Volleyball Readies for Cross-County Match with Michigan Wednesday

Volleyball at Michigan Wolverines
Date	Wednesday, Sept. 4 \| 7 p.m.
Venue	Crisler Center \| Ann Arbor, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats	Fan Stats
Watch	B TN+

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Coming off a tournament win at the Hampton Inn Invitational, The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will face cross-county foe, the University of Michigan, in a non-conference weekday match Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m., inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. Eastern enters the contest with a 2-1 mark with wins over Indiana University-Indianapolis, Aug. 30, and Valparaiso University, Aug. 31. Michigan enters Wednesday's match with a 3-0 record, with two of its wins coming against Mid-American Conference foe, Kent State University, Sept. 1.

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.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
The Eagles most recently won the Hampton Inn Invitational, besting IU-Indy (3-2) and Valparaiso (3-1) in consecutive matches, Aug. 30-31. They were led defensively by Hatteras Welker and Angel Baylark, who totaled 20 and 16 blocks, respectively. Furthermore, the 2-1 mark in the tourney went down as Eastern's best tournament record since they also went 2-1 at the UIC Invitational, Sept. 10-11, 2021.

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.

MAC SINGLE-MATCH HIGH IN BLOCKS
Eastern tabbed 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.

TEAM BLOCKS
Eastern leads the MAC with 43 blocks through three matches played this season. The Eagles have nine more blocks than the second-most in the conference, which comes from Central Michigan (33). EMU also leads in blocks per set, averaging 3.58.

FRESHMAN ON TOP
Freshman middle blocker Hatteras Welker leads the MAC individually in blocks with 24 and blocks per set with 2.00. Welker's 11 blocks against IU-Indy, Aug. 30, stand as the second-most in a single match in the conference this season to her teammate, Angel Baylark's 12.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS
With consecutive wins over IU-Indy, Aug. 30, and Valparaiso, Aug. 31, Eastern has secured back-to-back victories for the second time in the Kevin Foeman era. They previously topped Kent State in consecutive days last season, Nov. 10-11, 2023. A win against the Wolverines Wednesday night would mark Eastern's first three-game regular season winning streak since the 2018 season when they beat Toledo, Northern Illinois, and Western Michigan in consecutive matches, Sept. 29-Oct. 6.

STRONG START
The Eagles are off to their first 2-1 start since the 2021 season and have the chance to win three of their first four matches. The last time EMU accomplished the feat came in the 2018 season, when Eastern won its first three games before falling to St. John's in five sets in its fourth. 2018 was also the last time the Eagles won a MAC Championship, as they were crowned the tournament champions that season.

TOURNAMENT MVP
After totaling double-digits 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 the only Eagle to achieve a double-double this season.

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 (63) and also leads in digs per set (5.25). Those figures stand as the second and third most in the conference.

OUT-HITTING OPPONENTS
Eastern out-hit Valparaiso, .269 to .078. The instance marks the eighth time Eastern has done so under Foeman, it is now 6-2 in such games. Moreover, its .269 hitting percentage is the best under him, and marks the second time Eastern has achieved a percentage better than .250 since the start of the 2023 season. EMU last did so against Bradley, hitting .255 in a four-set loss, Aug. 26. 2023.

MORE DIGS, MORE DUBS
Eastern has out-dug its opponent in each of its first two victories, with a season-high 67 coming in the win over Valparaiso. The Eagles are now 2-0 this season when out-digging their foe. EMU has recorded more digs than its opponent six times under Foeman.

WINNING THREE STRAIGHT SETS
After falling in the first stanza against Valparaiso, the Eagles won three consecutive sets to grab the win, the fourth time they have done so under Foeman. Additionally, four of the seven wins under him have come when winning three consecutive sets.

FIVE-SET WINNERS
Eastern won a five-set thriller against IU-Indy, Aug. 30, marking the first five-set win for the Eagles since Sept. 2, 2023 when they topped Western Illinois in five. The win was also the first time Eastern has won a five-set contest in the opening weekend of the season since it bested Montana in five at the College of Charleston Invitational, Aug. 28, 2021.

KENDAL BONNEY: CAREER-HIGH IN KILLS
Kendal Bonney is off to a strong start in 2024. She tabbed a career-high with 12 kills against IU-Indy. The match also marked the junior's first with 10 or more kills. Bonney followed up the performance by matching her kill count in the following contest, marking her first time with consecutive matches with double-digit kills.

STAYER'S SETS
Graduate student Maddie Stayer has played the connector role on the Eastern offense, as she has totaled 43 assists this season, reaching double-digit figures in each match. Stayer currently has the second-most helpers on the team to Ella Voorhees' 53.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN
The Eagles hold a 11-33 record when facing the Wolverines dating back to their first meeting, a 2-0 EMU win in the 1976 campaign, Oct. 2. They post a 5-16 record when facing UM on the road versus a 6-17 mark when playing in Ypsilanti. Eastern has not beaten Michigan since they took a four-set win over the Wolverines at Bowen Field House in Ypsilanti, Sept. 7, 1994. It last won a set against Michigan in 2005, taking the second stanza by a score of 30-25, Sept. 13.

LAST TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN
Eastern and Michigan have not faced off since the 2021 season, Sept. 17. The match resulted in a three-set sweep of the Eagles, marking Michigan's 13th consecutive win in the series.

UP NEXT
Eastern will return to the George Gervin GameAbove Center to open the home portion of its 2024 schedule with the EMU Tournament, Friday-Sunday, Sept. 6-7. The Eagles will first face George Washington University Friday night, first serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Overall, EMU will welcome three teams to Ypsilanti for a portion of the weekend. Joining George Washington is nearby Oakland University, and former MAC member, Marshall University.

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.

Volleyball Readies for Cross-County Match with Michigan Wednesday

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Players Mentioned

Angel Baylark

Hannah Blaney

Kendal Bonney

Maddie Stayer

Ella Voorhees

Hatteras Welker

Eastern Michigan Athletics