Volleyball Set to Host First Tournament Since 2003

Volleyball vs EMU Tournament
Date	Friday-Saturday, Sept. 6-7
Venue	George Gervin GameAbove Center \| Ypsilanti, Mich.
Preview Info	EMU Notes (PDF)
Live Stats	vs George Washington \| vs Marshall \| vs Oakland
Watch	vs George Washington \| vs Marshall \| vs Oakland

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team is set to host its first tournament since the 2003 season with the EMU Tournament , Friday-Saturday, Sept. 6-7. Eastern will welcome three non-conference opponents to Ypsilanti in George Washington, Marshall, and Oakland. Three games will be played each day, with the Eagles playing two matches on the final day of the tournament.

Only matches that EMU participates in will be broadcasted on ESPN+, Brent Balbinot and Normandie Berl will have the call in all three EMU matches.

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.

NATIONALLY RANKED: TEAM BLOCKS
The Eagles stand second in the nation in total team blocks, as they have denied their opponent 47 times in just four matches this season. They trail the nations' leader, Long Island by just .5 as it totals 47.5. Eastern also ranks 15th in blocks per set, averaging 3.13 per stanza. Additionally, EMU stands first in the MAC in each category.

NATIONALLY RANKED: HATTERAS WELKER BLOCKS
Leading the Eagles' defense up front is freshman Hatteras Welker. Welker has been all bricks in front of the net. She stands third in the nation and first in the MAC with 26 total blocks on the season. Welker is also 16th in the country in blocks per set (first in the MAC), averaging 1.73 per frame. She has a career-high of 11, which came in a five-set win over IU-Indy, Aug. 30.

NATIONALLY RANKED: AVA SIEFKE SERVICE ACES
Sophomore Ava Siefke has been lethal from behind the serve line this season. She has recorded 10 service aces this season, a figure that ranks her eighth in the nation and second in the MAC. Siefke has led the Eagles in the category in all four matches in 2024, and recently matched a career-best with four aces against SIU-Edwardsville, Aug. 30.

LAST TIME HOSTING A TOURNAMENT
The EMU Tournament over the weekend will mark the first time Eastern has hosted a tournament since the 2003 season, Sept. 12-13, when it welcomed Green Bay, Western Illinois, and Montana State for the EMU Invitational. The Eagles went 2-1 during the tourney, beating both Green Bay and Western Illinois in straight sets, 3-0, before falling in four frames to Montana State, 3-1.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS - HAMPTON INN INVITATIONAL
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 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.

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, 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 (69) and also leads in digs per set (4.60). Those figures stand as the second and third most in the conference.

OUT-HITTING OPPONENTS
Eastern out-hit Valparaiso, .269 to .078. This 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.

STAYER'S SETS
Graduate student Maddie Stayer has played the connector role on the Eastern offense, as she has totaled 52 assists this season, reaching double-digit figures in each match. Stayer currently has the second-most helpers on the team to Ella Voorhees' 81.

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.

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.

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

STRONG START
The Eagles got 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.

ALL-TIME AGAINST GEORGE WASHINGTON
The Eagles hold a clean 2-0 record against the Revolutionaries. Eastern and George Washington have met just twice, and have not faced off in 36 years, as they last met in the 1988 season, a match that resulted in a 3-0 sweep for the Eagles. Additionally Eastern has yet to lose a set against GW.

ALL-TIME AGAINST MARSHALL
Eastern and Marshall will meet for the 14th time this season. The Eagles hold the all-time edge with a 10-3 all-time record against the Thundering Herd. EMU is 6-1 against Marshall at home, has won the previous two contests, and at one point rattled off seven straight against the Sun Belt Conference foe.

ALL-TIME AGAINST OAKLAND
Eastern complies a 25-8 all-time record against the Golden Grizzlies. It holds a commanding 14-1 edge over Oakland when playing at home. At one point, Eastern won 11 straight matches in the series from 200-08. EMU has struggled in the series as of late, falling in each of the previous four contests.

UP NEXT
Eastern will head to the Comfort Inn Invitational, hosted by Morehead State in Morehead, Ky., Friday-Saturday, Sept. 13-14. There, they will face Evansville, Morehead State, and Duquesne.

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

Kendal Bonney

Ava Siefke

Maddie Stayer

Ella Voorhees

Hatteras Welker

Eastern Michigan Athletics