RICHMOND, Ky. – After winning five of its first seven matches away from home, the Eastern Kentucky University volleyball team will play three times on campus this weekend during the annual Geri Polvino Invitational.
 
All six matches during the GPI will be played at the Olympic Sports Training Center.  The schedule starts at 10 a.m. on Friday with Northern Kentucky facing Texas-Rio Grande Valley.  EKU will play Akron at 1 p.m.  Day one concludes with the Colonels taking on UTRGV at 7 p.m.
 
Saturday's slate begins with Northern Kentucky and Akron at 10 a.m.  Akron and UTRGV face each other at 4 p.m.  The GPI concludes with an in-state rivalry match between NKU and the Colonels at 7 p.m.
 
The EKU matches against Akron and Northern Kentucky will air live on ESPN+.
 
THE COLONELS
-  EKU staged a rally in the fifth set to beat Marshall, 3-2, on Tuesday and now stands at 5-2 on the season.
 
-  In EKU's last three matches, AG Hynes is averaging 3.15 kills per set while hitting .354.  During that span she has committed only seven errors in 96 attempts.
 
-  Emilee Hill finished with a triple-double in the win at Marshall, her fourth of the season and ninth of her career.  She totaled a career-best 16 kills, 31 assists and 21 digs.
 
-  EKU limited its first seven opponents to a .160 attack percentage, the best in the Atlantic Sun Conference and 56th in the nation.  The next closest team in the ASUN has a .192 opponent hitting percentage.
 
-  EKU is third in the nation in total assists (358), fifth in total kills (371) and 12th in total digs (430).
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
-  Akron enters the GPI at 4-2 overall, with wins over Green Bay, Cleveland State, East Tennessee and American.  Maureen Mathews leads the team with 3.92 kills per set.  
 
-  UTRGV comes to Richmond with a 1-4 record.  The Vaqueros beat Long Island the first weekend of the season.  Martina Franco averages a team-high 3.68 kills per set. 
 
-  Northern Kentucky is 2-4 this season.  The Norse beat Valparaiso and Western Michigan.  Sydney Bray leads the team with 2.55 kills per set.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
-  EKU and Akron have only faced each other four times with both teams winning two.  The first meeting came in 1982.  The most recent was in 2019 with the Zips winning 3-0 on their home court. 
 
-  This will be the first-ever meeting between the Colonels and Texas-Rio Grande Valley. 
 
-  Northern Kentucky holds a 13-9 edge in the series with EKU.  The first meeting was in 1976.  The two squads haven't met since 2015 when the Colonels won 3-0 in Richmond.