Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Kent State and Ohio This Weekend
October 16, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
Click Here for Live Stats from This Weekend's Matches
Click Here for FREE Live Audio from This Weekend's Matches
Click Here to Donate to The Side-Out Foundation
► VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO WORTHEN ARENA: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend with matches versus Kent State and Ohio . . . BSU and the Golden Flash square off Friday at 7 p.m., while the five-time defending Mid-American Conference regular season champion Bobcats visit Saturday at 7 p.m.
► DIG PINK: Saturday, Ball State's breast cancer awareness weekend turns to Worthen Arena, where the women's volleyball team will battle Ohio at 7 p.m. as part of the 2008 Dig Pink Tournament in support of The Side-Out Foundation . . . At the match, BSU Athletics will be taking donations which will benefit The Side-Out Foundation . . . In addition, all fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Fans who make donations will receive the following at each contest: As part of the 2008 Dig Pink Tournament, Ball State women's volleyball fans can also make donations online at:
- - Donations of at least $1 will receive a Ball State Athletics/Think Pink cup.
- - Donations of at least $10 will receive a Think Pink T-shirt in support of your Ball State team.
- - Donations of at least $25 will receive two general admission tickets to the Nov. 5 football game versus Northern Illinois.
- - http://www.sideoutvolleyball.org/mainevent/minievent/BallStat/
► THIRD IN THE WEST: After going 1-1 last weekend, Ball State enters the week in third place in the MAC's West Division with a 4-2 league mark . . . Western Michigan and Central Michigan are tied for first in the division with 5-1 records . . . BSU's only losses in league play this season have come at the hands of CMU and WMU.
► BSU IN THE MAC: Entering the fourth weekend of MAC play, the Cardinals find themselves tied with Western Michigan for the all-time lead in league victories and league winning percentage at 271-126 (.683) . . . Miami is third at 252-145 (.635), while Northern Illinois is fourth at 151-95 (.614) 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.
► HERE COME THE GOLDEN FLASHES: Despite losing the last two meetings, Ball State holds a commanding 34-9 advantage in the all-time series versus Kent State . . . Last season, KSU posted a 3-1 (30-27, 30-18, 27-30, 30-20) home win over the Cardinals on Oct. 13 . . . Kent State picked up its only win in 11 tries at Worthen Arena during the 2006 season, posting a 3-0 (30-24, 30-22, 30-25) win on Oct. 7 . . . Overall, KSU is 3-17 in matches played in Muncie.
► DEFENDING MAC CHAMPS OHIO NEXT: After collecting 26-straight wins over Ohio from Oct. 18, 1985 to Sept. 28, 2002, the Cardinals have dropped seven in a row to the five-time defending MAC regular season champions . . . In all, BSU holds a 31-9 advantage in the all-time series, including a 15-4 advantage in matches played in Muncie, including an 8-3 edge in Worthen Arena.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Friday's match versus Kent State with an 8-12 (4-2 MAC) record after going 1-1 last week . . . BSU posted a thrilling 3-2 (17-25, 30-28, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13) win at Northern Illinois (Oct. 10), before suffering a 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-21) setback at Western Michigan (Oct. 11) . . . Julie Breivogel currently paces the Cardinals with a 2.74 kills-per-set average, while Elaina Kakatolis is second at 2.47 . . . Brittany McGinnis sets the BSU attack, handing out 9.13 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Alyssa Rio and Kaylee Schembra are in a battle for the team's libero position, averaging 4.09 and 2.69 digs per set, respectively . . . Alisha Green is BSU's top overall blocker with 67 total blocks and a 0.88 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BSU averages 11.68 KPS, 10.89 APS, 14.61 DPS and 2.02 BPS . . . Cardinals' opponents average 12.34 KPS, 11.34 APS, 14.13 DPS and 1.76 BPS.
► ABOUT THE GOLDEN FLASHES: Kent State enters Friday's match versus Ball State with a 12-7 (2-4 MAC) record after going 0-2 last week . . . The Golden Flashes suffered a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-21) setback to Ohio and a 3-1 (25-13, 25-14, 12-25, 25-19) loss to Central Michigan . . . Ashley Feutz paces KSU with a 3.51 kills-per-set average, while Lauren Jones is second at 3.36 . . . Katie Veatch and Lauren Simon both see time as KSU's setter, averaging 8.24 and 6.19 assists per set, respectively . . . Defensively, Kristen Barr leads the squad with a 3.81 digs-per-set average, while Jenny Keck and Celia Sabo are tied as the team's top blocker with a 0.77 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, KSU averages 12.04 KPS, 11.28 APS, 13.09 DPS and 1.91 BPS . . . Golden Flashes' opponents average 11.39 KPS, 10.64 APS, 12.57 DPS and 1.16 BPS.
► ABOUT THE BOBCATS: Ohio enters the weekend with an 11-6 (4-2 MAC) record after winning a pair of league matches last weekend . . . Ohio scored wins at Kent State (3-0; 25-17, 25-23, 25-21) and at home over Eastern Michigan (3-2; 18-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-12, 15-11) . . . Ellen Herman paces the Bobcats with a 4.13 kills-per-set average, while Meghan Simons is second at 2.26 . . . Michelle Jantsch sets the Ohio attack, handing out 9.48 assists per set . . . Defensively, Sarah Petrulis leads the squad with a 2.82 digs-per-set average, while Jane Sytsma is the team's top blocker with a 0.93 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, Ohio averages 12.66 KPS, 11.84 APS, 12.28 DPS and 2.38 BPS . . . Bobcats' opponents average 10.54 KPS, 9.98 APS, 12.11 DPS and 1.80 BPS.
► FAMILIAR FACE ON OHIO BENCH: Former four-year Ball State men's volleyball letterwinner Kyle Weindel (2000-03) returns to Worthen Arena Saturday as a member of the Ohio coaching staff . . . Weindel, who was a 2002 All-Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association selection for BSU, finished his career with 829 kills and 181 total blocks . . . He also helped guide the Cardinals to a third-place finish in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, as well as a 23-8 record on the year and MIVA Regular Season and Tournament titles . . . He his in his first season as an assistant coach for the Bobcats.
► BLOCKING MARKS: Ball State enters the week ranked first in the MAC with a 2.54 blocks-per-set average in league matches . . . BSU has tallied at least seven team blocks in all six of its MAC matches, with 10-or-more total blocks four times . . . BSU only recorded 10 blocks once in its 14 non-conference matches.
► FIVE TIMES THE FUN: In last Friday's thrilling come-from-behind victory at Northen Illinois (Oct. 10), five Cardinals smashed double-digit kills, paced by the arm of Elaina Kakatolis who smashed a season-high 16 markers in the contest . . . Alisha Green added 15 kills, while Hannah Sullivan scored 12 and Jennifer Boyd and Julie Breivogel pounded 10 each . . . Prior to last Friday, the last time BSU had five players reach double-figure kills in a match came on Nov. 19, 2004 when Ball State came from behind to beat Northern Illinois in another five-set thriller in quarterfinal play of the 2004 MAC Tournament hosted by Bowling Green.
► GOING FOR 1,000: With double-digit kill totals in 12 matches this season, junior Julie Breivogel is quickly approaching the 1,000 career kills mark . . . Breivogel enters the week with 882 career kills, and is on pace to eclipse the 1,000 mark in BSU's second match versus Northern Illinois (Nov. 15) . . . Of her 882 career kills, 27 have come in two matches versus Kent State, while 12 have come in two matches versus Ohio.
► BOYD HELPS LIFT CARDINALS: Freshman Jennifer Boyd played a large role for the Cardinals at Northern Illinois (Oct. 10), helping BSU say alive early with seven kills in BSU's second-set win . . . She finished the match with 10 kills and three blocks, while adding career-highs of seven blocks and four digs the following night at Western Michigan (Oct. 11).
► ROAD WARRIORS: After splitting a pair of road matches last weekend, the Cardinals improved to 5-2 in true road matches this season . . . The Cardinals own road wins over Sam Houston State (3-1), DePaul (3-1), Toledo (3-0), Buffalo (3-1) and Northern Illinois (3-2), while falling on the road at Indiana (3-0) and Western Michigan (3-0) . . . BSU, which is 1-5 at home and 2-5 in neutral matches in 2008, owns the road advantage despite being out-hit .162 to .197 on the road . . . BSU does out-block its opponents on the road 2.33 to 1.79, while holding a 1.54 to 0.84 edge in service aces 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. 13, the crowd was the 139th-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.
► 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.
