Volleyball Preps for Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational

Volleyball at Purdue Ft. Wayne Invitational
Date	Friday, Sept. 20, 4:30 p.m. vs. Indiana State \| Saturday, Sept. 21, 1:30 p.m. vs. St. Francis (Pa.), 7 p.m. at Purdue Ft. Wayne
Venue	Gates Sports Center \| Purdue University - Ft. Wayne \| Ft. Wayne, Ind.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Watch	vs Indiana State \| vs. St. Francis (Pa.) \| at Purdue Ft. Wayne
Live Stats	vs Indiana State \| vs. St. Francis (Pa.) \| at Purdue Ft. Wayne
Social Media	X: @EMUVolleyball \| @EMUAthletics \| IG: @emu_volleyball \| @emuathletics

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team is set to embark on its fourth and final regular season tournament of the season in the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational, hosted by the University of Purdue-Fort Wayne at the Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne, Ind., Friday-Saturday, Sept. 20-21.

There, Eastern will first face Indiana State University Friday, 4:30 p.m., before facing St. Francis University (Pa.) Saturday, 1:30 p.m., followed by a match against host PFW Saturday, 7 p.m.

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 INDIANA STATE
Eastern and Indiana State will meet for the seventh time on Friday. The Eagles hold a 2-4 all-time record when facing the Sycamores, dating back to the series' first match up, Oct. 16, 1976, a 2-1 win for EMU. ISU has won three straight matches, the longest winning streak between either team in the series. Moreover, the last time the programs faced off, Aug. 28, 2021, was the only time they have done so at a neutral site, as they played at the College of Charleston Invitational in Charleston, S.C. The match concluded in a 3-1 win for Indiana State.

ALL-TIME AGAINST ST. FRANCIS (Pa.)
The Eagles and Red Flashes will battle on the volleyball court for the first time in history. Coincidentally, Eastern's football team also plays St. Francis Saturday, as the Eagles are set to host the Red Flashes for the second all-time contest between the two programs, 2 p.m., inside Rynearson Stadium.

ALL-TIME AGAINST PFW
EMU and PFW are set to clash in Eastern's finale of the tournament. The match will mark the 22nd all-time contest between the Eagles and Mastodons. Eastern holds a 4-6 record in the series' previous 10 matches, and a 1-3 record when facing the Mastodons on a neutral court. The Eagles won the series' first four match ups, including the series-opener, a 3-0 sweep in Ft. Wayne, before PFW went on to win eight of the next 10 matches. Their most recent meeting came in the 2022 season, where the Eagles were swept in their first match of the Xavier Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 2.

HIGH IN THE NATIONAL STANDINGS
Eastern ranks in the top-50 in the national standings in six statistical categories, including standing inside the top-15 in four.

Category                      Rank          Figure
Total Blocks               2nd           116
Total Attacks             9th            1,454
Team Assists             9th            482
Team Kills                  11th          514
Total Digs                  23rd          599
Blocks Per Set           43rd          2.58

HIGH IN THE MAC STANDINGS
Eastern ranks in the top four in the MAC standings in eight statistical categories, including slotting first in five of them.

Category                      Rank          Figure
Points 1st             693
Total Attacks             1st             1,454
Kills                          1st             514
Total Blocks              1st             116
Blocks Per Set          1st             2.58
Assists 2nd           482
Total Aces                  4th            63
Digs                            4th            599

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 most in the MAC. Guard recorded 17 kills and six digs in the match, both of which mark career-highs.

NATIONALLY RANKED: HATTERAS WELKER BLOCKS
Leading the Eagles' defense up front is Hatteras Welker. Welker is ranked fifth in the country in total blocks, and first in the MAC with 55 denials in 2024. Welker also ranks high in blocks per set, standing 86th nationally and third in the MAC (1.22). Her 11 rejections against IU-Indy, Aug. 30, stand as the most in an individual match in the MAC this season. She most recently swatted six against Michigan State, Sept. 16.

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 33rd in the nation and third in the MAC. Siefke has led the Eagles in the category in 5-of-11 matches this season, and matched a career-best with four aces in the season-opener against SIU-Edwardsville, Aug. 30.

NATIONALLY RANKED: HANNAH BLANEY DIGS
Senior Hannah Blaney ranks 31st in the nation and fourth in the MAC in total digs with 162 on the season. Her 24 digs against IU-Indy, Aug. 30, stand as the second-most in the conference.

MAC SINGLE-MATCH HIGH IN BLOCKS
Eastern tabbed 21 total 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.

BIG MATCH IN YPSI
The match against Michigan State, Sept. 16, marked the first time the Eagles 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 prior to Michigan State Monday, Sept. 16, was in 2009, when No. 7 Michigan made the short drive west to battle the Eagles.

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.

HANNAH BLANEY: APPROACHING 1,000 DIGS
In her fourth season of collegiate volleyball, Hannah Blaney is nearing 1,000 digs. She most recently recorded 11 against Michigan State, Sept. 16., bringing her career total to 941. Blaney needs 59 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 eight of her 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. Overall, she stands fourth in the MAC with 118 kills, while her 23-kill performance against Evansville, Sept. 13.

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 at the Hampton Inn Invitational 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 enter conference play, as they are set to travel to Kent, Ohio, for two matches against the Golden Flashes of Kent State University, Thursday-Friday, Sept. 26-27. Both matches are slated for a 6 p.m. first serve.

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.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Angel Baylark

Hannah Blaney

Kaili Doctor

Anna Guard

Ava Siefke

Maddie Stayer

Ella Voorhees

Hatteras Welker

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