Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball To Visit EMU & CMU This Weekend
October 28, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
► LAST REGULAR SEASON ROAD WEEKEND: The Ball State women's volleyball team ends its 2008 Mid-American Conference regular season road slate this weekend with matches at Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan . . . The Cardinals, who boast a 6-3 record in true road matches, visit the Eagles for a 7 p.m. match Friday, before playing the Chippewas at 7 p.m. Saturday.
► FOURTH IN THE WEST: After splitting a pair of road MAC matches last weekend, including an upset of MAC East Division leading Miami, the Cardinals are currently fourth in the MAC's West Division with a 5-5 league ledger . . . Western Michigan remains the division's leader at 9-1, followed by Central Michigan (8-2) and Northern Illinois (6-4) . . . Miami continues to hold down the top spot in the MAC East with a 8-2 league record.
► BSU IN THE MAC: With BSU splitting a pair of MAC matches and WMU securing a pair of league wins last weekend, the Cardinals enter the sixth weekend of MAC play with the second-best all-time league record and league winning percentage at 272-129 (.678) . . . Western Michigan holds the top spot with a 275-126 (.686) record . . . Miami is third at 255-146 (.636), while Northern Illinois is fourth at 154-96 (.616) 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.
► EMU TAKE TWO: After posting a 3-1 (25-20, 25-12, 23-25, 25-13) win over Eastern Michigan in the first meeting this season (Sept. 27), the Cardinals maintain a 41-18 advantage in the all-time series . . . However, the Eagles have won the last three matches in Ypsilanti, with BSU's last win at EMU coming Oct. 9, 2004 . . . Overall, the Cardinals are 14-12 all-time in matches played on Eastern Michigan's campus.
► CMU TAKE TWO: Ball State continues to hold a 33-26 edge in the all-time series versus Central Michigan despite suffering a 3-1 (24-26, 26-24, 25-19, 25-21) setback to the Chippewas Sept. 26 at Worthen Arena . . . Overall, CMU has won the last three meetings between the two teams, while securing two-straight home wins in the series . . . Ball State is 14-10 all-time in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., with its last win at Rose Arena coming Nov. 12, 2005.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Friday's match at Eastern Michigan with a 10-15 (5-5 MAC) record after going 2-1 last week . . . BSU opened the week with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 26-24) home sweep of IPFW, before going 1-1 on the road, losing 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 25-14, 20-25, 17-15) at Bowling Green and upsetting MAC East Division leader Miami 3-2 (26-24, 25-17, 17-15, 11-25, 18-16) in Oxford . . . Among BSU's active starters, Alisha Green paces the Cardinals with a 2.64 kills-per-set average, while Elaina Kakatolis is second at 2.45 . . . Brittany McGinnis sets the BSU attack, handing out 9.37 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Alyssa Rio and Kaylee Schembra are in a battle for the team's libero position, averaging 4.16 and 2.60 digs per set, respectively . . . Green is also BSU's top overall blocker with 78 total blocks and a 0.80 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BSU averages 12.00 KPS, 11.13 APS, 14.84 DPS and 1.95 BPS . . . Cardinals' opponents average 12.36 KPS, 11.32 APS, 14.16 DPS and 1.80 BPS.
► ABOUT THE EAGLES: Eastern Michigan enters the week with a 9-16 (3-7 MAC) record after splitting a pair of league road matches last weekend . . . After suffering a 3-2 (25-12, 19-25, 25-27, 25-20, 15-9) setback at Akron, EMU tallied a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) sweep at Buffalo . . . Victoria Randolph paces the Eagles with a 2.82 kills-per-set average, while Hayvolla Leite is second at 2.59 . . . Ashley Mason sets the EMU attack, handing out 9.07 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Kim Jarzynka leads the squad with a 4.72 digs-per-set average, while Emily Good is the team's top blocker with a 0.87 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, EMU averages 11.63 KPS, 10.64 APS, 16.12 DPS and 1.91 BPS . . . Eagles' opponents average 12.97 KPS, 12.14 APS, 18.20 DPS and 1.95 BPS.
► ABOUT THE CHIPPEWAS: Central Michigan enters the week with a 14-8 (8-2 MAC) record after posting a pair of road sweeps last week . . . CMU earned a 3-0 (25-15, 25-11, 25-17) win at Buffalo, followed by a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 26-24) victory at Akron . . . Kate Fissel paces the Chippewas with a 2.97 kills-per-set average, while Whitney Evers is second at 2.87 . . . Stephanie Budde sets the CMU attack, handing out 10.70 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Alexis Lonneman leads the squad with a 4.35 digs-per-set average, while Kaitlyn Schultz is the team's top blocker with a 0.84 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, CMU averages 13.20 KPS, 12.20 APS, 14.41 DPS and 1.80 BPS . . . Chippewas' opponents average 11.38 KPS, 10.44 APS, 13.63 DPS and 1.74 BPS
► CARDINALS UPSET WATCH: Based on the Oct. 20 Pablo Rankings, as published on RichKern.com, Ball State's five-set victory over Miami ranked as the sixth-largest upset in the nation this season . . . Ball State entered the week ranked 196th by Pablo, while Miami was 60th, marking a 136-point difference between the two squads . . . This week, Ball State claimed to 158th, while Miami dropped to 70th.
Top Upsets in the Nation Based on Oct. 20 Pablo Rankings:
1. 155 - North Texas (239) def. Western Kentucky (84) on Oct. 19
2. 143 - East Tennessee State (271) def. High Point (128) on Aug. 30
3. 140 - Jacksonville State (258) def. Ole Miss (118) on Sept. 5
4. 139 - Texas-Pan American (270) def. Stephen F. Austin (131) on Sept. 19
5. 137 - Texas Arlington (262) def. Utah State (125) on Sept. 5
6. 136 - Ball State (196) def. Miami (60) on Oct. 25
► GREEN ON THE OUTSIDE AGAIN: After a brief experiment on the outside earlier this season, junior Alisha Green once again moved from her middle blocker position to the left-side slot last weekend, this time posting huge numbers . . . In the Cardinals narrow defeat at Bowling Green, Green smashed a then-BSU career-high 18 kills on 48 swings . . . She followed with a match-best and BSU career-high 21 kills in BSU's upset of Miami, while collecting a career-high 71 swings despite playing in just three rotations . . . Green, who posted a career-high 22 kills at Florida Tech (9/15/07) while at Tampa, paced the Cardinals with 49 kills for a 3.77 kills-per-set average last week.
► MORE ON BSU'S TRANSFERS: Alisha Green was not the only BSU transfer making noise on the court for the Cardinals last weekend, as sophomores Charde' Phillips and Hannah Sullivan posted solid numbers . . . Phillips, who came to BSU from Minnesota, logged back-to-back career-high efforts, collecting 11 kills at Bowling Green, followed by 12 kills at Miami . . . She also added a career-best .417 (11-1-24) attack percentage versus the Falcons . . . Sullivan started the week with a BSU career-high 12 digs versus IPFW and followed with a BSU career-best 16 kills at Bowling Green . . . At Houston, Sullivan posted career-bests of 24 kills versus Wake Forest (9/15/07) and 21 digs at Alabama-Birmingham (10/19/07).
► MORE ON SULLIVAN: Sophomore Hannah Sullivan collected the first double-doubles of her Ball State career last weekend, tallying 16 kills and 11 digs at Bowling Green, while posting 10 kills and 10 digs at Miami . . . She collected eight double-doubles during her freshman campaign at Houston.
► SPEAKING OF DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Freshman setter Brittany McGinnis collected a pair of assist/dig double-doubles last weekend, upping her career total to 13 . . . At Bowling Green, McGinnis became the third BSU player to reach 20 digs this season, when she turned in a career-high 20 in the match . . . She also dished out a career-best 56 assists versus the Falcons . . . In the Cardinals upset of MAC East Division leader Miami, McGinnis posted 48 assists and 10 digs . . . McGinnis, who averages 9.37 assists-per-set, enters the week ranked first on the team in double-doubles (13) and aces (27), second in digs (241) and fourth in total blocks (47).
► ROAD WARRIORS: The Cardinals enter the week with a 6-3 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), Northern Illinois (3-2) and Miami (3-2), while falling on the road at Indiana (3-0), Western Michigan (3-0) and Bowling Green (3-2) . . . BSU, which is 2-7 at home and 2-5 in neutral matches in 2008, owns the advantage despite being out-hit .174 to .207 on the road . . . BSU does out-block its opponents on the road 2.01 to 1.82, while holding a 1.33 to 0.97 edge in service aces per set.
► DIGGING IT UP: Ball State had five players record double-digit digs in both of its MAC matches last weekend . . . At Bowling Green, freshmen Brittany McGinnis and Christie Waters each collected a career-high for digs, with 20 and 19, respectively . . . Sophomore Alyssa Rio added 17 digs, while freshman Kaylee Schembra tallied 13 and sophomore Hannah Sullivan posted 11 . . . In the win at Miami, Rio was BSU top defender with 28 digs, followed by Schembra with 14 and McGinnis, Sullivan and Waters with 10 each . . . Prior to last Friday, BSU had not had five players tally double-digit digs in the same match since Oct. 13, 2007 at Kent State.
► BOYD HITTING THE MARK: Freshman Jennifer Boyd continues to be BSU's top attacker based on hitting percentage . . . Boyd is currently hitting .278, which ranks 10th among all league players . . . In MAC-only matches, Boyd is hitting .313, which ranks her fifth in the conference . . . Boyd also ranks second on the team in total blocks (58), while her 0.92 blocks-per-set average in league-only contests ties as the fifth-best average in the MAC.
► 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 . . . In addition, Sports Link will webcast the Nov. 6 match versus Toledo and the Nov. 14 contest versus Western Michigan . . . 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.
