Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Ball State Cardinals (17-9, 13-1 MAC)
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the road portion of its 2025 regular season schedule with two matches at Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals and Eagles will battle at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Gervin GameAbove Center.
  
CURRENTLY IN THE MAC: With its 13-1 league mark, Ball State owns a three-match lead in the MAC standings, with Western Michigan currently second at 10-4 ... The Cardinals can clinch at least a share of the MAC regular season title with one win, or one Broncos loss over the remaining four matches ... Toledo and Ohio are tied for third at 9-5, with the Rockets holding the head-to-head tiebreaker ... Akron, Bowling Green and Miami are in a three-way tie for the final two spots at 7-7 ... The top six teams in the final league standings advance to the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship held Nov. 21-23 at Bowling Green's Stroh Center.
  
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 13-1 record in MAC play this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 472-226 (.676) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, five matches behind the Cardinals at 467-231 (.676), while this weekend's opponent Eastern Michigan is eighth at 291-406 (.418).
 
ABOUT THE 10-0 START TO #MACtion: While it's season-long 10-match winning streak came to an end vs. Ohio (Oct. 25), Ball State's 10-0 start to MAC play tied as the third-best league start in program history ... The Cardinals also won its first 10 conference matches of the 1997 campaign ... Ball State has also gone undefeated in league play twice, boasting an 18-0 mark in 1993, followed by a 17-0 record in 1994.
 
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Cardinals enter the week with a 17-9 overall record, including an 13-1 record in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State went 3-0 last week, with a Tuesday win over Miami and a two-match weekend sweep at Kent State.
• Ball State remains the top-ranked MAC squad in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings, coming in at 53 this week, three spots better than last week ... The Cardinals were 77th in the initial RPI rankings on Oct. 5 and climbed to as high as 45th in the Oct. 19 release.
• Ball State enters the EMU series as one of the nation's top terminating teams, ranking second nationally with 1,381 total kills ... Only Towson (1,401) has more kills than the Cardinals ... 430 of Ball State's kills, which is fifth nationally, have come from the arm of sophomore outside Carson Tyler who also ranks first in the MAC and 40th nationally with a 4.17 kills-per-set average.
• In addition, the Cardinals lead the MAC and rank 38th nationally with a .258 team attack percentage ... Junior middle Camryn Wise is first in the league and 35th nationally with a .390 rate of success, while junior setter Lindsey Green ranks 100th nationally with 746 total assists and owns a 7.31 assists-per-set average.
 

Western Michigan Broncos (13-13, 10-4 MAC)
The Western Michigan volleyball team wraps up its 2025 home schedule this weekend as it welcomes Kent State to town for a two-match series.

WMU (13-14, 10-4 MAC) vs Kent State (8-17, 3-11)
Match One: Friday, Nov. 7 | 6 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
Match Two: Saturday, Nov. 8 | 3 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS

SENIOR WEEKEND
Western Michigan returns to University Arena this weekend for its final home matches of the regular season against Kent State. Saturday is Senior Day for the Broncos, with the quintet of Reeghan Boyer, Molly Brown, Mary Clare Brusek, Amanda Glanton and Maddie Kmetz set to be honored in a ceremony following the match. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos are coming off of a split of last weekend's series at Toledo. The Rockets took Friday's contest in four sets, and Western Michigan then bounced back to take Saturday's tilt in four. Leah Richmond had 42 assists and 15 digs in Saturday's win, setting up four teammates for double-digit kills, led by Mary Clare Brusek's 14 kills.

RICHMOND REACHES 1,000
In Saturday's victory over Toledo, Leah Richmond surpassed 1,000 assists for the season. The redshirt freshman leads the MAC and is second in the nation with 1,021 total assists, and is atop the league and in the top-50 nationally in assists per set with 9.91. Richmond has taken her game up a notch in conference play, averaging a league-best 10.56 assists per set against MAC foes.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan leads the MAC in both total digs (1,819) and digs per set (17.32), with its total digs ranked third nationally and digs per set average seventh-best in the nation. A pair of Broncos rank in the top-10 in the league in digs per set, with Elana Erickson fourth (3.90) and Leah Richmond ninth (3.25). Since moving to the libero role full-time for the series at Buffalo, Reeghan Boyer has upped her digging contributions as well, and ranks sixth in conference play at 3.61 digs per set. 

ACES UP HER SLEEVE
One of the top servers in the conference, Molly Brown leads the MAC in service aces per set (0.42) and her 40 total aces are tied for the league lead and 28th-most in NCAA Division I. Brown is averaging a league-best 0.47 aces per set in MAC play, with Maddie Kmetz ranked seventh at 0.35.


Toledo Rockets (18-8, 9-5 MAC)
Friday, Nov. 7 / vs. Buffalo / Toledo, Ohio / 6:00 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Saturday, Nov. 8 / vs. Buffalo / Toledo, Ohio / 5:00 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats

Women's volleyball hosts its final home matches of the 2025 regular season this weekend, welcoming Buffalo to Savage Arena. The Rockets enter the week sitting third in the MAC standings with a 9-5 mark in league play. Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger leads the conference in digs (4.58 digs/set) and ranks third in service aces (0.40 aces/set) while Olivia Heitkamp leads the offense with 3.03 kills/set.


Ohio Bobcats (11-15, 905 MAC)
Nov. 7 / at Northern Illinois / DeKalb, Ill. / Victor E. Court / 7 p.m. ET  / Live Stats 
Nov. 8 / at Northern Illinois / DeKalb, Ill. / Victor E. Court / 5 p.m. ET / ESPN+ / Watch / Live Stats 

The Ohio volleyball team (11-15, 9-5 MAC) looks to continue its hot streak this week when it heads to DeKalb, Ill., for its final road trip of the 2025 regular season. 

Ohio is coming off a 3-0 week that saw sweeps of Kent State and Central Michigan and a four-set victory against CMU on Saturday. Ohio has currently won 10 of its last 11 and sits in fourth place in the MAC standings with two weekends remaining.

On Saturday at CMU, Ohio finished with a .287 attack percentage, 54 kills, six aces, nine blocks, 48 assists, and 42 digs. Central Michigan finished with a .193 attack percentage, 44
kills, four aces, eight blocks, 38 assists, and 43 digs. During the game, Bryn Janke reached the 1,000 career assist milestone after recording her 13^th assist of the game. Janke led the team in assists with 22 total, while Lexi Grissett added 15 assists. Grissett also recorded her first career double-double with a team-high 11 digs. Junior Torre Kildow led the team in kills with 13 total in addition to tallying 14.0 points and two blocks. Junior Gentry Brown recorded a team-high 15.5 points in addition to 12 kills, two aces, three blocks, and seven digs. 


Miami RedHawks (13-13, 7-7 MAC)
Fri., Nov. 7 at Central Michigan, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sat., Nov. 8 at Central Michigan, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)

Coming off a weekend sweep of Bowling Green with a five-set win Friday and three-set win Saturday, Miami Volleyball hits the road for a pair of matches at Central Michigan this Friday and Saturday. The RedHawks return home for their final matches at Coach Carolyn Condit Court, Nov. 14-15, for Senior Weekend and Alumni Weekend. The RedHawks dropped a match at Ball State in their other contest last week.


Akron Zips (13-11, 7-7 MAC)
Akron looks to keep its winning ways going as the Blue and Gold travel to Bowling Green to battle the Falcons on November 7 and 8 for a pair of conference matches.

How To Follow The Action
Friday: Stats | Video
Saturday: Stats | Video

Zips At A Glance
The Zips hit the road to battle the Bowling Green Falcons with the final two weeks of the regular season on the horizon. Akron enters the series with a 14-11 overall record and a 7-7 record in the MAC.

The Blue and Gold posted a 3-0 week with wins over Buffalo and Eastern Michigan. Delaney Gash led the offense with 69 kills (5.31 per set), a .282 hitting percentage, while adding four assists, three aces and 32 digs. She recorded a pair of double-doubles while setting a new career-high in kills (28).  Vanessa Del Real recorded 70 digs the past week, with a career-high 37 coming against Eastern Michigan. Del Real also added 13 assists and three aces. Chidera Ozoh led the defense with 11 blocks, while Martina Villani added nine and Lyndi Wolf notched seven.

For their efforts, Del Real and Gash earned weekly MAC awards.

So far this season, Gash leads the Zips in kills (393) and points (425.5). Villani is the leader in assists (994) while Del Real leads the way in digs (402) and aces (40). Ozoh is the leader for total blocks (108).

After Bowling Green, Akron concludes the regular season with Toledo coming to James A. Rhodes Arena for a pair of matches on Nov. 14 and 15

Best in the conference (11/3)
For the second time this season, Vanessa Del Real and Delaney Gash earned weekly Mid-American Conference awards, the conference office announce on Monday, November 3.

Del Real was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week while Gash was named the Offensive Player of the Week.

Setting the tone for the Zips, Vanessa Del Real set a career-high in digs while helping the Zips to a perfect record over the week.        

Recording 70 digs (5.38 per set), Del Real recorded a pair of 20+ dig performances while setting a career-high 37 digs against EMU on Oct. 31, while adding four assists and one ace. She notched 22 digs in the series finale against the Eagles with three assists and one ace.

Leading the Zips' offense with 69 kills (5.31 per set), Delaney Gash powered Akron to a 3-0 week.

Gash produced a pair of 20+ kill performances along with a pair of double-doubles. She notched 24 kills and 12 digs in a five-set victory over Buffalo on Oct. 28, where she hit .306. She recorded another double-double with a career-high 28 kills and 12 digs in a five-set win over EMU on Oct. 31. She finished the week with a 17 kill performance against the Eagles while hitting .280 and adding eight digs, two assists and two aces.

Among The Best In The NCAA
The Zips rank 78th in the NCAA in assists per set (12.26), 89th in kills per set (13.18), 7th in total assists (1,251), 48th in total digs (1,442), 5th in total kills (1,344), 37th in total aces (164) and 77th in total blocks (206).

Individually, Vanessa Del Real ranks 71st in aces per set (.41), 28th in total aces (40) and 44th in total digs (402). Martina Villani ranks 56th in assists per set (9.75) and 3rd in total assists (994). Delaney Gash ranks 60th in kills per set (4.01), 23rd in total points (425.5), 87th in points per set (4.34) and 15th in total kills (393). Chidera Ozoh ranks 36th in total blocks (108).

Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (2nd - 1714), points per set (2nd - 16.80), hitting % (3rd - .216), fewest opp assists per set (4th - 11.40), total assists (2nd - 11151), assists per set (2nd - 12.26), fewest opp kills (4th - 1265), fewest opp kills per set (12.40),  total kills (2nd - 1344), kills per set (2nd - 13.14), total aces (3rd - 164),  and aces per set (4th - 1.61).

Individually, the Zips see Lyndi Wolf rank 6th in hitting percentage (.303). Gabby Brissett ranks 10th in hitting percentage (.277). Delaney Gash ranks 2nd in total kills (393) and kills per set (4.01) while ranking 2nd in total points (425.5) and points per set (4.34). Martina Villani ranks 2nd in total assists (994) and assists per set (9.75). Vanessa Del Real ranks 1st in total aces (40), 2nd in aces per set (.41), 4th in total digs (402) and 2nd in digs per set (4.14). Chidera Ozoh ranks 5th in total blocks (108) and 7th in blocks per set (1.06).
 

Bowling Green Falcons (13-13, 7-7 MAC)
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will wrap up the team's regular season home schedule, hosting the Akron Zips for a pair of matches inside the Stroh Center. Bowling Green and Akron enter the weekend tied in the MAC standings with four matches left in the regular season, both 7-7 in conference play.

BGSU Schedule This Week
Friday, Nov. 7 | BGSU vs. Akron | 6 p.m. | Musical Theatre Night | ESPN+
Saturday, Nov. 8 | BGSU vs. Akron | 4 p.m. | Senior Night | Pirate Night | ESPN+

First Serve 

• Bowling Green will host the Akron Zips in the final two home matches of the regular season for the Falcons.
• Both BGSU and Akron enter the weekend with 7-7 records in MAC play, being tied for fifth in the standings with four matches remaining in the regular season.
• The Falcons have won the last 10 meetings against the Zips, as well as 19 of the last 20, but Akron enters the weekend riding a five-match winning streak, the longest active winning streak in the conference. 
• Following Saturday's match, the Falcons will recognize three seniors; Jessica Andrews, Lauryn Hovey and Isabelle Laube.
• For Andrews, she has worked her way into the BGSU blocking record books. Entering the weekend, she is currently third during the Rally Scoring Era for Bowling Green in each blocking category; career solo blocks, career block assists, and career total blocks. Her block assists mark is fifth all-time, while her total blocks are eighth. She's also stepped up this year, transitioning into a right side after being a middle blocker her first three seasons in the Orange and Brown. 
• For Hovey, she has placed her name in the Falcon record books for multiple stats. Her 167 aces hold the Rally Scoring Era record and are second all-time. Meanwhile, her kills total ranks third in the Rally Scoring Era and sixth all-time. She's also worked her way into the top 10 during the Rally Scoring Era for career block assists, career total blocks, and career attacks. 
• As for Laube, she has been a key leader for this BGSU squad. Laube took charge of leading the offseason workouts for the team in the spring and summer. As for the season, she stepped up as a setter when the team faced injuries, despite having not set since her club volleyball days. Laube led the team in assists in both matches against Western Michigan. 
• As a team, Bowling Green currently ranks inside the nation's top 50 for four stats, including total blocks (242.5, 9th in the nation), assists (1,183, 21st), kills (1,267, 24th), and total attacks (3,425, 35th).
• Helen Wilford enters the weekend ranked 14th in the nation for total blocks with 118, trailing the nation's leader, Bella Wooden at Utah Valley, who has 150. 

Turning Over To November
The Falcons will head into the month of November with recent success in the month. Combining the 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons, the Falcons posted a record of 21-2 (.913) in the month of November while being 17-0 during the regular season during that stretch in the month of November. Going back even further to the 2019 season, the team holds an impressive 32-7 (.821) in the month of November. BGSU currently has four regular-season matches left in November this year. 


Central Michigan Chippewas (9-17, 6-8 MAC)
CELEBRATING SENIOR WEEKEND
This weekend, Central Michigan Volleyball will celebrate the six graduating seniors, Natalia Rejment, Abby Olin, Alina Anderson, Ella Peter, Maddy Gebhardt, and Brooklyn Conner. The six seniors include three four-year players for CMU and three transfer students. 

TOURNAMENT HOPES
Central Michigan is fighting for a spot in the 2025 Mid-American Conference. The breakdown: Akron, Bowling Green, and Miami (OH) are all tied at 7-7 in the conference, which holds the spots in the top-6 that go to the tournament. Central Michigan lost to Bowling Green and beat Akron twice. CMU does not hold the head-to-head over Bowling Green, but does over Akron. The Chippewas go to 13-1 Ball State next weekend.

Best path to making the tournament:
•  CMU goes 3-1 or better on the way out.
•  CMU goes 2-2: •  Miami (OH) needs to 8-10 or worse if CMU takes the H2H. Akron finishes 8-10 or worse on the way out since CMU holds the H2H. The Zips play at Bowling Green for two and host Toledo for two. Bowling Green needs to finish 8-10 or worse since the Chippewas do not own the H2H. The Falcons host Akron then head to Buffalo for the final two regular-season games.
• CMU goes 1-3 or 0-4: No chance in making the tournament. More factors will be determined after the weekend with the RedHawks.

BACK-TO-BACK FOR THE MAC POTW
One week after earning the honor, Keelyn Muell earned it again – Mid-American Conference Setter of the Week. Muell earns the award after leading the Chippewas to their sixth win in seven matches and their fifth straight win. Keelyn Muell guided Central Michigan's offense with precision in a weekend sweep at Kent State. The junior setter averaged 10.57 assists per set across seven sets, totaling 74 assists while directing an attack that hit a combined .294 over the two matches - highlighted by a team .320 attack percentage on Friday night. Muell also added eight digs, four total blocks, and two service aces, showcasing her all-around court awareness and defensive reliability. Her ability to distribute the ball efficiently and keep CMU's offense balanced was instrumental in the Chippewas' back-to-back conference victories. Three key attackers for CMU hit +.300 over the two matches.

SINCE MAC PLAY MAC STATS
Throughout conference play, Central Michigan ranks third in the MAC with 77 service aces and 1.75/set. Brooklyn Conner leads the MAC with a .422 hitting percentage with 57 kills in her 27 sets played through conference play. Rejment ranks sixth in the conference with 3.39 kills/set, and fourth with 3.95 points/set. Keelyn Muell enters the matches back at home with 10.18 assists/set, good for third-best in the conference. Central Michigan hit .361 as a team on Friday against the Zips, which is the second-highest hitting percentage in a match this season throughout MAC play across all teams in the conference. Against Akron on Friday, October 17th, Central Michigan set a new program record for kills in a three-set match. CMU recorded 56 kills, surpassing the previous record of 54 set on November 4th, 2010. In that same match, the 50 assists were also the best in three sets in MAC play by any team. Taylor Cripe hit .625 against Kent State on October 24th, the second highest by any player in a three-set match in MAC play. Grace Thomas holds the third-best hitting percentage in any match with a .647 against Kent State in four sets.

FINDING A NEW GEAR
The preseason schedule for the Chippewas was a tough run of matches - but it seems to be proving helpful as the Maroon & Gold work in Mid-American Conference play. Entering MAC play, CMU had a 3-9 record, and prior to the victory over Eastern Michigan had posted a nine-game losing streak. After defeating the Eagles, the Chippewas have won six of their last seven, with five of the six wins being sweeps.

DOUBLE LIBERO RUN
Central Michigan has been running both Hannah Langton and Rainey Weidman at the libero position since the matches in Buffalo. In those four matches, the two have combined for 58 digs (4.46/set). Langton held down the libero position all season in 2024 for the Chippewas as a freshman, and both she and Weidman had been playing as a DS for the beginning of the season until Alina Anderson sustained an injury, and the two have found a groove. 


Buffalo Bulls (8-15, 5-9 MAC)
The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (8-15, 5-9 MAC) will stay on the road for the final time this season as they'll play the Toledo Rockets (18-8, 9-5 MAC) this weekend. Friday's match will begin at 6 p.m. with Saturday's match at 5 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Bulls have won two of the last three meetings against Toledo. Head Coach Scott Smith is 3-5 against the Rockets. In her three matches against the Rockets, junior Manoela Forlin finished with 29 kills and a hitting percentage of .205. In the overall series Toledo leads, 25-8.

The Bulls are coming off a 1-2 week as they fell to Akron and Northern Illinois, but ended the week with a sweep over the Huskies. On the week, setter Maddie Mitchell tallied 131 assists, the most in the conference on the week. Her 10.08 assists per set was the third-best mark. She recorded doubles-doubles against Akron and Northern Illinois to bring her season total to 11. Mitchell finished with a 5-set high 53 assists against Akron and a 3-set high 34 assists against Northern Illinois. She added four blocks, four aces and 12 kills. Forlin was a force on the Bulls' offense on the week. Her 4.08 kills per set and total kills on the week ranked third in the MAC. She had a total of eight aces in three matches which was the top mark in the conference as her 0.62 aces per set was sixth. She tallied a total of 63.5 points, an average of 4.88 points per set, both marks good for second in the conference. She finished the week with a .222 kill percentage and 1.92 digs per set. She recorded a 15-kill, 12-dig double-double against Akron.

ABOUT THE BULLS
• Junior Manoela Forlin has 10+ kills in 17 of the 23 matches this season.
• In just conference play, Emerson Matthews is top-10 in the MAC in aces per set (0.33), total aces (18), total kills (197), kills per set (3.65), total points (229.5) and points per set (4.25).
• Sophomore middle blocker Ava Kanj has recorded 36 total blocks in the last seven matches, good for 0.97 blocks per set.
• Preseason All-MAC honoree Manoela Forlin and freshman Emerson Matthews have been the Bulls' one-two punch on the offensive attack. The duo has combined for 584 kills, which is 55.9% of the Bulls' total kills on the season. This is the highest rate in the MAC as Ball State's Carson Tyler and Noelle VanOort make up 52.5% of the Cardinals' kills are just behind for second.
• Maddie Mitchell has 11 double-doubles on the season. Mitchell has recorded double-doubles in seven of the last 10 matches against Ohio (10/4), Akron (10/7), Central Michigan (10/10) and Eastern Michigan (10/23-24), Akron (10/28), and Northern Illinois (10/31).
• The Bulls are 26-6 in sets where they reach 15 first, but are 8-47 when the opposition gets to 15 first.


Northern Illinois Huskies (11-12, 4-10 MAC)
Friday, November 7: Ohio, 6 p.m. – Live Stats 
Saturday, November 8: Ohio, 4 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats 

The NIU volleyball team wraps up action at home as they host the Bobcats of Ohio University on November 7-8. 
 
The Huskies went 1-2 in action last week, with their lone win coming in a reverse sweep against Buffalo. In the Huskies' victory, Ava Grevengoed her tenth double-double of the season as she led the Huskies with 15 kills. Emma McCartney collected her fourth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 12 digs. McCartney set a new career-best in blocks with five in tonight's contest. Savannah Gogel got her first collegiate start this evening as she recorded 13 kills, two aces, and five block assists in the match.


Eastern Michigan Eagles (12-15, 4-10 MAC)
The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team welcomes Ball State University to the George Gervin GameAbove Center Thursday-Friday, Nov. 6-7, for a pivotal pair of matches as just four contests remain in the 2025 regular season. 

NOTABLES LAST TIME AGAINST BALL STATE
Hatteras Welker set the rally-scoring era single-season freshman blocks record as she totaled 110 after the first match between EMU and BSU last season, Nov. 1. She would finish the season with 135 TB, tying for second in the single-season program leaderboards. EMU also increased its team block total to 264.5 after the matches as the squad concluded the year with 305.5, slotting third the rally-scoring era in program annals.

LAST TIME OUT
Eastern is coming off a 1-2 week, beginning with a rivalry sweep of Central Michigan, Oct. 28, snapping a 10-match losing streak to the Chippewas and marking the first home win over CMU since 2015. The Eagles then traveled to Akron for a pair of matches, Oct. 31-Nov. 1, falling in both as the Green and White threatened a reverse sweep Friday, winning the third and fourth set, before falling in the fifth. The Eagles were swept in Saturday's match. 

HONORING SENIORS
Eastern is set to honor six seniors - Ashlynn Belcher, Kendal Bonney, Ella Grasson, Abby Stanford, Bri Struck, and Ella Voorhees in a post-game ceremony Friday.

Ashlynn Belcher joined the squad this season as a transfer from Old Dominion and total 1,894 assists in her career, averaging 5.38 per set. She currently ranks inside the MAC top 10 in assists per set (8.11). Named to the Academic All-MAC team and CSC Academic All-District teams in 2024, Kendal Bonney came over with Head Coach Kevin Foeman in the 2023 season. She has the best single-game hitting percentage on the team this season, hitting .688 with 12 kills and just one error against Marshall, Aug. 29, a figure that ranks fifth in the MAC. Ella Grasson arrived via the transfer portal from High Point prior to the 2024 season, she has set a career-best 1.58 digs per set with 20 aces, including a five ace performance against Kent State, Oct. 9, the second-most in the conference this season. Abby Stanford also joined Foeman when he took the EMU gig prior to the 2023 campaign. Stanford is averaging a career-best 1.78 kills per set this season and was named to the Academic All-MAC and CSC Academic All-District teams in 2024. Bri Struck came to Ypsilanti in 2024. She is a former junior college All-American, conference player of the year, and region player of the year in two seasons at Parkland College. She set NCAA Division I career highs with 16 kills and five total blocks against Buffalo, Oct. 24. Her 16-kill showing featured just three errors off 37 attacks, totaling a .351 hitting percentage. Ella Voorhees first donned the Block E in 2024 as she came to EMU after two seasons with Southern Miss. She is averaging a career-best 2.34 digs per set and she recently posted the 11th double-double of her career with 20 assists and 14 digs at Akron, Oct. 31.

HIGH IN MAC/NAT'L RANKINGS
Eastern ranks 45th in the country in attacks per set (36.48). By volume, it ranks fifth in the county in total attacks (3,757), 10th in the nation in team digs (1,587), 20th in team total blocks (234.0), 25th in team kills (1,261), 33rd in team assists (1,160), and 41st in team service aces (161). In the national standings, Hatteras Welker slots eighth in total blocks (124). Ava Siefke slots 14th in total attacks (1,052), 28th in total points (407.5), and 44th in total kills (345). In the national standings by volume, Welker's 11 blocks in a four-set match slot fifth, while Belcher's 41 dimes in a three-set match are the 11th most. Grasson's five aces tie for fifth in three-set matches.

MILESTONES
Ashlynn Belcher is 157 assists away from 2,000 in her career as she totals 1,843. Ella Voorhees sits 16 digs from 500, and 166 assists from 1,000. Ava Siefke is 21 aces away from the century mark.

UP NEXT
Eastern travels to Oxford, Ohio, where it will close out the 2025 regular season against the Miami RedHawks, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 14-15. Friday's match starts at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday's first serve will take place at 4 p.m.


Kent State Golden Eagles (8-17, 3-11 MAC)
The Kent State volleyball team will play its final two road matches of the season this weekend at Western Michigan. The Golden Flashes and Broncos will battle on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, November 7 // 6 p.m. // Kent State at Western Michigan
Saturday, November 8 // 3 p.m. // Kent State at Western Michigan

PREVIEWING THE FLASHES
Kent State (8-17, 3-11 MAC) have lost three in a row and look to move back above .500 at the M.A.C. Center, where the team has gone 2-3 this season.

Senior Mackenzie McGuire has been among the conference's best offensive players and ranks third in points per set (4.29) and kills per set (3.82). McGuire is No. 43 nationally with 344 total kills. She has recorded at least 10 kills in 20 of 25 matches.

A pair of newcomers have made immediate impacts to Kent State's attack, as freshman Macie Moreland (168) and junior Mercedez Brown (154) are the next two kills leaders.

Junior Christina Vigil ranks fourth in the MAC at 9.32 assists per set and is No. 38 in the nation with 839 total assists. She also leads the team at 2.53 digs per set.

MCGUIRE MAKING HER MARK
The only four-year member of the program, outside hitter Mackenzie McGuire officially entered the Kent State record book on Sept. 6 against Morgan State as the 17th member of the 1,000 kills club. She also tallied the 500th dig of her career during the match.

McGuire claimed the No. 6 spot on the Flashes career list during last Thursday's match against Central Michigan, passing Carrie Patterson (1996-99), and enters the weekend with 1,259 kills.

The Broken Arrow, Oklahoma native has been one of the most productive attackers in program history in terms of kills per set. McGuire's average of 3.45 is the third highest all-time.

BLOCK PARTY
With an average of 2.10 blocks per set, Kent State is having its most successful blocking season since 2021. Middle blocker Adalynn Ginley has made an immediate impact this fall after arriving to campus for the spring semester after transferring from Marshall. Ginley ranks ninth in the MAC with 1.04 blocks per set.

The block has picked up during conference play, as Kent State is averaging 2.27 per set against MAC competition. Middle blocker Nadia Miller leads the way with 1.09 blocks per set in league play, with Ginley (1.04 bps) and setter Christina Vigil (0.85 bps) close behind.