Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Hosts No. 21 Ohio and Kent State This Weekend
October 04, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Ball State Weekly Release in PDF Format
The Week Ahead: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens a four-match home stand at 7 p.m. Friday, when it hosts No. 21 Ohio at Worthen Arena . . . BSU concludes the week Saturday with a 7 p.m. first serve versus Kent State . . . Both matches will be carried live on 91.3 WCRD.
Last Week: Ball State posted a perfect 3-0 record last week, including a 2-0 mark in Mid-American Conference action . . . The Cardinals opened the week Tuesday with a 3-0 (30-16, 30-20, 30-18) victory at Butler . . . On Thursday, BSU tallied a thrilling 3-2 (30-20, 29-31, 26-30, 30-21, 15-10) come-from-behind victory over Toledo to open home MAC play . . . BSU closed the week Saturday with a 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-21) win at Buffalo to move into a tie for first place in the MAC West Division with Northern Illinois (10-6; 3-1 MAC).
Ball State vs. No. 21 Ohio:While the Cardinals own a 31-7 advantage in the all-time series with the Bobcats, Ohio has posted victories in the last five meetings . . . Friday's contest will mark the third-straight meeting in which the Bobcats are ranked in the top 25 . . . Last season, a then-No. 24 Ohio squad claimed a 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-23) regular-season victory over BSU on Oct. 7, while a then-No. 21 Bobcat team score a 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-28) win over the Cardinals in the championship match of the MAC Tournament on Nov. 20 . . . Ohio is 3-15 all-time in Muncie, including a 2-8 mark in Worthen Arena.
Ball State vs. Kent State:The Cardinals own a 34-7 edge in the all-time series with the Golden Flashes, including wins in each of the last four meetings . . . Last season, the Cardinals tallied a 3-0 (30-16, 30-28, 30-20) victory over KSU in Kent, Ohio . . . The Golden Flashes enter Saturday's match with a 2-17 all-time record in Muncie, including a 0-10 ledger in Worthen Arena.
About the Cardinals:Ball State enters Friday's contest with a 6-10 (3-1 MAC) record after posting a 3-0 record last week . . . Freshman Julie Breivogel currently paces the Cardinals with a 3.30 kills-per-game average, while senior Kelly Cochran is second at 3.11 . . . Senior Amanda McCormick anchors the BSU defense, averaging a NCAA-best 7.07 digs per game . . . Christine Kennedy is Ball State's top blocker, averaging 1.32 blocks per game, while Angie Parrell and Cassie Connersplit time as the team's setter, averaging 9.96 and 4.90 assists per game, respectively . . . As a team, the Cardinals average 13.97 kpg, 12.70 apg, 18.67 dpg and 2.46 bpg . . . BSU's opponents are averaging 14.87 kpg, 13.87 apg, 18.93 dpg and 2.24 bpg.
About the Bobcats:Ohio enters the week with a 12-3 (4-0 MAC) record after scoring MAC wins over Kent State - - 3-0 (30-22, 30-19, 30-25) - - and Eastern Michigan - - 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-19) - - last week . . . The Bobcats enter the week ranked No. 21 in the AVCA Division I Coaches Poll after being ranked as high as 15th in the preseason poll . . . Ellen Herman currently paces the Bobcats with a 4.08 kills-per-game average, while Melissa Griffin is second at 3.76 . . . Michelle Blackburn anchors the Ohio defense with a 4.74 digs-per-game average . . . Jane Sytsma is Ohio's top blocker, averaging 1.00 blocks per game, while Savanah Parra is the team's main setter, averaging 12.96 assists per game . . . As a team, the Bobcats average 17.02 kpg, 15.52 apg, 18.04 dpg and 2.18 bpg . . . Ohio's opponents average 13.18 kpg, 12.40 apg, 15.06 dpg and 1.96 bpg.
About the Golden Flashes:Kent State enters the week with a 9-7 (2-2 MAC) record after going 1-1 last week . . . The Golden Flashes opened last week with a 3-0 (30-22, 30-19, 30-25) road loss at Ohio, before picking up a 3-0 (30-22, 30-27, 30-20) home victory over Central Michigan . . . Ashley Feutz currently paces Kent State with a 3.34 kills-per-game average, while Sarah Wilber is second at 3.07 . . . Laura Jensen anchors the Kent State defense with a 5.34 digs-per-game average . . . Anja Knabe-Paulsen is the Golden Flashes' top blocker, averaging 0.83 blocks per game, while Katie Veatch is the team's main setter averaging 11.38 assists per game . . . As a team, the Golden Flashes average 14.95 kpg, 13.83 apg, 17.34 dpg and 2.23 bpg . . . Kent State's opponents average 14.40 kpg, 13.02 apg, 16.34 dpg and 1.98 bpg.
Cardinals on the Radio:WCRD 91.3 FM will carry all of Ball State's home matches live throughout the 2006 season . . . In addition, the station has covered several of the team's away contests and will once again carry all of BSU's MAC Tournament action . . . Fans not in the Muncie area can still listen to the matches by visiting the WCRD web site (www.wcrd.net) and clicking on the LISTEN NOW!!! button . . . Eric Ryan will serve as the play-by-play analyst for the season, while Lauren Bielenberg and Kelly Schroeing will provide the color commentary.
Digging It Up:Senior libero Amanda McCormickcontinued her strong defensive play last week, earning CVU.com National Player of the Week honors, as well as Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week accolades, after collecting 96 digs in BSU's three matches for an impressive 8.73 digs-per-game average . . . For the season, McCormick upped her digs-per-game average to an NCAA-leading 7.07 . . . After opening the week with 25 digs in a three-game win at Butler, McCormick turned in the best performance of her career in Thursday's MAC home opener versus Toledo, when she recorded a Worthen Arena, Ball State and MAC record 50 digs to help lead BSU to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Rockets . . . She finished the week with 21 digs in BSU's Saturday sweep at Buffalo.
More on McCormick:Amanda McCormickenters the week with 1,869 career digs, with 1,151 coming at Ball State and 718 coming at Nebraska . . . The total leaves her 21 digs shy of breaking into the top 25 in NCAA Division I history at 1,890 . . . In addition, she only needs 131 more digs to become just the 17th player in NCAA Division I annals to reach 2,000 career digs.
Cochran Has Big Week:Senior outside attacker Kelly Cochran turned in perhaps the best week of her career last week, pacing the Cardinals with 52 kills - - for a 4.73 kills-per-game average - - while hitting for a .299 rate of success . . . Cochran posted double-doubles in all three matches, with 17 kills and 13 digs at Butler, a season-high 20 kills and 17 digs versus Toledo and 15 kills and 17 digs at Buffalo . . . Cochran's 47 total digs were second on the squad and figured out to a 4.27 digs-per-game average . . . Cochran also scored five assists, four total blocks and a service ace.
The Kills Keep Coming: Freshman outside attacker Julie Breivogel also turned in a solid numbers last week, ranking second on the team with 48 kills for a 4.36 kills-per-game average . . . After posting 13 kills at Butler, Breivogel smashed a career-best 24 kills in BSU's victory over Toledo . . . She also recorded a career-best five total blocks against the Rockets . . . Breivogel would finish the week with 11 kills at Buffalo . . . Her .333 attack percentage, including a .423 rate of success at Butler, paced all BSU players on the week.
Team Notes:After recording a season-best .278 (53-18-126) team hitting percentage in Tuesday's three-game sweep of Butler, Ball State added season-high marks of 123 digs, 74 kills, 70 assists and 21 total blocks in Thursday's win over Toledo . . . BSU's 123 digs are the fifth-best single-match total in school annals and set a Worthen Arena record, topping the previous mark of 116 verses Morehead State on Sept. 10, 2002.
Keeping the Streaks Alive:With Thursday's win over Toledo, BSU extended its winning streak over the Rockets to 38-straight matches . . . In addition, head coach Randy Litchfield remained perfect in MAC home openers with an 18-0 record . . . BSU also improved to 10-0 all-time versus Buffalo with Saturday's road win.
The Youth Factor:Of the 15 players to see action for the Cardinals this season, nine are either freshmen or transfers in their first year with the program . . . Freshman Julie Breivogel and sophomore transfer Christine Kennedy have made the biggest impact, ranking first (3.06) and third (2.41), respectively, on the team in kills per game . . . Redshirt freshmen Rachel Alcorn, Elaina Kakatolis, Caitlin Morency and Madison Monk; true freshmen Cassie Conner, and Ana Gabriela Pedrosa as well as redshirt freshman transfer Brittany Warnke have also spent time on the court for BSU this season.
The Worthen Arena Advantage:Since Worthen Arena became the home of the Ball State women's volleyball team in 1992, the Cardinals have posted a 169-26 (.867) record in the building, including a 128-9 (.934) mark against teams from the Mid-American Conference . . . Among league schools, Miami has the most wins in the gym with four (4-11), followed by Ohio (2-8), Bowling Green (1-12), Central Michigan (1-11) and Western Michigan (1-14) . . . Akron (0-10), Buffalo (0-6), Eastern Michigan (0-16), Kent State (0-10), Northern Illinois (0-9) and Toledo (0-14) have never won in Worthen Arena . . . Marshall was 0-7 at Worthen when it was a member of the conference from 1997 to 2004.
What to Watch for This Week:Amanda McCormick needs 21 digs to break into the top 25 in career digs in NCAA Division I history . . . Kelly Cochran is three games shy of playing in 400 for her career . . . The last time Ball State defeated a ranked team was Nov. 29, 2003, when the Cardinals scored a 3-2 (23-30, 29-31, 30-21, 30-26, 18-16) victory at No. 17 Louisville.
