Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Ends Regular Season This Weekend
November 06, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
The Week Ahead: The Ball State women's volleyball team ends the regular season this weekend with a pair of road matches . . . Friday, the Cardinals will visit Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. (CT) showdown with the Huskies . . . Saturday, BSU will conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. contest at MAC West Division leader Western Michigan.
MAC Tournament: With one week left the in the regular season, the Cardinals know they will face Northern Illinois in the first round of the MAC Tournament, however, the site of the contest is still to be determined . . . If Ball State wins both matches this weekend, the Cardinals will host the Huskies in Worthen Arena . . . However, a loss in either match this weekend means the Cardinals will be headed back to DeKalb, Ill., for a first-round match.
Ball State Versus Northern Illinois: The Huskies took a slim 22-21 advantage in the all-time series versus the Cardinals after scoring a 3-2 (27-30, 23-30, 30-18, 30-26, 15-9) victory at Worthen Arena Oct. 6 . . . Overall, Ball State has lost the last three meetings between the two clubs . . . BSU has lost its last four matches in DeKalb, with its last road win in the series coming Sept. 25, 2002 . . . BSU is 5-13 all-time in DeKalb.
Ball State Versus Western Michigan: Ball State owns a slim 36-32 advantage in the all-time series with Western Michigan, despite a 3-1 (20-30, 30-19, 31-29, 30-28) homecourt loss earlier this season . . . Overall, the Broncos have won six of the last nine meetings between the two clubs . . . Ball State snapped a four-match losing streak in Kalamazoo last season with a 3-2 (32-30, 30-27, 18-30, 24-30, 15-12) victory on Oct. 28 . . . BSU is 13-17 all-time in Kalamazoo.
Tough Road Ahead: NIU and WMU are the only Mid-American Conference teams to have winning records at home versus Ball State, with the Huskies holding a 13-5 advantage and the Broncos having a 17-13 edge.
Scouting Ball State: BSU enters the week with a 5-22 (4-10 MAC) record after going a 2-1 last week . . . Sophomore Julie Breivogel paces the BSU offense with a 2.81 kills-per-game average, while senior Brittany May ranks second at 2.70 . . . Freshman Alyssa Rio leads the BSU defense with a 5.60 digs-per-game average, while freshman Alexis Shonkwiler is BSU's top blocker, averaging 1.00 blocks per game . . . Senior Angie Parrell and sophomore Cassie Conner both see time at setter, averaging 9.33 and 5.56 assists per game, respectively . . . As a team, BSU averages 12.24 kpg, 11.34 apg, 17.45 dpg and 2.39 bpg . . . BSU's opponents average 13.46 kpg, 12.33 apg, 17.06 dpg and 2.36 bpg.
Scouting Northern Illinois: The Huskies enter the week with an 11-17 (5-9 MAC) record after suffering a pair of league setbacks last week . . . NIU suffered a 3-1 (31-29, 28-30, 30-24, 30-26) setback at EMU and a 3-0 (30-22, 30-21, 30-25) loss at CMU . . . Meagan Schoenrock currently tops the NIU offense with a 3.75 kills-per-game average, while Dani D'Ambrose ranks second at 3.72 . . . Maddie Hughes is Northern Illinois' top defender, averaging 4.97 digs per game, while Jessica Schultz is the team's leading blocker with a 0.90 blocks-per-game average . . . Mandi Caputo is the team's setter, averaging 12.29 assists per game . . . As a team, NIU averages 15.08 kpg, 13.95 apg, 19.42 dpg and 1.99 bpg . . . The Huskies' opponents average 16.35 kpg, 15.25 apg, 18.79 dpg and 2.53 bpg.
Scouting Western Michigan: The Broncos enter the week with a 19-9 (10-4 MAC) record after splitting a pair of league matches last week . . . After suffering a 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-26) setback at Central Michigan, WMU rebounded with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-18, 30-26) sweep at Eastern Michigan . . . Michelle Moore currently tops the Broncos' offense with a 4.71 kills-per-game average, while Ashley Vogl ranks second at 3.38 . . . Caitlin Strimel is WMU's top defender, averaging 5.84 digs per game, while Jaime Gotham is the team's leading blocker with a 1.21 blocks-per-game average . . . Sam Viox and Jillian Mitchell both see time at setter, averaging 11.69 and 5.42 assists per game, respectively . . . As a team, WMU averages 16.23 kpg, 15.22 apg, 18.64 dpg and 2.40 bpg . . . The Broncos' opponents average 15.14 kpg, 14.33 apg, 17.92 dpg and 2.11 bpg.
Role Reversal: After Ball State turned in its worst offensive performance of the season, hitting -.127 (23-37-110) last Tuesday at IPFW, the defense rebounded by limiting Toledo to a -.017 (28-30-116) attack percentage in a sweep last Thursday . . . Prior to Toledo, Ball State had not limited an opponent to a negative hitting mark in 208 matches, when it held IUPUI to a -.021 (23-25-97) rate of success Sept. 5, 2001 at Worthen Arena.
Block Party: The Ball State defense continued its solid play at the net last weekend, averaging 2.73 blocks per game . . . Freshman Alexis Shonkwiler collected a team-best 13 total blocks over the three matches, while Elaina Kakatolis and Christine Kennedy each recorded 10.
Rio Racking Up The Digs: Freshman libero Alyssa Rio continues to be one of the league's top defenders, ranking third in the MAC with a 5.60 digs-per-game average . . . In BSU's three matches last week, Rio tallied a team-best 53 digs over 11 games for a 4.82 digs-per-game average . . . For the season, Rio has logged double-digit digs in 25 of BSU's 27 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 15th-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 19th-highest individual total in a four-game match this season.
Kennedy Turns In Solid Week: After seeing limited action last Tuesday at IPFW, junior Christine Kennedy hit the court hard in BSU's two league matches, finishing the week with 34 kills, 22 digs, 11 total blocks and three aces . . . In BSU's come-from-behind win at Akron last Saturday, Kennedy tied a career-high with 19 kills, while adding 11 digs for her third double-double of the season . . . She also added five total blocks and three aces in the contest . . . Two days earlier versus Toledo, Kennedy smashed 15 kills while hitting .429 (15-3-28) in a three-game victory.
Seniors Need Strong Finish: Ball State's 2007 senior class - - Angie Parrell and Brittany May - - need four more wins to ensure they finish their playing careers with an overall winning record . . . Entering the week, their four-year playing record stands at 58-60 . . . With just two regular season matches remaining, BSU would have to advance to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament in order for Parrell and May to finish their playing careers with winning records . . . The 1990 seniors were the last class to go out with a losing record at 48-49 (15-17 MAC).
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 176-40 (.815) record in the building, including a 134-19 (.876) 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 (0-15) 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: Despite topping Toledo in its final regular season home match to improve to 3-10 at home, 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 (3-10).
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.
