Volleyball Welcomes Michigan State to Ypsilanti Monday

Volleyball vs. Michigan State
Date	Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, 6 p.m.
Venue	George Gervin GameAbove Center \| Eastern Michigan University \| Ypsilanti, Mich
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Watch	Watch Live
Live Stats	Live Stats
Social Media	X: @EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics \| IG: @emu_volleyball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will host a Big Ten Conference opponent for the first time since 2009 as they are set to welcome the Michigan State University Spartans to the George Gervin GameAbove Center Monday, Sept. 16, for a 6 p.m. first serve.

The Spartans will enter the match with a 4-3 (0-0 B1G) record, while the Eagles come in with a 4-6 (0-0) mark. MSU was most recently swept by MAC opponent, Western Michigan University, in East Lansing, Mich., Sept. 11. The Eagles are coming off a solid weekend where they went 2-1 at the Comfort Inn Invitational, hosted by Morehead State University in Morehead, Ky., Friday-Saturday, Sept. 13-14. There, Eastern took matches over the University of Evansville, 3-2, and Morehead State, 3-1, Sept. 13, before falling in five sets to Duquesne University, Sept. 14.

The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m. Brent Balbinot and Normandie Berl will have the call.

Fans can follow along with the action using the watch and live stats link that can be found on the EMU volleyball schedule page at emueagles.com/volleyball/schedule. Fans can also follow the team's social media accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook @EMUVolleyball for live in-match updates. A post-match recap will also be posted to EMUEagles.com following Friday and Saturday's action.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE
The Eagles and Spartans will meet for the 30th time in the all-time series. Eastern holds an 8-21 record when facing the Spartans, and a 5-11 record when playing them in Ypsilanti. The two programs last met in the 2022 season, a match that resulted in a five-set win for MSU. The last time they faced off in Ypsilanti came in the 2007 season, a 3-0 sweep in favor of the Spartans. The Eagles last beat the Spartans in 2010 in East Lansing to win the 2010 Spartan Invitational, Sept. 11. EMU last beat Michigan State at home, Sept. 23, 1991, winning, 3-1, and capping a three-match win streak against the Spartans, its longest streak of victories in the series.

BIG MATCH IN YPSI
The match against Michigan State marks the first time the Eagles have hosted a power conference team since they welcomed Oregon State to the Convocation Center in the 2013 season, a match where Eastern took the Beavers to five sets. The last time EMU hosted a Big Ten foe in Ypsilanti was in 2009, when No. 7 Michigan made the short drive west to battle the Eagles. Additionally, Eastern last faced a Big Ten school in 2018, when it took on Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

YPSI CONNECT JERSEYS
The Eagles will be debuting their Ypsi Connect Jerseys in the match against MSU. At the heart of the Ypsi Connect program is a custom-designed "Eastern Script Font," inspired by the iconic script featured on the EMU baseball team's uniforms for decades. This unique font will be used to feature "Ypsilanti" or "Ypsi" on select EMU athletic uniforms, pre-game apparel, and competition headwear, creating a bold and distinctive representation of the university's identity as "Ypsilanti's University."

MOST KILLS AND ASSISTS IN FOEMAN ERA
Eastern posted 68 kills and 65 assists in a win against Evansville, Sept. 13. Both went down as the most in a single-match in the Head Coach Kevin Foeman era. Furthermore, both marks stand as the third-most in a single match in the MAC this season. The last time Eastern eclipsed those figures came in the 2019 season when it drilled 82 kills off 73 assists against Bowling Green, Oct.19.

FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER FOEMAN
The Eagles tallied more kills, assists, digs, and blocks than Evansville, Sept. 13, marking the first time they have done so in the Foeman era and first time since the 2022 season. EMU would accomplish the feat again later that day against Morehead State, marking the first time the program has done so in consecutive games since it did it against Norfolk State University and Savannah State University, at the William & Mary Colonial Classic, Sept. 7-8, 2018.

MOST ACES UNDER FOEMAN
Eastern tabbed 10 aces against Duquesne, Sept. 14, marking the most under Foeman. Prior to the match against the Dukes, EMU last had 10 aces against Miami in the 2022 season, Oct. 14.

HIGH FLYING CAREER-HIGHS
Outside hitters Kaili Doctor and Anna Guard each notched a career-high in kills over the weekend. Doctor drilled 23 kills while adding 10 digs against Evansville, Sept.13, for her first double-double as an Eagle and third in her career. Her 23 kills are also the most from an Eagle in a single-match this season and stand as the second-most in the MAC. Guard recorded 17 kills and six digs in the match, both of which mark career-highs.

NATIONALLY RANKED: TEAM BLOCKS
The Eagles stand seventh in the nation and first in the Mid-American Conference in team total blocks, as they total 72.0 through seven matches. Eastern also ranks highly in blocks per set, slotting 46th in America and first in the MAC with a 2.57 mark.

NATIONALLY RANKED: ANGEL BAYLARK/HATTERAS WELKER BLOCKS
Leading the Eagles' defense up front are Hatteras Welker and Angel Baylark. Welker is ranked 16th in the country in total blocks, and first in the MAC with 49 denials in 2024. Baylark stands just behind her, ranking 46th nationally in the statistic with 30 blocks. The duo also ranks high in blocks per set, with Baylark standing 31st nationally and first in the MAC (1.43), while Welker checks in at 72nd in the country and fourth in the conference (1.17).

NATIONALLY RANKED: AVA SIEFKE SERVICE ACES
Sophomore Ava Siefke has been lethal from behind the serve line this season. She has recorded 18 service aces this season, a figure that ranks her 27th in the nation and third in the MAC. Siefke has led the Eagles in the category in 5-of-10 matches this season, and recently matched a career-best with four aces against SIU-Edwardsville, Aug. 30.

HIGH IN THE MAC STANDINGS
Eastern ranks in the top four in the MAC standings in seven statistical categories.

Category                      Rank          Figure
Points                         1st             650
Total Blocks               1st             107
Blocks Per Set           1st             2.55
Assists                        2nd           453
Kills                             2nd           481
Total Aces                  4th            62
Digs                            4th            568

MAC SINGLE-MATCH HIGH IN BLOCKS
Eastern tabbed total 21 blocks to Valparaiso's five in the 3-1 victory, Aug. 31. The Eagles also hold the second-highest block total in the league having recorded 17 in a five-set win over IU-Indy, Aug. 30. Outside of Eastern, the highest team total blocks count comes from Central Michigan, when it swatted 16 against Lindenwood, Aug. 30.

BAYLARK: FOUR-SET MATCH BLOCKS RECORD
Angel Baylark excelled in front of the net defensively in the 3-1 win over Valparaiso, Aug. 31. The graduate student totaled 12 blocks (one solo, 11 assisted), setting an EMU four-set match record in the category while also marking a career-high. Additionally, her 12 blocks rank as a single-match high in the MAC.

HANNAH BLANEY: APPROACHING 1,000 DIGS
in her fourth season of collegiate volleyball, Hannah Blaney is nearing 1,000 digs. She most recently recorded 19 against Duquesne, Sept. 14., bringing her career total to 930. Blaney needs 70 more digs to reach the 1,000 mark.

STAYER'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Maddie Stayer notched consecutive double-doubles for the first time in her career. She captured career-highs in both assists (28), and digs (14) against Evansville, Sept. 13. The graduate student recorded another double-double later that day against Morehead State with 20 assists and 12 digs. The performance marked her first time with a double-double in consecutive matches. Stayer is tied with Ella Voorhees for the most double-doubles on the team this season, as both have notched three.

DOUBLE-DIGIT DOCTOR
First-year Eagle Kaili Doctor paces the team in kills with 118 on the season. Doctor has reached double-digit figures in the category in 8-of-10 matches this season. She has the most games of double-digit kills of any Eagle thus far. Last season with North Carolina A&T, Doctor posted 11 games with 10+ kills on her way to winning CAA Rookie of the Year.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS x2
The Eagles were recently named Comfort Inn Invitational Co-Champions, Sept. 14, as they posted a 2-1 record at the tournament with wins over Evansville and host Morehead State, Sept. 13, before falling in five sets to Duquesne, Sept. 14. The tournament marks the second that the Eagles have won this season, as they previously won it all at the Hampton Inn Invitational, Aug. 31.

TOURNAMENT MVP
After totaling double-digit assists in all three contests, including two matches with a assists/digs double-double, first-year Eagle Ella Voorhees was named the Hampton Inn Invitational MVP, Aug. 31. She was also named to the all-tournament team. Moreover, Voorhees is one of two Eagles to achieve a double-double this season, and she has led the team in assists in all four matches.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Joining Ella Voorhees as an all-tournament honoree was another first-year Eagle, Hannah Blaney. Blaney notched three straight matches with double-digit digs, with her most coming against IU-Indy (24), Aug. 30. The Saline, Mich., native has the most digs on the team (97) and also leads in digs per set (3.59).

OUT-HITTING OPPONENTS
Eastern out-hit Duquesne, .252 to .238. This instance marks the 12th time Eastern has done so under Foeman, it is now 8-4 in such games. Moreover, its .252 hitting percentage marked the third time Eastern has achieved a percentage better than .250 since the start of the 2023 season. EMU last did so against Valparaiso, Aug. 31. The Eagles hit .269 in that match, the highest clip in Foeman's tenure.

MORE DIGS, MORE DUBS
Eastern has out-dug its opponent in each of its first four victories, with a season-high 87 coming in the win over Evansville, Sept. 13. The Eagles are now 4-3 this season when out-digging their foe. EMU has recorded more digs than its opponent 11 times under Foeman.

FOUR-SET WINNERS
Eastern won a four-set match against Morehead State, Sept. 13, marking their second four-set win of the season, as they previously beat Valparaiso in four sets, Aug. 31. EMU is 2-0 in four set matches this season.

AHEAD OF SCHEDULE/TYING 2023 WIN TOTAL
Eastern won its fourth game of the season with a win over Morehead State, Sept. 13. Last season, Eastern did not capture its fourth victory of the year till November 10, when they beat Kent State in four sets, 3-1. One more win for the Eagles would tie their season total from 2023 (five).

BACK-TO-BACK WINS
With consecutive wins over Evansville and Morehead State, Sept. 13, Eastern has secured back-to-back victories for the third time in the Foeman era. They previously topped IU-Indy, Aug. 30, and Valparaiso, Aug. 31, en route to winning the Hampton Inn Invitational.

UP NEXT
Eastern will attend its fourth and final tournament of the 2024 season in the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational, hosted by PFW at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne , Ind., Friday-Saturday, Sept. 20-21. There, the Eagles will face Indiana State, Sept. 20, followed by St. Francis (Pa.) and PFW, Sept. 21.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Angel Baylark

Hannah Blaney

Kaili Doctor

Anna Guard

Ava Siefke

Maddie Stayer

Ella Voorhees

Hatteras Welker

Eastern Michigan Athletics