East Michigan News

Eastern Michigan University's volleyball team faced a challenging match against the University of Akron, resulting in a loss during their Senior Night on November 9, 2024. The game took place at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

The senior players honored included Hannah Blaney from Saline, Michigan; Angel Baylark from Burlington, Iowa; Lauren Welch from Union, Kentucky; Mackenzie Gross from Grand Haven, Michigan; and Maddie Stayer from Mentor, Ohio. Each played their final home game for Eastern Michigan.

In the first set, Eastern Michigan struggled to keep up with Akron, losing 25-10 after falling behind early. The second set saw the Eagles trailing by as many as ten points before succumbing to a 25-16 defeat. In the third set, despite efforts to rally back into the game, Eastern was narrowly defeated 25-23.

Taylor Smith contributed significantly with ten assists during the match. This marked her sixteenth match with double-digit assists out of nineteen matches played this season. Meanwhile, Hannah Blaney led her team in digs for the twenty-fourth time this season with a total of 21 digs.

Historically speaking, this match was the forty-seventh encounter between Eastern Michigan and Akron. Eastern holds an overall record of 23 wins and 24 losses against Akron and an 11-13 record when playing them in Ypsilanti.

The current team has been one of Eastern's best blocking teams historically with a total of 285.5 blocks this season—the second-highest in program history. They need just thirty-nine more blocks to tie with the 2017 squad's record of most blocks in a single season.

Looking ahead, Eastern will play its final two regular-season matches at Buffalo on November 15 and November 16.

Stay updated on EMU volleyball by following @EMUVolleyball and @EMUAthletics on social media platforms X and Instagram.