Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Visits NIU & WMU This Weekend
October 10, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
► VOLLEYBALL LOOKS TO EXTEND STREAK: The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to extend its three-match winning streak this weekend, when it travels to Northern Illinois and Western Michigan . . . BSU will battle the Huskies at 7 p.m. (CT) Friday, before taking on the Broncos at 7 p.m. Saturday.
► FIRST IN THE WEST: After collecting three-striaght Mid-American Conference wins, the Cardinals enter the week tied for first in the MAC West Division with a 3-1 league mark . . . WMU and Central Michigan also boast 3-1 records in the West, while Miami holds the top spot in the MAC East Division with a 3-1 mark.
► NO SURPRISE AT THE TOP: The four teams leading the MAC this season are no strangers to the top, as Ball State enters the third week of the MAC season as the all-time leader in league wins and league winning percentage at 270-125 (.684) . . . Western Michigan is a close second at 269-126 (.681) . . . Miami is third at 250-145 (.633), while Northern Illinois is fourth at 150-94 (.615) based on winning percentage.
► MORE ABOUT THE WINS: Ball State and Western Michigan are tied for the league lead in 20-win seasons since MAC play began in 1983 with 13 each . . . Overall, the Cardinals have broken the 20-win plateau a total of 22 times in the 36-year history of the program.
► TOUGH TEST AT NIU: In order to keep its three-match winning streak alive, BSU will have to do something it has not done since the 2002 season, win at Northern Illinois . . . Overall, the Cardinals have lost the last five meetings with the Huskies, and have not won in DeKalb since a 3-1 victory on Sept. 25, 2002, marking six-straight losses at Victor E. Court . . . NIU currently leads the all-time series 24-21 and holds a 15-5 edge in matches played in DeKalb, Ill.
► THEN THERE IS KALAMAZOO: The Cardinals are 3-7 in their last 10 trips to Western Michigan, including a loss last season . . . Overall, Ball State holds a 36-33 edge in the all-time series between the two winningest programs in MAC history, despite a 13-18 mark in Kalamazoo . . . WMU has won the last two meetings in the series.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Friday's match at Northern Illinois with a 7-11 (3-1 MAC) record after going 2-0 last week . . . BSU extended its overall winning streak to three matches with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-14) victory at Toledo and a 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20) win at Buffalo . . . Julie Breivogel currently paces the Cardinals with a 2.85 kills-per-set average, while Alisha Green is second at 2.43 . . . Brittany McGinnis sets the BSU attack, handing out 9.16 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Alyssa Rio and Kaylee Schembra are in a battle for the team's libero position, averaging 4.04 and 2.81 digs per set, respectively . . . Green is BSU's top overall blocker with 59 total blocks and a 0.87 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BSU averages 11.65 KPS, 10.91 APS, 14.65 DPS and 1.95 BPS . . . Cardinals' opponents average 12.25 KPS, 11.26 APS, 13.97 DPS and 1.80 BPS.
► ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Northern Illinois enters Friday's match versus Ball State with an 10-8 (2-2 MAC) record after going 1-1 last week . . . After scoring a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) win at Central Michigan, NIU suffered a hard-fought 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 27-25, 19-25, 15-13) loss at Eastern Michigan . . . Meagan Schoenrock paces NIU with a 4.84 kills-per-set average, while Allison McGlaughlin is second at 3.13 . . . Amanda Tadla and Kristin Hoffman split time as NIU's setter, averaging 10.66 and 8.70 assists per set, respectively . . . Defensively, Maddie Hughes leads the squad with a 4.15 digs-per-set average, while Cassie Yates is the team's top blocker with 47 total blocks and a 0.77 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, NIU averages 12.95 KPS, 12.07 APS, 14.28 DPS and 1.66 BPS . . . Huskies' opponents average 13.54 KPS, 12.46 APS, 13.77 DPS and 1.99 BPS.
► ABOUT THE BRONCOS: Western Michigan enters the week with a 12-3 (3-1 MAC) record after splitting a pair of road matches last week . . . WMU scored a 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 25-17) win at Eastern Michigan, before falling at Central Michigan 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16) . . . Michelle Moore paces the Broncos with a 3.84 kills-per-set average, while Katie Eberling is second among the team's regulars at 2.61 . . . Jillian Mitchell sets the WMU attack, handing out 10.89 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Caitlin Strimel leads the squad with a 4.98 digs-per-ser average, while Jamie Gotham is the team's top blocker with a 1.05 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, WMU averages 14.12 KPS, 12.84 APS, 16.86 DPS and 1.82 BPS . . . Broncos' opponents average 11.05 KPS, 10.48 APS, 16.16 DPS and 1.66 BPS.
► KEEPING THREE STREAKS ALIVE: The Ball State women's volleyball team kept three streaks alive with wins in both of its matches last week . . . The Cardinals picked up their 42nd-straight win over Toledo (Oct. 2) with a 3-0 victory at St. Urusla Academy . . . BSU remained perfect all-time versus Buffalo, scoring a 3-1 victory over the Bulls (Oct. 4) to improve to 13-0 in the series . . . The wins also extended the Cardinals' current winning streak to three matches, which is the longest winning streak for BSU under current head coach Dave Boos and the longest for BSU since the 2006 squad won six straight from Oct. 28-Nov. 14.
► BREAKING DOWN THE WINS: During its current three-match winning streak the Cardinals are out-hitting its opponents .227 to .078, including a .333 rate of success versus Toledo (Oct. 2) . . . BSU has smashed 135 kills in the last three matches for a 12.27 kills-per-set average, while throwing up 30.5 total blocks for a 2.77 blocks-per-set average . . . The Cardinals' opponents are averaging 10.55 kills and 1.50 blocks per set during the same span . . . The Cardinals are also dominating the back court, averaging 14.64 digs per set, compared to 12.00 for its opponents . . . At the service line, BSU has tallied 20 aces and committed only 24 errors, compared to 13 and 29, respectively, for its three opponents.
► HIGH MARKS: BSU's .333 (42-13-87) attack percentage in Thursday's win over Toledo (Oct. 2) marked the best attacking performance for the team in the 48-match tenure of head coach Dave Boos . . . Ball State's best defensive effort under Boos came earlier this season in a sweep of Centenary (Aug. 30), when BSU limited the Ladies' offense to a -.053 (19-24-95) rate of success . . . The previous marks were a .303 (39-11-92) hitting performance versus Centenary and a -.017 (28-30-116) defensive lock down of Toledo in a three-set victory Nov. 1, 2007.
► KAKATOLIS HITS HIGH MARK: One week after breaking the 500 career kill plateau, junior Elaina Kakatolis hit for a career-best .647 (12-1-17) rate of success to help guide Ball State to its 42nd-straight win over Toledo . . . Her 12 kills were a match-best, and she also scored a pair of block assists in the contest . . . Kakatolis added six kills in BSU's win at Buffalo to raise her career kill total to 521 . . . She also has collected 176 career blocks.
► GREEN STEPS UP: Utilizing a team-best .438 (16-2-32) attack percentage last week, junior Alisha Green helped guide the Cardinals to a pair of wins and into a tie for first place in the MAC West Division . . . Green hit over .420 in both of BSU's matches last week, going .462 (7-1-13) at Toledo and .421 (9-1-19) at Buffalo . . . In addition, she tied for team-high honors with seven total blocks and a 1.00 blocks-per-set average . . . Of her seven blocks, three were solo stuffs . . . Green currently ranks first on the squad in total blocks (59) and second in kills (165).
► GOING FOR 1,000: With double-digit kill totals in 11 matches this season, junior Julie Breivogel is quickly approaching the 1,000 career kills mark . . . Breivogel enters the week with 868 career kills, and is on pace to eclipse the 1,000 mark in BSU's second match versus Northern Illinois (Nov. 15) . . . Of her 868 career kills, 78 have come in five matches versus NIU, while 55 have come in four matches versus WMU.
► ROAD WARRIORS: After picking up a pair of road wins last weekend, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in true road matches this season . . . The Cardinals own road wins over Sam Houston State (3-1), DePaul (3-1), Toledo (3-0) and Buffalo (3-1) this season, while falling on the road at Indiana (3-0) . . . The Cardinals, who are 1-5 at home and 2-5 in neutral matches this season, own the road advantage despite being out-hit .167 to .185 in away matches . . . BSU does out-block its opponents on the road 2.19 to 1.97, while holding a 13.22 to 12.83 edge in digs per set.
► WHEN AT HOME: With a 3-1 victory over Eastern Michigan (Sept. 27), the Cardinals picked up their first home win of the season, moving their Worthen Arena mark to 1-5 this season . . . BSU is 4-15 at home over the last two years, after never suffering a losing home season in Worthen Arena prior to last season . . . In 16-plus years of play in the building, the Cardinals have amassed a 177-45 (.797) record, including a 135-20 (.871) mark against MAC teams . . . Among league schools, Miami has the most wins in the arena with five (5-11), followed by Ohio (3-8), Central Michigan (3-12), Western Michigan (3-14), Northern Illinois (2-9), Bowling Green (2-12), Eastern Michigan (1-18) 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.
► FANS FLOCK TO WORTHEN: The 1,535 fans in attendance for the Ball State versus No. 18 Purdue match (Sept. 6) was the fifth-largest attendance for a BSU women's volleyball match in Worthen Arena . . . As of Oct. 5, the crowd was the 122nd-largest to watch a women's volleyball match in the 2008 season . . . The Worthen Arena attendance record for women's volleyball is 1,711 set in a 1-3 loss to Pittsburgh on Sept. 2, 2002.
► ACADEMIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Since 1975, Ball State players have earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors a total of eight times . . . The total currently ranks eighth in the nation, with BSU being the only Mid-American Conference school in the top 10.
► THE MEDIA: The Ball State women's volleyball team has the most comprehensive radio package in the MAC, as WCRD 91.3 FM will once again be the radio home of the Cardinals for the 2008 season . . . The station is slated to cover 12 of the Cardinals' 13 home matches, as well as all of BSU's 2008 MAC Tournament action . . . In addition, the state-of-the-art WCRD studio will be 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. 1 . . . Fans can follow all of the action for FREE on the official home of Ball State Athletics, www.ballstatesports.com.
► MORE ABOUT THE MEDIA: The Ball State Sports Network is slated to broadcast a pair of women's volleyball home matches this season . . . The network will televise the Sept. 9 match versus IUPUI and the Nov. 15 contest against Northern Illinois . . . BSU head coach Dave Boos will also be a regular on Cardinal Talk, which is a hour-long weekly Ball State sports report which airs Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. on ESPN Radio AM 1340.
