Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Opens Season Friday in Home Tournament
August 22, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
2006 Ball State Nike / Active Ankle Tournament Notes in PDF Format
The Week Ahead: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens the 2006 season this weekend when it hosts the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend this Friday and Saturday at Worthen Arena . . . The two-day, six match event features the Cardinals, the IPFW Mastodons, the Michigan State Spartans and the Xavier Musketeers. . . Action in the tournament begins at 4:30 p.m. Friday, when the Spartans take on the Mastodons . . . BSU will play its first match at 7 p.m. Friday vs. the Musketeers.
Ball State vs. Xavier: The Cardinals hold a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series vs. the Musketeers, including a 3-0 (30-26, 30-23, 30-26) victory in the most-recent contest on Oct. 25 of last season . . . BSU is 2-0 vs. Xavier in Muncie, including a 2-0 (15-10, 15-10) victory in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs on Nov. 2, 1982 and a 3-0 (15-3, 15-7, 15-10) win on Oct. 13, 1987 . . . Friday's contest will be Xavier's first in Worthen Arena.
Ball State vs. IPFW: The Cardinals hold a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series vs. the Mastodons, after suffering a 3-1 (30-21, 30-28, 19-30, 30-15) setback in Ft. Wayne on Sept. 20 of last season . . . The Cardinals are 2-1 vs. IPFW in Muncie, including a 2-0 record at Worthen Arena . . . IPFW's only win in Muncie came in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs on Nov. 10, 1987.
Ball State vs. Michigan State: The all-time series between the Cardinals and the Spartans is deadlocked a 6-6, after MSU posted a 3-0 (30-25, 30-19, 30-19) victory over BSU on Sept. 3 of last season . . . Of the previous 12 matches, only two have been played in Muncie, with the Cardinals winning both, including a 3-0 (15-6, 15-10, 15-10) victory on Sept. 10, 1993 in the Spartans' only match in Worthen Arena . . . MSU posted a 2-0 (15-9, 15-10) victory in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs on Dec. 18, 1972.
About the Cardinals: Ball State return just five letterwinners, including three starters and its libero, from last season's squad which posted a 21-10 overall record and advanced to the finals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament . . . Highlighting the list of returnees is senior captain and libero Amanda McCormick, 2005 AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and a CVU.com Stellar Spiker First Team selection . . . McCormick finished the 2005 season ranked fourth in the nation with a BSU and MAC record 6.32 digs-per-game average . . . BSU's other returning letterwinners are senior outside attacker Kelly Cochran, senior opposite side/middle attacker Kirby Gibson, redshirt junior setter Angie Parrell and junior opposite side/middle attacker Brittany May.
About the Musketeers: Xavier returns eight letterwinners, including four starters, from last season's squad which posted a 21-11 overall record . . . Among the key returnees for the Musketeers is senior Danielle Skrajewski, who recorded a team-high 12 kills in Xaviers' loss to the Cardinals last season.
About the Mastodons: IPFW returns 10 letterwinners, including four starters and its libero, from last season's squad which logged a 24-6 overall record last season . . . Among the key returnees for the Mastodons is Nicole Howell, who recorded a team-best 20 kills and a .447 attack percentage in IPFW's win over BSU last season.
About the Spartans: Michigan State returns eight letterwinners, including four starters and its libero, from last season's squad which posted a 12-18 overall record last season . . . Among the key returnees for the Spartans is Katie Johnson, who recorded a team-best 21 kills in MSU's win over BSU last season.
The Worthen Arena Advantage: The Ball State women's volleyball team enters the 2006 season with a seven-match homecourt winning streak . . . Since Worthen Arena became the home of the Ball State women's volleyball team in 1992, the Cardinals have posted a 166-24 (.873) record in the building, including a 127-9 (.934) mark against teams from the Mid-American Conference . . . From Sept. 27, 1999 to Nov. 20, 2001, the BSU put together one of the most impressive home-court winning streaks in NCAA history, logging 42-straight match wins at Worthen Arena . . . The total ties as the 16th-best in NCAA annals . . . In addition, from Nov. 18, 1997 to Sept. 27, 2003, the Cardinals tallied 57-straight wins over MAC foes in Worthen Arena, including winning the 1999 and 2002 MAC Tournaments on its home court.
MAC West Favorites: For the fourth-straight season, Ball State has been tabbed the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference West Division Championship, as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches . . . Ohio, the three-time defending regular season and tournament champion, has been picked to win the East Division Title, the MAC Regular Season Championship and the MAC Tournament Championship.
What to Watch for This Weekend: Senior outside attacker Kelly Cochran enters Friday's match two digs shy of 1,000 for her career . . . In addition, Cochran just needs 65 kills to reach 1,000 in that category . . . Senior libero Amanda McCormick is 55 digs shy of 1,500 for her career . . . Senior opposite side/middle attacker Kirby Gibson needs 12 blocks to bring her career total to 200 . . . Redshirt junior setter Angie Parrell needs six assists to reach 1,700 in her career . . . Junior opposite side/middle attacker Brittany May is six kills shy of 150 for her career.
