the 24th time this season with 21, marking her 10th time with 20+ digs in 2024 and 20th of her career.
Historical Notes
» Saturday's match marked the 47th all-time between the Eagles and Zips. Overall, Eastern holds a 23-24 all-time record against Akron and a 11-13 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 285.5 rejections this season. That number is good for the second most in program history. Eastern would need 39 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 124 on the season, ranking fifth all-time in the Eastern rally scoring era (2008-pres.). Welker currently holds the freshman blocks record and needs one more total block to take over the No. 4 spot held by Megan Crawshaw (2012 – 125 TB).
Up Next
The Eagles are back in action for their final two regular season matches at Buffalo Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16. Friday's match will start at 6 p.m. and Saturday's will start at 4 p.m.
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
