The last time that the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team completed a home tournament with a clean sweep was in 1993.
That was prior to this year’s EMU Tournament from Sept. 4-6, 2025. The Eagles dominated, posting successive victories over Purdue University Fort Wayne, Valparaiso University and Niagara University to continue their red-hot start to the 2025 campaign, boosting their season record to 5-2 overall.
Eastern Michigan’s milestone performance did not go unnoticed by the national media, with senior Ashlynn Belcher being featured on SportsCenter’s top 10 plays of the day for her creative “kick kill” in the home team’s match against Valparaiso.
With an assist from teammate Ava Siefke, Belcher instinctively kicked the ball over the net before it touched the ground, counting on the scoreboard and breaking the 10-10 tie between the two teams at a critical point in the match, one that the Eagles would go on to win 3-1.
This wouldn’t be the only recognition that the former Old Dominion transfer received for her play, with Belcher also being named a Mid-American Conference player of the week for her overall tournament performance along with teammate Hatteras Welker.
Belcher posted gaudy numbers throughout all three days of the tournament. With 137 total assists accumulated and 42 digs on the defensive end, the senior earned her first MAC player of the week honors in her collegiate career.
Welker was equally a force for the green and white throughout the three-day outing, posting 26 blocks to go with 28 kills and 47.5 total points accumulated during that stretch. The sophomore takes home the conference player of the week award for the second time in her budding career, the first being in September of last year.
In 2023, the Eagles only won five games throughout the entirety of the season, Head Coach Kevin Foeman’s first in Ypsilanti. Last year, it took the team 12 matches to arrive at the five-win mark.
This year, they’ve reached that milestone in just seven games – the best start to a season the program has seen since 2018, which was also the last time Eastern Michigan took home the MAC Tournament championship.
The Eagles hope to extend their three-match win streak when they hit the road for Rochester, Michigan, for the Golden Grizzly Invitational hosted by Oakland University. Matchups against Xavier University, Southern Illinois University and Oakland University will be on the docket from Sept. 12-13.
