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Thurs., Oct. 11
Miami at Central Michigan, 7:00 PM
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Fri., Oct. 12
Akron at Western Michigan,7:00 PM
Bowling Green at EMU, 7:00 PM
Kent State at Ball St.,7:00 PM
Ohio at Toledo, 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Northern Illinois, 7:00 PM
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Sat., Oct. 13
Kent State at Toledo, 5:00 PM
Akron at Northern Illinois, 7:00 PM
Bowling Green at CMU, 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Western Michigan, 7:00 PM
Miami at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 PM
Ohio at Ball St., 7:30 PM
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Akron -- Game Notes
Akron Volleyball will continue its road swing when it visits two NCAA Tournament teams from 2011. The Zips dip into the MAC West Division this weekend, traveling to Western Michigan on Friday (7 p.m. ET) and Northern Illinois on Saturday (8 p.m. ET). WMU and NIU are in the top half of the West Division standings with identical 4-2 conference records. The Zips will look to snap an eight-match skid against NIU that dates back to 2004. UA's dominating win over Kent State last Saturday was another highlight in the Akron volleyball history books this year. The 3-0 win marked the first time that the Zips shut out rival Kent State on the road in 20 years. The last time Akron rolled over Kent State on KSU's home floor was the 2002 season, before rally scoring was adopted by the NCAA. As a team, Akron has delivered 87 service aces this season, compared to its opponents' 65. The stat was supplemented by Tina Dimitrijevs last weekend, who posted five service aces over the course of the Zips' two matches, including a career-high four against Kent State. Three of those four aces came on consecutive plays in the midst of a 9-0 Akron run in the third set, when Dimitrijevs served nine straight times successfully without an error. She finished the weekend averaging 0.83 aces per game, considerably higher than her season average of 0.33.
Ball State -- Game Notes
Ball State senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott turned in perhaps the best weekend of her collegiate career, as she blasted 35 kills and hit .567 in BSU’s matches against Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. In BSU’s match against CMU, Scott posted a then-career-high 17 kills on 28 swings with just one error for a .571 hitting mark. She also tallied a match-best five total blocks in the contest. Against EMU, Scott did one better, posting a career-high 18 kills and hitting .562 with no errors on 32 swings. She also threw up a match-best four blocks, including three solo stuffs. Overall, Scott recorded just one hitting error on 60 swings over the weekend. With her 18 dis in Friday’s match versus CMU, junior libero Catie Fredrich moved her up two spots (from 10th to eighth) on Ball State’s all-time career digs list … Fredrich, who added 17 more digs against EMU, enters the week with 1,152 career digs and remains eighth in the BSU record books … In addition, Fredrich’s 22-dig effort versus Wyoming (Sept. 15) marked the 14th time in her career she has posted 20-or-more digs in a match which ranks fifth in BSU annals ... Her 60 career matches with double-figure digs ranks sixth on BSU’s career charts, while her 3.87 career digs-per-set average is fourth.
Bowling Green has a rigorous week ahead as the Falcons host non-conference foe Oakland Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Stroh Center. Following that match, BGSU hits the road to face Eastern Michigan Friday night and MAC West leader Central Michigan Saturday night. At 10-7 overall and 6-0 in conference play, Bowling Green sits atop the conference standings as the only undefeated team remaining in the league. Oakland, though, went 3-1 in non-conference play against MAC schools. Eastern Michigan is 3-3 in conference play and Central Michigan is 5-1. With the six league wins, Bowling Green has equaled its conference win total from a year ago when the Falcons went 6-10. At 6-0 in conference play, Bowling Green is the only unbeaten team remaining in the MAC. Two teams – Ohio and Central Michigan – sit just one game back at 5-1. The Falcons are 6-0 for the first time since the 2006 team started 10-0 and swept their first three league matches in straight sets for the first time in program history. In fact, the team has four straight-set victories in conference play this year. BGSU has dropped just three sets in conference play. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Butterfield has possibly been the most critical part of the Falcons’ 6-0 start in league play, stepping up her game once conference action began. Butterfield never had more than seven kills a year ago and reached double-digit kill totals just four times in 11 non-conference matches this year. But since MAC play has begun, she has at least 10 in 5-of-6 matches and is hitting .289, a strong improvement over her .221 attack percentage in non-conference contests.
Buffalo -- Game Notes
The Bulls are 7-11 overall and 1-5 in league play and have lost five of six matches since a three-match winning streak on Sept. 14-15. Buffalo is 0-6 on the road this season and is coming off a 3-1 loss at Kent State last Friday and 3-0 loss at Ohio last Saturday. UB averages 12.18 kills per set and hits .167. Defensively, the Bulls net 14.22 digs and 2.28 blocks per set.
Riding a five-match winning streak and sitting atop the Mid-American Conference West standings, the Central Michigan volleyball program returns to the friendly confines of McGuirk Arena for matches versus MAC East foes Miami and Bowling Green this weekend. The Chippewas (11-6) currently sit alone atop the MAC West with a 5-1 record in conference play, while Saturday's opponent Bowling Green is the MAC East and overall league leader with a perfect 6-0 mark. Junior Jenna Coates was named the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season Monday afternoon following her performances versus Ball State and Toledo last weekend. Coates ranks first in the MAC with 4.98 digs per set and is a key reason the Chippewas currently rank second in the league in opponent hitting percentage at .175. Since the start of conference play three weeks ago, no setter in the MAC has been better than the Chippewas' very own Kelly Maxwell. The junior leads the MAC with a 12.43 assists per set in league matches and has dished out at least 50 assists in half of CMU's contests thus far.
The Eastern Michign University volleyball team continues the Mid-American Conference portion of the 2012 season Friday, Oct. 12, when it plays host to the Bowling Green State University Falcons at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center. After the match with BGSU, the Eagles will then welcom the Miami University RedHawks to Ypsilanti for a 7 p.m. match Saturday, Oct. 13. Eastern has been near the top of the conference in multiple categories both as a team and individually. As a team, the Green and White is sixth in the conference in aces per set. As of Oct. 2, EMU is averaging 1.22 aces per set which trails Akron (1.36), Buffalo (1.36), Central Michigan (1.32), Nortnern Illinois (1.28) and Bowling Green (1.27). The Eagles are also second in digs per set, posting 16.74 digs while Western Michigan leads at 17.15. Individually, Eastern has a few student-athletes showing off their skill on the hardwood. Rachel Iaquaniello is leading the MAC in kills at 4.12 per set. Kristen Baker sits 10th in the MAC for attack percentage at .282, while Kim Hildreth is 10th in assists per set, with 8.52 and Sierra Reed is 10th in digs averaging 4.08 per set.
The Kent State volleyball team will head back on the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches this weekend after being home at the M.A.C. Center for its last three contests. A trip to Muncie, Ind. will get the weekend started as the Golden Flashes take on Ball State (9-10, 2-4) Friday (Oct. 12) at 7 p.m. The Flashes will return to the state of Ohio on Saturday (Oct. 13) as they visit Toledo (7-11, 1-5) for a 5 p.m. contest. The weekend will conclude the first half of the MAC schedule for first-year head coach Don Gromala and the Golden Flashes (5-13, 2-4), who currently are tied for the final bid to the conference tournament. A pair of wins this weekend would create separation from the teams beneath them in the standings and could also help them later in the season in the event of a tie. Kent State enters the weekend with an all-time record of 10-36 against Ball State and 24-26 against Toledo. Outside hitter Tinuke Aderemi-Ibitola (Ellicott City, Md.) had a strong performance in the Flashes' win over Buffalo a week ago. The sophomore posted 20 kills, including 10 in the second set, and a .333 hitting percentage in the 3-1 victory over the Bulls. On the season, Aderemi-Ibitola leads the team in kills per set (3.13) and points per set (3.46). Kent State recorded 21 blocks last weekend, equaling the most over a two-game span this season. Senior middle blocker Kathy Krupa (Burbank, Ill.) posted six total blocks in both of last week's matches and averages a team-leading 0.95 blocks per set this season. Freshman Haley Schneider (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and sophomore Liz Reikow (Holland, Mich.) added seven blocks and six blocks, respectively.
The Miami University volleyball team heads to the state of Michigan for a pair of matches this week. On Thursday, the RedHawks are in Mt. Pleasant to face Central Michigan at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Miami moves on to Ypsilanti to take on Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. Two players are in the top 10 digs in the Miami record books digs by liberos and non-liberos are separated due to the differences in defensive opportunities they have. Therefore Miami's all-time leader in digs as a libero is Melissa Zenz (2006-08) with 1,481, while it's all-time leader for position players is Stephanie Otten (1992-95) with 1,467. When you combine the two categories, there are only 13 players total with 1,000 for more digs for Miami in 38 seasons of volleyball. Two of those players are on this season's team and both now rank in the top 10 for digs regardless of position. Senior Lisa Treadway is ninth all-time with 1,135 digs, while junior Madison Hardy is 10th with 1,120 digs.
The Northern Illinois volleyball team continues cross-divisional play in the Mid-American Conference this weekend as the Huskies (13-9, 4-2 MAC) host Buffalo (7-11, 1-5 MAC) Friday, Oct. 12 at 7 PM CT and Akron (10-8, 3-3 MAC) Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 PM at Victor E. Court, where NIU is 4-3 this season. As a team, the Huskies rank third in the MAC in digs (16.46/set), which is also good for 58th in the nation, third in opponent hitting percentage (.189) and fourth in aces (1.28/set). Individually, Amber Walker is fourth in digs (4.64/set) and 96th in the nation, Mary Kurisch is ninth in hitting (.286), MacKenzie Roddy is third in aces (0.35/set) and seventh in kills (3.44/set), Alexis Gonzalez is sixth in assists (10.11/set), which is good for 94th in the nation, and seventh in aces (0.30/set), and Meghan Romo is sixth in kills (3.46/set).
Ohio Volleyball heads out on the road for the first time in three weeks to play two contests against opponents from the MAC's Western Division. The Bobcats are at Toledo (7-11, 1-5) on Friday at 7 p.m. before getting back on the bus for a match at Ball State (9-10, 2-4) on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Bobcats lead the MAC in blocking with an average of 2.76 per set and rank 25th in the nation. Meanwhile, they are limiting opponents to a .170 hitting percentage, also tops in the MAC, and averaging 18.11 digs per set, second in the MAC. Serena Warner leads the league in blocking with an average of 1.37 per set, and has upped her average to 1.56 in MAC play. Lexie Hartnett is fifth in MAC play with an average of 1.29 blocks per set for the 'Cats, up from 1.00 in non-conference action. Warner also ranks third in the MAC with an exceptional .329 hitting percentage. The sophomore has paired with classmate Kelly Lamberti to create a strong Ohio offensive attack. Lamberti is third in the MAC in scoring, averaging 4.48 per set and ranking in the top 60 nationally. She also ranks second in the league with 21 service aces (0.35 per set). Lamberti also ranks fourth in kills with an average of 3.80 per set. She is joined in the top 10 by sophomore Chelsea Bilger, who is averaging 3.94 kills per set in league play. Two freshmen, Meredith Ashy and Abby Gilleland are also excelling early in their careers. Ashy ranks second in the MAC with an average of 5.06 digs per set while Gilleland's 9.80 assists per set are also one of the top marks in the conference.
Toledo (7-11, 1-5 MAC) continues a season-long five-match homestand this weekend when it faces Mid-American Conference East Division foes Ohio and Kent State. The Rockets will entertain the Bobcats (10-8, 5-1 MAC) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12 before hosting the Golden Flashes (5-13, 2-4 MAC) at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13. Friday's match will be 'Girl Scout Night' with a Toledo Volleyball license plate given to the first 100 fans, while Saturday will serve as the Rockets' 'Ace for a Cure' match with a Cure t-shirt provided to the first 100 fans. Donations for the fight against breast cancer will be taken at the match. The Rockets led in each match last weekend against Eastern Michigan (13-9, 3-3 MAC) and MAC West Division leader Central Michigan (11-6, 5-1 MAC) but dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to the Eagles and a 3-1 decision to the Chippewas. UT won its first two sets vs. EMU and held leads of 16-11 in Set 3 and 16-12 in Set 4 before the Eagles pulled out the five-set win. Toledo then captured its first set against CMU and led 20-17 in Set 2 and 17-14 in Set 3 only to the Chippewas rally for the victory. Junior MB Dakota Harkins paces UT with a .300 attack percentage and 1.03 blocks per set, while junior OH Lauren Rafdal is tallying a team-high 2.95 kills per set. Junior S Adria Pryor is quarterbacking UT's attack and averaging 9.85 assists per set with senior libero McCall Paynter notching a team-best 3.87 digs per set.
The Broncos entered the 2012 season with eight letterwinners, including five starters plus their libero, returning from a team that competed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Western Michigan, led by eighth-year head coach Colleen Munson, posted a 24-9 overall record last season, finishing second in the West Division standings with a 12-4 mark. WMU received 10 first-place votes in the MAC's preseason poll this year. The Broncos are coming off a 3-0 loss to Marquette on Tuesday, and narrowly missed spoiling Bowling Green's unbeaten conference streak last weekend, losing 3-2. Western Michigan sits in first place in the MAC overall offensively, averaging 14.21 kills per set. Preseason All-Conference selection Terin Norris fuels the fire with a league- leading 11.68 assists per set. In conference matches, Richelle Ranney and Jessica Brown are second and fourth in hitting percentage at .363 and .321. On the other side of the ball, Lena Oliver spearheads the defense with 4.75 digs per set.