Three weeks.

That is all Mid-American Conference Volleyball fans have left to wait until the start of the 2023 MAC Tournament.

With these weeks however comes a fascinating battle for the final quarterfinalist spot, as well as a chance to see some spoilers try and earn some wins for pride.

A look at some of the storylines as we enter the month of August.

1. THE BATTLE FOR THE QUARTERFINALS INTENSIFIES- My goodness do we have a tight battle for the final quarterfinalist spot in the MAC dance. In case you do not know, how the MAC Tournament works is that the division winners are automatic semifinalists and receive a quarterfinal bye, while the top four overall records from the rest of the conference are the quarterfinalists. As of right now, Western Michigan is poised to host the tournament and be the MAC West champions, as they have still yet to lose in conference play (13-0). Buffalo is in first place in the MAC East with a 10-3 record, and then following them are Ball State (11-2), Ohio (8-5), Toledo (8-5), and Bowling Green (6-7). However, BG has three teams nipping at their heels, as Akron, Central Michigan, and Northern Illinois all are at 6-7 as well, with BG holding the slight advantage over them due to overall record (12-12). BG and Akron face off with each other in a weekend series this week, while Northern Illinois battles Toledo at home, and CMU travels to Kent State.
2. BRONCOS SWEEP MAC WEST AWARDS FOR FOURTH TIME THIS YEAR-  WMU is just stupid good at this point. Once again, the Broncos took care of adding all the hardware for the week in the MAC West, earning their fourth sweep of awards of the year. The MAC West Setter of the Week? Oh who would have guessed it- Logan Case, who continues to dominate, earning her eighth award of the year in that category. Meanwhile, her teammates Keona Salesman and Andelyn Simkins earned MAC West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week respectively. For Salesman, this is her fourth time winning the award this year, while for Simkins, this is number five for the season.
3. EASTERN MICHIGAN GRABS A WIN- Last week I was in Ypsilanti with BGSU for their match against EMU, and I’ll honestly tell you- they did not look like an 2-22 team by any means. Sure, the Eagles were not great, and the stats show it, but the team is scrappy, relentless on offense, and played really hard for first year head coach Kevin Foeman. Well on Friday last week, the Eagles got their first win in MAC play, taking down Miami in four sets. Three different Eagles cracked double-digits in kills, with Ava Siefke leading the way with 18, followed by 15 from Callie Minshew and 10 from Samantha Basham.

A look now at the current MAC standings (courtesy of getsomemaction.com):

Now a look at the upcoming MAC schedule (courtesy of getsomemaction.com):

Friday, November 3, 2023 Women’s Volleyball

	Away	Home	Time	Location	Links
	Miami	Buffalo	6:00 P.M.	Buffalo, N.Y. (Conf.)	Stats
	Ball State	Western Michigan	6:00 P.M.	Kalamazoo, MI (Conf.)
	Central Michigan	Kent State	6:00 P.M.	Kent, Ohio (Conf.)	Stats
	Bowling Green	Akron	6:00 P.M.	Akron, Ohio (Conf.)	Stats
	Toledo	Northern Illinois	7:00 P.M.	DeKalb, Ill. (Conf.)	Stats
	Eastern Michigan	Ohio	7:00 P.M.	Athens, OH (Conf.)	Stats

Saturday, November 4, 2023 Women’s Volleyball

	Away	Home	Time	Location	Links
	Toledo	Northern Illinois	3:00 P.M.	DeKalb, Ill. (Conf.)	Stats
	Ball State	Western Michigan	3:00 P.M.	Kalamazoo, MI (Conf.)
	Bowling Green	Akron	4:00 P.M.	Akron, Ohio (Conf.)	Stats
	Miami	Buffalo	4:00 P.M.	Buffalo, N.Y. (Conf.)	Stats
	Eastern Michigan	Ohio	4:00 P.M.	Athens, OH (Conf.)	Stats
	Central Michigan	Kent State	4:00 P.M.	Kent, Ohio (Conf.)	Stats

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