Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Visits WMU & NIU This Weekend
October 29, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
► TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road this weekend to face the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division . . . Friday, the Cardinals head to Kalamazoo, Mich., to face division-leader Western Michigan at 7 p.m. . . . Saturday, BSU will be in DeKalb, Ill., for a 7 p.m. (CT) showdown with second-place Northern Illinois.
► BRANDL PICKS UP MAC HONORS: Ball State sophomore middle attacker Kelsey Brandl was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week after collecting 34 kills and a .448 attack percentage in BSU's two league matches last week.
► SECOND TIME THROUGH: Friday's matchup versus Western Michigan begins the Cardinals second trip through the MAC West Division . . . The first time through, Ball State went 2-3 with wins over Northern Illinois (3-0) and Toledo (3-2) . . . BSU is 1-4 versus MAC East Division teams so far this season, with just the regular season finale at Akron (Nov. 14) remaining.
► LOOKING AHEAD: After dropping a pair of league matches last weekend, the Cardinals enter Friday's showdown with Western Michigan with a 3-7 Mid-American Conference record . . . If the regular season ended today, Ball State would be on the road for its first round MAC Tournament contest as the No. 10 seed at No. 7 Toledo (5-5 MAC).
► BALL STATE IN MAC PLAY: Ball State enters the week with a 276-141 (.662) all-time record in league play, which ranks the Cardinals second in both wins and winning percentage . . . Western Michigan is the all-time leader in both categories with a 288-129 (.691) all-time MAC mark . . . Northern Illinois is 163-103 (.613) which ranks them eighth in wins and fourth in winning percentage.
► SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters the week with a 10-13 (3-7 MAC) record after losing home matches to Bowling Green and Miami last week . . . Senior Alisha Green enters the week as BSU's top attacker with a 3.04 kills-per-set average, while sophomore Kelsey Brandl leads the team and ranks second in the league with a .368 attack percentage . . . Sophomore Brittany McGinnis has set the Ball State offense to a .205 rate of success this season, while producing a 9.29 assists-per-set average . . . Sophomore Kaylee Schembra leads the Cardinals backcourt with a 3.21 digs-per-set average, while Brandl is the team's top blocker averaging 0.92 blocks per set . . . As a team, BSU is averaging 12.48 kills, 14.12 digs and 1.87 blocks per set . . . The Cardinals' opponents are hitting .190, while averaging 11.76 kills, 12.72 digs and 1.77 blocks per set.
► SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN: The Broncos enter the week with a 16-9 (8-2 MAC) record after scoring wins over Kent State 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-21) and Ohio 3-0 (25-13, 27-25, 25-21) last weekend . . . Overall, WMU boasts an 8-1 home record, with its only home loss coming versus Dayton . . . Michelle Moore is Western Michigan's top attacker with a 3.39 kills-per-set average, while Jessica Brown has a team-leading .291 attack percentage . . . Jillian Mitchell has set the Broncos offense to a .218 attack percentage this season, while dishing out 10.29 assists per set . . . Katie Eberling leads the team with a 3.57 digs-per-set average, while Ashley Turnage is the program's top blocker averaging 1.02 blocks per set . . . As a team, Western Michigan is averaging 12.97 kills, 15.82 digs and 1.91 blocks per set . . . The Broncos' opponents are hitting .187, while averaging 12.38 kills, 15.98 digs and 1.79 blocks per set.
► BSU VS. WMU: With a 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-18) victory over the Cardinals Sept. 26 at Worthen Arena, Western Michigan tied the all-time series at 36 matches apiece . . . Overall, the Cardinals have lost five straight and eight of the last 10 meetings versus WMU . . . BSU's last win in the series was a 3-2 (32-30, 30-27, 18-30, 24-30, 15-12) victory Oct. 28, 2006 at University Arena . . . Overall, the Cardinals are 13-19 in matches played in Kalamazoo, Mich.
► SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The Huskies enter the week with a 12-11 (6-4 MAC) record after falling to Ohio 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-12) and topping Kent State 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 30-28) last weekend . . . The Huskies are 8-4 in matches played at Victor E. Court this season . . . Meagan Schoenrock is Northern Illinois' top attacker with a 3.80 kills-per-set average, while Cassie Yates paces the team with a .318 attack percentage . . . Kristin Hoffman has set a majority of NIU's MAC matches and has helped lead the team to a .221 attack percentage this season while dishing out 9.63 assists per set . . . Maddie Hughes leads the Huskies backcourt with a 4.93 digs-per-set average, while Yates has a team-best 0.76 blocks-per-set average . . . As a team, Northern Illinois is averaging 13.33 kills, 15.06 digs and 1.86 blocks per set . . . The Huskies' opponents are hitting .226, while averaging 13.45 kills, 14.32 digs and 1.90 blocks per set.
► BSU VS. NIU: Despite a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) victory on Sept. 25, Ball State trails Northern Illinois 23-25 in the all-time series . . . Overall, the Huskies have posted wins in seven of the last 10 meetings . . . However, the Cardinals also picked up a pivotal road win at Victor E. Court last season with a 3-2 (17-25, 30-28, 21-25, 25-19, 15-13) triumph Oct. 10 . . . Ball State is 6-15 all-time in matches played in DeKalb.
► RIO CLIMBS TO FIFTH: Junior libero/defensive specialist Alyssa Rio enters the week ranked fifth in program history with 1,287 career digs . . . Despite missing 12 matches due to injury, Rio has racked up 113 digs this season for a 2.76 digs-per-set average . . . Rio needs 23 more digs to pass Kelly Cochran (2003-06), who tallied 1,309 digs over her career, for fourth on BSU's all-time digs list.
► MORE ON RIO: Alyssa Rio recorded double-digit digs in both of the Cardinals' matches last week, upping her season total to five, and her career total to 61 . . . The 61 matches with double-figure digs ranks fourth in BSU annals . . . Rio, who posted a season-high 20 digs at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 3), is also third in program history with 29 matches with 20-or-more digs.
► UP THE MIDDLE: Ball State's middle attackers Kelsey Brandl and Charde' Phillips combined for a .440 attack percentage in BSU's two matches last week, with Brandl hitting .448 and Phillips posting a .429 mark . . . Both players hit .500-or-better versus Bowling Green (Oct. 23), while hitting above .333 versus Miami (Oct. 24) . . . The Cardinals finished the week with a .167 rate of success after the team's three left side attackers combined for a -.014 (34-36-146) hitting mark.
► SCHEMBRA DIGS IT: Kaylee Schembra has posted double-figure digs in a team-high 15 matches this season and 27 times over her career . . . After posting 14 digs versus Miami, Kaylee Schembra upped her career digs total to 558 . . . Schembra is one of only three active Cardinals to have at least 500 career digs, joining junior Alyssa Rio (1,287) and senior Julie Breivogel (683).
► SERVING IT UP: Ball State currently ranks second in the MAC with a 1.40 aces-per-set average . . . BSU has tallied 115 aces this season, with sophomore setter Brittany McGinnis leading the way with 24 . . . McGinnis is also seventh in the league with her 0.30 average . . . In MAC-only matches, the Cardinals rank fourth in the league with a 1.21 average, with Kelsey Brandl holding the No. 9 slot individually at 0.32.
► KAKATOLIS BREAKS INTO TOP 20: After missing both of last week's matches due to illness, senior Elaina Kakatolis is still tied with Karen Gladish (1984-87) for 20th on BSU's all-time total blocks chart with 236 . . . Kakatolis also ranks 19th in program history with 215 career block assists, while her 730 career kills leave her 41 markers away from the top 20.
► BREIVOGEL EYES EIGHTH: Senior outside attacker Julie Breivogel, who recorded her 1,000th career kill versus Dayton (Aug. 29), enters the week ranked ninth in program history with 1,173 career kills after smashing 13 last week . . . She needs 27 more kills to pass Julie Zylka's (1998-2001) career total of 1,199 for eighth on BSU's all-time list.
►OVER THE AIR WAVES: 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 2009 season . . . The station is slated to cover all 11 of the Cardinals home matches this season, as well as select road contests and all of BSU's 2009 MAC Tournament action . . . 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 7 to 8 p.m.
►ON THE TUBE: The Ball State Sports Network will televise a pair of BSU matches (Oct. 24 vs. Miami and Nov. 12 vs. Toledo) . . . In addition, Ball State Sports Link webcasted the Oct. 23 match vs. Bowling Green . . . The Oct. 23 match was streamed for FREE on www.ballstatesports.com, while fans need a Ball State All-Access account to watch the other two contests.
