Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Hosts Toledo Thursday, Akron Sunday
November 04, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
► VOLLEYBALL RETURNS TO WORTHEN ARENA: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this week, as it battles Toledo and Akron in Mid-American Conference action . . . Thursday, the Cardinals look to extend their 42-match winning streak over the Rockets with a 7 p.m. match which will be webcasted live by Ball State Sports Link . . . BSU then makes a rare Sunday appearance when Akron visits Worthen Arena for a 1 p.m. first serve.
► THIRD IN THE WEST: After splitting a pair of road MAC matches last weekend, the Cardinals are currently tied for third in the MAC's West Division with a 6-6 league ledger . . . Central Michigan and Western Michigan are tied for the top spot with 10-2 MAC marks, while Northern Illinois is tied with Ball State at 6-6 . . . CMU and BSU currently hold the tiebreakers, as the Chippewas won the first meeting with the Broncos and the Cardinals won the first contest against the Huskies . . . Bowling Green, Miami and Ohio are tied for first in the MAC East with 9-3 league records.
► ALMOST TOURNAMENT TIME: The Ball State women's volleyball team can lock up a first round home match in the upcoming 2008 MAC Tournament with a victory in one of its final four home matches . . . BSU, which enters the week with a 6-6 league mark, is currently tied with Northern Illinois for the sixth seed . . . The top team from each division, and the next two based on percentage, earn a first round bye . . . The next four teams host first round matches, while the final four teams are on the road . . . BSU could still receive a bye if it wins its final four matches and two of the three 9-3 teams (Ohio, Miami and Bowling Green) from the MAC East go winless.
► BSU IN THE MAC: With BSU and WMU each splitting a pair of MAC matches last weekend, the Cardinals enter the seventh week of MAC play with the second-best all-time league record and league winning percentage at 273-130 (.677) . . . Western Michigan holds the top spot with a 276-127 (.685) record . . . Miami is third at 256-147 (.635), while Northern Illinois is fourth at 154-98 (.611) based on winning percentage.
► MORE ABOUT THE WINS: Ball State and Western Michigan are currently tied for the league lead in 20-win seasons since MAC play began in 1983 at 13 . . . This season, BSU is 11-16, while WMU is 19-4 entering the week . . . Overall, the Cardinals have broken the 20-win plateau a total of 22 times in the 36-year history of the program.
► TOLEDO TAKE TWO: Earlier this season, the Cardinals posted their 42nd-straight win over Toledo with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-14) victory at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo . . . During the winning streak, BSU has swept UT 21 times, while posting 13 four set wins and eight five set victories . . . Ball State head coach Dave Boos is 3-0 all-time versus the Rockets, while Toledo head coach Kent Miller is 0-22 lifetime versus BSU . . . BSU holds a 51-3 advantage in the all-time series, including a 24-1 mark in Muncie and a 17-0 record in matches played in Worthen Arena.
► BSU VERSUS AKRON: Sunday's contest will mark the 28th meeting in the all-time series with Akron . . . The Cardinals hold a 25-2 lead in the series, including wins in each of the last six meetings . . . Akron is 0-11 all-time in Muncie, with all 11 matches being played at Worthen Arena . . . Last season, BSU escaped Akron with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-30, 30-27, 23-30, 30-25, 16-14) victory Nov. 3.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters Thursday's match versus Toledo with an 11-16 (6-6 MAC) record after going 1-1 last week . . . After posting a 3-1 (28-26, 20-25, 25-20, 25-17) win at Eastern Michigan, the Cardinals suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 26-24, 25-17) setback at Central Michigan . . . Among BSU's starters, Alisha Green paces the Cardinals with a 2.62 kills-per-set average, while Elaina Kakatolis is second at 2.41 . . . Julie Breivogel provides a team-best 2.69 kills-per-set coming off the bench . . . Brittany McGinnis sets the BSU attack, handing out 9.47 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Alyssa Rio and Kaylee Schembra are in a battle for the team's libero position, averaging 4.21 and 2.63 digs per set, respectively . . . Green is also BSU's top overall blocker with 82 total blocks and a 0.79 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, BSU averages 12.09 KPS, 11.22 APS, 14.99 DPS and 1.90 BPS . . . Cardinals' opponents average 12.32 KPS, 11.29 APS, 14.12 DPS and 1.88 BPS.
► ABOUT THE ROCKETS: Toledo enters the week with an 11-14 (3-9 MAC) record after splitting a pair of league road matches last weekend . . . After suffering a 3-1 (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14) setback at Central Michigan, UT tallied a 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-14) sweep at Eastern Michigan . . . Amber DeWeerdt paces the Rockets with a 3.46 kills-per-set average, while Shannon Strachan is second at 3.00 . . . Kassie Kadera sets the UT attack, handing out 10.58 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Lori Ruth leads the squad with a 3.38 digs-per-set average, while Lyndsay Holt is the team's top blocker with a 0.69 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, Toledo averages 12.66 KPS, 11.81 APS, 14.76 DPS and 1.28 BPS . . . Rockets' opponents average 12.30 KPS, 11.26 APS, 15.36 DPS and 2.39 BPS.
► ABOUT THE ZIPS: Akron enters the week with a 9-14 (3-9 MAC) record after splitting a pair of home matches last week . . . The Zips picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) win over Kent State, before falling to Ohio 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18) . . . Brionna Patterson paces the Zips with a 3.55 kills-per-set average, while Lisa Martin is second at 2.60 . . . Kara Smith sets the Akron attack, handing out 10.64 assists-per-set . . . Defensively, Jennifer Stewart leads the squad with a 4.76 digs-per-set average, while Jess Antosz is the team's top blocker with a 1.01 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, Akron averages 12.94 KPS, 12.09 APS, 15.20 DPS and 2.14 BPS . . . Zips' opponents average 12.29 KPS, 11.32 APS, 13.76 DPS and 1.98 BPS.
► BOYD HITTING THE MARK: After hitting .486 (19-2-35) in BSU's two matches last weekend, freshman Jennifer Boyd continues to be BSU's top attacker based on hitting percentage . . . Boyd is currently hitting .299, which ranks seventh among all league players . . . In MAC-only matches, Boyd is hitting .346, which ranks her third in the conference . . . Boyd also ranks second on the team in total blocks (59).
► MORE ON BOYD: In addition to her strong hitting performance last weekend, Jennifer Boyd collected a career-high 13 kills in BSU's victory at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 31) . . . The 13 kills marked the third time this season the freshman has collected double-digit kills in a match . . . She also hit .462 in the contest, while posting a .556 (6-1-9) rate of success at Central Michigan (Nov. 1) . . . For the year, Boyd has hit .300-or-better in 11 of the 26 matches she has played.
► DEFENSE DOES IT AGAIN: Four Cardinals collected double-figure digs to help guide BSU to a 3-1 win at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 30) . . . Alyssa Rio paced all players with 23 digs, while Kaylee Schembra (17), Brittany McGinnis (16) and Hannah Sullivan (15) also reached double-digits . . . For the year, the Cardinals are 4-2 in matches with four-or-more players logging double-digit digs, including wins at EMU (Oct. 31), at Miami (Oct. 25), at Northern Illinois (Oct. 10) and versus DePaul (Sept. 13) . . . Ball State losses came at Bowling Green (Oct. 24) and versus Denver (Sept. 12).
► DOUBLE TROUBLE: Sophomore outside attacker Hannah Sullivan and freshman setter Brittany McGinnis each collected their third-straight double-double in BSU's win at Eastern Michigan . . . Sullivan turned in a BSU career-best 15 digs and added 12 kills in the win, while McGinnis dished out 50 assists while logging 16 digs . . . Overall, Sullivan has turned in a double-double in three of BSU's last four matches, while McGinnis had accomplished the task in six of the last nine contests.
► BREIVOGEL CLOSING IN ON 1,000: With her seven kills at Central Michigan (Nov. 1), junior Julie Breivogel broke into the top 10 in program history with 932 career kills . . . Breivogel, who has moved from a starter to a key reserve for the last two weeks, passed Liz Cothren's (1994-97) career total of 927 kill for the No. 10 slot . . . Despite the change, Breivogel still leads the Cardinals with a 2.69 kills-per-set average, while ranking second with 258 total kills . . . She has collected eight kill/dig double-doubles this season, with her most recent coming versus Kent State (Oct. 17) when she smashed 16 kills to go along with 11 digs.
► ROAD WARRIORS: Ball State ended the road portion of its regular season schedule with a 7-4 record in true road matches . . . The Cardinals own road wins over Sam Houston State (3-1), DePaul (3-1), Toledo (3-0), Buffalo (3-1), Northern Illinois (3-2), Miami (3-2) and Eastern Michigan (3-1), while falling on the road at Indiana (3-0), Western Michigan (3-0), Bowling Green (3-2) and Central Michigan (3-0) . . . BSU, which is 2-7 at home and 2-5 in neutral matches in 2008, owns the advantage despite being out-hit .171 to .204 on the road . . . BSU does out-dig its opponents on the road 14.93 to 14.26, while holding a 1.23 to 1.07 edge in service aces per set.
► WHEN AT HOME: Ball State enters Thursday's match versus Toledo with a 2-7 Worthen Arena record . . . In 16-plus years of play in the building, BSU has amassed a 178-47 (.791) 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.
► 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.
