Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts IPFW, Visists BGSU & Miami This Week
October 19, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
► THREE MATCHES ON TAP FOR VOLLEYBALL THIS WEEK: The Ball State women's volleyball will have a heavy work load this week, as it hosts IPFW in non-conference action Tuesday before hitting the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches at Bowling Green Friday and at Miami Saturday . . . All three matches are slated for 7 p.m. starts.
► FOURTH IN THE WEST: After suffering a pair of league setbacks last weekend, the Cardinals currently sit in fourth place in the MAC's West Division with a 4-4 league ledger . . . Western Michigan remains the division's leader at 7-1, followed by Central Michigan (6-2) and Northern Illinois (5-3) . . . Saturday's opponent Miami holds down the top spot in the MAC East with a 7-1 record, while Bowling Green is third at 5-3.
► BSU IN THE MAC: With a pair of BSU losses and a couple of WMU wins last weekend, the Cardinals enter the fifth weekend of MAC play with the second-best all-time league record and league winning percentage at 271-128 (.679) . . . Western Michigan jumped over the Cardinals for the top spot with a 273-126 (.684) record . . . Miami is third at 254-145 (.637), while Northern Illinois is fourth at 153-95 (.617) 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.
► THE I-69 SERIES: Tuesday's meeting with IPFW marks the 10th contest between the two programs . . . After playing just two matches prior to this decade, the teams have meet once a year since the 2001 season . . . BSU holds a 6-3 edge in the series, which has seen IPFW win two of the last three meetings . . . However, the Mastodons have dropped all three matches played in Worthen Arena, after opening the series with a victory in Muncie.
► BATTLE OF THE BIRDS PART 1: Ball State holds a commanding 34-14-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Falcons, including a 13-6 record in Bowling Green, Ohio . . . However, BGSU has won the last four meetings since snapping a 24-match losing streak to the Cardinals on Sept. 24, 2005.
► BATTLE OF THE BIRDS PART 2: Ball State holds a slim 38-30 edge in the all-time series versus the RedHawks, after posting victories in three of the last four meetings . . . Miami did score a 3-1 (30-26, 29-31, 30-18, 30-19) win over BSU at Worthen Arena last season to snap a three-match skid to the Cardinals . . . Overall, Ball State is 15-12 in matches played in Oxford, Ohio.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Tuesday's match versus IPFW with an 8-14 (4-4 MAC) record after losing a pair of home matches last weekend . . . After Kent State escaped Muncie with a 3-2 (23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-16, 20-18) victory Friday, BSU suffered a 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-19) setback to five-time defending MAC regular season champions Ohio Saturday . . . Julie Breivogel currently paces the Cardinals with a 2.75 kills-per-set average, while Alisha Green is second at 2.46 . . . 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 4.19 and 2.58 digs per set, respectively . . . Green is also BSU's top overall blocker with 72 total blocks and a 0.86 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BSU averages 11.69 KPS, 10.88 APS, 14.57 DPS and 1.99 BPS . . . Cardinals' opponents average 12.46 KPS, 11.44 APS, 14.01 DPS and 1.80 BPS.
► ABOUT THE MASTODONS: IPFW enters the week with an 11-10 record after splitting a pair of road matches last weekend . . . The Mastodons picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21) Summit League victory at Western Illinois Friday, before dropping a 3-2 (26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 26-28, 15-10) contest at IUPUI Saturday . . . Rebekah Roehm paces IPFW with a 3.15 kills-per-set average, while Ashley Dillon is second at 2.79 . . . Jessica Dominiak and Shannon Reuter both see time as IPFW's setter, averaging 8.04 and 5.26 assists per set, respectively . . . Defensively, Jamie Schwartz leads the squad with a 4.00 digs-per-set average, while Taryn Parker is the team's top blocker with a 0.93 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, IPFW averages 12.41 KPS, 11.29 APS, 15.68 DPS and 2.03 BPS . . . Mastodons' opponents average 12.79 KPS, 11.82 APS, 16.41 DPS and 1.97 BPS.
► ABOUT THE FALCONS: Bowling Green enters the week with a 15-7 (5-3 MAC) record after going 1-1 last week . . . The Falcons suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-17) setback at Central Michigan Thursday, before sweeping Eastern Michigan 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-21) in Ypsilanti Friday . . . Corey Domek paces BGSU with a 3.00 kills-per-set average, while Kendra Halm is second at 2.87 . . . Sam Fish sets the Bowling Green attack, handing out 9.64 assists per set . . . Defensively, Chelsey Meek leads the squad with a 4.93 digs-per-set average, while Halm is also the team's top blocker with a 1.02 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BGSU averages 12.79 KPS, 11.85 APS, 14.08 DPS and 2.05 BPS . . . Falcons' opponents average 12.63 KPS, 11.64 APS, 12.95 DPS and 1.87 BPS.
► ABOUT THE REDHAWKS: Miami enters the week with a 13-7 (7-1 MAC) record after collecting a pair of road wins last weekend . . . The RedHawks scored a 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22) victory at CMU Friday and a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 30-28) win at Eastern Michigan Saturday . . . Emily Schroeder paces the RedHawks with a 3.22 kills-per-set average, while Megan Griffin is second at 2.65 . . . Andrea Atteberry sets the Miami attack, handing out 11.17 assists per set . . . Defensively, Melissa Zenz leads the squad with a 4.20 digs-per-set average, while Griffin is also the team's top blocker with a 0.78 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, Miami averages 13.93 KPS, 13.00 APS, 14.74 DPS and 1.79 BPS . . . RedHawks' opponents average 12.74 KPS, 11.60 APS, 13.53 DPS and 1.75 BPS.
► BLOCKING MARKS: Ball State enters the week ranked first in the MAC with a 2.35 blocks-per-set average in league matches . . . BSU has tallied at least seven team blocks in seven of its eight MAC matches, with 10-or-more total blocks five times . . . BSU only recorded 10 blocks once in its 14 non-conference matches.
► GOING FOR 1,000: After collecting 23 kills in Ball State's two matches last weekend, junior Julie Breivogel raised her career kill total to 905 to became just the 13th player in program history to record over 900 career kills . . . Breivogel is on pace to eclipse the 1,000 mark in BSU's second match versus Northern Illinois (Nov. 15) . . . Of her 905 career kills, 24 have come in two matches versus IPFW, 10 have come in three matches against Bowling Green and 33 have come in two matches versus Miami . . . Breivogel is just 23 kills shy of breaking into the top 10 in program history.
► BREIVOGEL DOUBLING UP: In addition to her assault on the 1,000 career kills mark, junior Julie Breivogel enters the week with nine career kill/dig double-double matches . . . Breivogel has collected eight of those double-double efforts this season, with her latest coming versus Kent State (Oct. 17) . . . Breivogel scored 16 kills and 11 digs in the contest . . . Breivogel is the only BSU player to record a kill/dig double-double this season.
► SPEAKING OF DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Freshman setter Brittany McGinnis collected her 11th career assist/dig double-double versus Ohio (Oct. 18) . . . In the match, McGinnis handed out 29 assists while pacing all players with 15 digs . . . McGinnis dished out 44 assists, while adding seven digs, six kills, four blocks and a pair of aces against Kent State (Oct. 17) . . . McGinnis, who averages 9.13 assists-per-set, enters the week ranked first on the team in double-doubles (11) and aces (25), second in digs (202) and tied for third in total blocks (43).
► RIO DIGS KENT STATE: With a season-high tying 29 digs versus Kent State (Oct. 17), sophomore libero Alyssa Rio recorded her 22nd career match with 20-or-more digs . . . The total currently ranks fourth in BSU annals, trailing only Amanda McCormick (45), Stephanie Keller (44) and Sarah Obras (24) . . . Rio has tallied 20-plus digs in nine matches so far this season, after breaking the mark 13 times her freshman season.
► WHEN AT HOME: Ball State enters Tuesday's match versus IPFW with a 1-7 Worthen Arena record . . . In 16-plus years of play in the building, BSU has amassed a 177-47 (.790) record, including a 135-22 (.860) mark against MAC teams . . . Among league schools, Miami has the most wins in the arena with five (5-11), followed by Ohio (4-8), Central Michigan (3-12), Western Michigan (3-14), Northern Illinois (2-9), Kent State (2-10), Bowling Green (2-12) and Eastern Michigan (1-18) . . . 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.
► ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals enter the week with a 5-2 record 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 1-7 at home and 2-5 in neutral matches in 2008, owns the 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.
► 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. 20, the crowd was the 165th-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.
