Ball State University Athletics
WVB Hosts Active Ankle Challenge This Weekend
September 02, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
► WELCOME HOME: After posting a 2-2 record at the Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational, the Ball State women's volleyball team opens the home portion of its 2008 schedule Friday, when it hosts Southern Illinois at 5:30 p.m. in the opening match of the 2008 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge . . . In addition to the Cardinals and Salukies, the four-team field features 18th-ranked Purdue and Tennessee Tech.
► BALL STATE VERSUS TOURNAMENT FIELD: Ball State is a combined 16-28 versus the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge field . . . The Cardinals are 6-6 all-time against Southern Illinois, escaping with a hard-fought 3-2 victory in the last meeting (Sept. 9, 1998) . . . The series between BSU and Tennessee Tech is tied at 1-1 after another 3-2 BSU victory in the most recent contest of this series (Sept. 6, 2002) . . . Purdue holds a 21-9 advantage in its series with Ball State, including 13-straight wins . . . The last meeting in the series was a 3-1 Boilermakers win on Aug. 31, 1996.
► ABOUT THE CARDINALS: After opening the 2008 season with losses to Wisconsin-Green Bay (0-3; 30-32, 30-32, 18-25) and Drake (2-3; 25-22, 25-17, 14-25, 20-25, 8-15) last Friday, the Ball State women's volleyball team rebounded with wins over Centenary (3-0; 25-13, 25-8, 25-21) and Sam Houston State (3-1; 25-22, 15-25, 29-27, 25-23) last Saturday to finish play in the 2008 Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational with a 2-2 record . . . For her efforts during the tournament, junior opposite attacker Elaina Kakatolis was named to the all-tournament team . . . During the two-day event, Kakatolis smashed 40 kills, while hitting .232 and posting seven total blocks.
► McGINNIS SHINES IN FIRST WEEKEND: Freshman setter Brittany McGinnis made the most of her first weekend of collegiate action by logging a pair of double-doubles . . . In her first match with the Cardinals, McGinnis dished out 35 assists and collected 12 digs versus Wisconsin-Green Bay . . . She added her second double-double of the season with a career-high 39 assists and 10 digs in BSU's win over Sam Houston State.
► HEATING UP AT THE SERVING LINE: In addition to setting up the offense, freshman setter Brittany McGinnis turned in a solid performance at the service line for the Cardinals, posting a team-high five aces in BSU's four matches . . . Highlighting her aces were a set-two winning ace versus Centenary and a set-three winning ace versus Sam Houston State.
► RIO DIGS TEXAS: Sophomore libero Alyssa Rio finished the 2008 Comfort Suites Sam Houston Invitational with 84 digs and a 5.60 digs-per-set average . . . Rio's average currently leads the Mid-American Conference . . . Overall, Rio posted 20-or-more digs in three of BSU's four matches last week, including a season-high 29 versus Drake.
► PHILLIPS STEPS UP: After not playing in the first two matches of the season, sophomore transfer Charde' Phillips played a pivotal role in guiding BSU to back-to-back victories last Saturday . . . In her BSU debut against Centenary, Phillips recorded a BSU season-high five blocks, while adding six kills on eight swings for a .750 rate of success . . . She followed with five kills, two digs and a pair of blocks versus Sam Houston State . . . Phillips currently leads the BSU squad with a .435 (11-1-23) attack percentage and a 1.00 blocks-per-set average.
► DON'T FORGET FISHER: After seeing limited action in the first two matches, freshman defensive specialist Emily Fisher racked up a career-high 13 digs to help lead BSU to its first win of the season versus Centenary . . . She added nine digs in the Cardinals' victory over Sam Houston State and finished her first weekend of collegiate play with a 2.67 digs-per-set average.
► BREIVOGEL SWINGING HARD: After the first weekend of play, junior Julie Breivogel leads the BSU offense with 48 kills and a 3.20 kills-per-set average . . . She recorded double-figure kills in three of the team's four matches last week, including a BSU season-high 16 kills versus Drake . . . Breivogel finished the weekend with her second career double-double, logging 12 kills and 11 digs against Sam Houston State.
► BOYD IMPRESSES: Freshman middle blocker Jennifer Boyd looked strong in her first weekend with the Cardinals, collecting 24 kills and hitting at a .298 (24-7-57) clip . . . Her best performance came in BSU's victory over Sam Houston State, when she smashed nine kills on 19 swings with no errors for a .474 hitting mark . . . Boyd also led all BSU players with eight total blocks.
► HIGH MARKS: Ball State finished last Saturday's match vs. Centenary with a .304 (39-11-92) hitting percentage, which is the best attacking performance for the team in the 34-match tenure of head coach Dave Boos . . . In addition, BSU limited the Ladies' offense to a -.053 (19-24-95) rate of success, which is the best defensive effort for the squad under Boos . . . The previous marks were a .211 (40-17-109) hitting performance in a three-game win over Buffalo on Sept. 29, 2007 and a -.017 (28-30-116) defensive lock down of Toledo in another three-game in victory Nov. 1, 2007.
► HOME SWEET HOME: When BSU opens play in the 2008 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge Friday versus Southern Illinois, it will mark the program's 17th season in Worthen Arena . . . During the previous 16 years of play, the Cardinals have amassed a 176-40 (.815) record in the building, including a 134-19 (.876) mark against MAC teams . . . Among league schools, Miami has the most wins in the arena with five (5-11), followed by Ohio (3-8), Western Michigan (3-14), Northern Illinois (2-9), Bowling Green (2-12), Central Michigan (2-12), Eastern Michigan (1-17) 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.
► ABOUT THE PROGRAM: Ball State entered the 2008 season as the Mid-American Conference's all-time leader in league wins and league winning percentage at 267-124 (.683) . . . Western Michigan is a close second at 266-125 (.680), followed by Miami at 247-144 (.632) and Northern Illinois at 148-92 (.600) 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 with 13 apiece . . . Overall, the Cardinals have broken the 20-win plateau a total of 22 times in the 36-year history of the program.
► LEADERS IN THE MAC: Ball State is the home of the Mid-American Conference's all-time career statistical leaders in assists, kills and digs . . . Emily Sallee finished her career with 6,408 assists from 1997-2000 . . . Stephanie Keller collected 2,273 digs from 2001-04 . . . Sarah Obras smashed 1,975 kills in her career, which spanned from 2002-05 . . . Sallee's assist total and Keller's dig total still rank in the top 10 in NCAA history.
► 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 Mid-American Conference, 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.
► BSU PICKED THIRD: BSU was selected to finish third in the MAC West Division in the league's annual preseason poll, which was voted on by the conference's 12 head coaches . . . Western Michigan was picked to win the division for a second-straight year, followed by Central Michigan and BSU . . . Behind the Cardinals were Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Toledo.
