Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Travels To IPFW Tuesday
October 29, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
The Week Ahead: The Cardinals have three matches slated for this week, beginning Tuesday with a 7 p.m. showdown versus in-state rival IPFW . . . Thursday, BSU will close the home portion of its 2007 regular-season slate by hosting Toledo for senior day at 7 p.m. . . . Ball State concludes the week Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at Akron.
Ball State Versus IPFW: Ball State holds a 6-2 lead in the all-time series versus the Mastodons . . . Last season, BSU scored a hard-fought 3-2 (30-23, 28-30, 26-30, 30-22, 16-14) victory at Worthen Arena on Aug. 26 . . . IPFW's last win in the series came Aug. 20, 2005, when the Mastodons topped the Cardinals 3-1 (30-21, 30-28, 19-30, 30-15) at the Hillard Gates Sports Center in Fort Wayne . . . BSU is 3-1 all-time in matches played in Fort Wayne.
Ball State Versus Toledo: BSU picked up its 40th-straight win over the Rockets earlier this season with a 3-2 (30-28, 20-30, 30-22, 27-30, 19-17) victory on Sept. 27 . . . Overall, the Cardinals hold a 49-3 advantage in the all-time series . . . During the current 40-match win streak, BSU has tallied 19 sweeps, 13 four-set victories and eight 3-2 wins . . . Toledo coach Kent Miller is 0-20 all-time versus Ball State . . . UT's last win in the series was a 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-11) victory in Toledo on Nov. 21, 1986. . . . Toledo is 1-23 all-time in Muncie, with an 0-14 mark in Worthen Arena.
Ball State Versus Akron: The Cardinals own a 24-2 lead in the all-time series with Akron, including five straight wins . . . Last season, BSU scored a 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-27) victory over the Zips on Nov. 2 in Worthen Arena . . . Akron's last victory in the series came Oct. 25 2002, when the Zips posted a 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-16) home-court win . . . BSU rebounded later that season with a 3-2 (25-30, 30-21, 33-31, 21-30, 15-9) win in the MAC Tournament Championship match Nov. 30 at Worthen Arena to earn its most-recent automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament . . . BSU is 11-2 all-time in Akron.
Scouting Ball State: BSU enters the week with a 3-21 (2-10 MAC) record after suffering league home losses to Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan last week . . . Senior Brittany May continues to pace the BSU offense with a 2.88 kills-per-game average, while sophomore Julie Breivogel ranks second at 2.82 . . . Freshman Alyssa Rio leads the BSU defense, as well as the Mid-American Conference, with a 5.69 digs-per-game average, while freshman Alexis Shonkwiler is BSU's top blocker, averaging 0.97 blocks per game . . . Senior Angie Parrell and sophomore Cassie Conner both see time at setter, averaging 9.38 and 5.73 assists per game, respectively . . . As a team, BSU averages 12.26 kpg, 11.47 apg, 17.64 dpg and 2.35 bpg . . . BSU's opponents average 13.75 kpg, 12.57 apg, 17.20 dpg and 2.36 bpg.
Scouting IPFW: The Mastodons enter the week with a 15-9 record . . . Last week, IPFW suffered a 3-2 (19-30, 30-23, 30-22, 24-30, 21-19) setback to Xavier in its lone match . . . Jessica Miller currently tops the Mastodons' offense with a 3.80 kills-per-game average, while Rebekah Roehm ranks second at 3.55 . . . Peachy Jamkowski is IPFW's top defender, averaging 5.49 digs per game, while Taryn Parker is the team's leading blocker with a 0.86 blocks-per-game average . . . Jessica Dominiak is the team's setter, averaging 10.46 assists per game . . . As a team, IPFW averages 14.77 kpg, 13.60 apg, 19.10 dpg and 2.12 bpg . . . Mastodons' opponents average 13.61 kpg, 12.75 apg, 18.50 dpg and 2.34 bpg.
Scouting Toledo: The Rockets enter the week with a 3-20 (0-12 MAC) record after suffering league home losses to Eastern Michigan, 3-0 (30-15, 30-21, 30-20), and Central Michigan, 3-0 (30-20, 30-23, 30-26), last week . . . Shannon Strachan currently tops the Rockets' offense with a 3.62 kills-per-game average, while TaNeisha Winters ranks second at 3.31 . . . Katie Westerfeld is UT's top defender, averaging 3.29 digs per game, while Sarah Wilson is the team's leading blocker with a 0.88 blocks-per-game average . . . Mallory Ladd is the team's setter, averaging 9.53 assists per game . . . As a team, Toledo averages 13.71 kpg, 12.77 apg, 16.15 dpg and 1.63 bpg . . . The Rockets' opponents average 14.74 kpg, 13.46 apg, 16.37 dpg and 2.73 bpg.
Scouting Akron: The Zips enter the week with a 9-16 (1-11 MAC) record after suffering league losses at then-No. 19 Ohio, 3-0 (30-21, 30-14, 31-29), and at Kent State, 3-0 (30-21, 30-23, 30-19), last week . . . Brionna Patterson currently tops the Zips' offense with a 3.71 kills-per-game average, while Elizabeth Martin ranks second at 2.58 . . . Jennifer Stewart is Akron's top defender, averaging 5.00 digs per game, while Jess Antosz is the team's leading blocker with a 1.11 blocks-per-game average . . . Kara Smith is the team's setter, averaging 9.48 assists per game . . . As a team, Akron averages 12.61 kpg, 11.60 apg, 17.31 dpg and 2.36 bpg . . . The Zips' opponents average 15.08 kpg, 13.51 apg, 18.17 dpg and 1.94 bpg.
Block Party: The Ball State defense continued its solid play at the net last weekend, averaging 2.00 blocks per game . . . Junior Christine Kennedy tallied seven total blocks in BSU's matches versus CMU and EMU, for a 1.40 average, while freshman Alexis Shonkwiler collected four total blocks for a 0.67 average.
Rio Racking Up The Digs: Freshman libero Alyssa Rio continues to pace the Mid-American Conference and rank in the top 30 nationally with a 5.69 digs-per-game average . . . In BSU's two matches last week, Rio tallied 22 digs over six games for a 3.67 digs-per-game average . . . For the season, Rio has logged double-digit digs in 22 of BSU's 24 matches, with 30-or-more digs in three contests.
In the AVCA Rankings: Entering the week, freshman libero Alyssa Rio's career-high 41 digs versus Southeast Missouri State (Aug. 25) tie as the 13th-highest individual total in a five-game match this season, according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association's 2007 Division I 30-Dig Club list . . . Additionally, Rio's 34 digs in BSU's match versus Siena (Sept. 1) tie as the 18th-highest individual total in a four-game match this season.
Seniors Need Strong Finish: Ball State's 2007 senior class - - Angie Parrell and Brittany May - - need to win their last five regular season matches to ensure they finish their playing careers with an overall winning record . . . Entering the week, their four-year playing record stands at 56-59 . . . With five regular season matches and at least one MAC Tournament contest remaining - - BSU has never been eliminated in its first MAC Tournament match - - a 5-0 regular-season finish would ensure they finish their playing careers with winning records, even if the team suffers a first-round MAC Tournament loss . . . The 1990 seniors were the last class to go out with a losing record at 48-49 (15-17 MAC).
More on BSU's Seniors: Angie Parrell enters the week ranked fourth in program history with 3,374 career assists, while placing sixth in school annals with a 8.41 assists-per-game average . . . Parrell also ranks 17th in career blocks with 249 . . . Brittany May enters the week with 611 career kills, 1,857 career attempts and 145 total blocks.
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 175-40 (.814) record in the building, including a 133-19 (.875) mark against teams from the Mid-American Conference . . . Among league schools, Miami has the most wins in the arena with five (5-11), followed by Ohio (3-8), Western Michigan (3-14), Northern Illinois (2-9), Bowling Green (2-12), Central Michigan (2-12), Eastern Michigan (1-17) and Kent State (1-10) . . . Akron (0-11), Buffalo (0-8) and Toledo (0-14) have never won in Worthen Arena . . . Marshall was 0-7 at Worthen Arena when it was a member of the conference from 1997 to 2004.
BSU Suffers First Losing Season at Worthen: Entering Thursday's final home match with a 2-10 home record, the Cardinals will end the year with its first losing mark in Worthen Arena . . . The following are BSU's year-by-year home results since 1992, the first year volleyball was played in Worthen Arena: 1992 (10-3), 1993 (14-1), 1994 (13-2), 1995 (11-2), 1996 (10-2), 1997 (9-1), 1998 (12-3), 1999 (17-1), 2000 (14-0), 2001 (11-0), 2002 (14-3), 2003 (8-4), 2004 (12-1), 2005 (11-1), 2006 (7-6), 2007 (2-10).
Women's Volleyball On WCRD 91.3 FM: WCRD 91.3 FM will be the radio home of BSU women's volleyball . . . The student-run station will cover all 13 home matches in 2007, as well as select road contests . . . WCRD is also the home of "Serving It Up" with Dave Boos, a weekly volleyball report which airs Monday nights from 6 to 7 p.m. beginning Sept. 3 . . . All WCRD broadcasts can be accessed FREE on the Official Home of Ball State Athletics, www.ballstatesports.com.
