Ball State University Athletics
WVB Returns To Worthen Arena This Weekend
October 01, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
►WELCOME HOME: After playing seven-straight matches on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend for a pair of Mid-American Conference contests . . . BSU opens its eight-match 2010 MAC home slate Friday with a 7 p.m. first serve versus MAC West Division preseason favorite Central Michigan (6-8 / 0-2 MAC) . . . Saturday, the Cardinals battle Eastern Michigan (14-3 / 2-0 MAC) in another 7 p.m. divisional showdown.
►WEEKEND SPLIT: The Ball State women's volleyball team opened league play on the road last weekend, posting a 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 16-14) come-from-behind victory at Northern Illinois Friday . . . Saturday, the Cardinals suffered their first league setback of the season, being swept at Western Michigan 3-0 (25-22, 30-28, 25-18).
►STRONG START: Through its first 14 matches, the Ball State women's volleyball team has tallied an 11-3 overall record, which ties as the second-best start to a season in program history with the 2000 squad . . . The best 14-match mark in program history came in 1973, with the Cardinals posted a 12-2 record in just the second year of the program's existence.
►SUCCESSFUL NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: Ball State finished its 2010 regular season non-conference schedule with a 10-2 record, which is the best non-conference record for BSU since league play began in 1983 . . . The 10 wins also tie for the most in regular season non-conference action with the 1989 squad which posted a 10-7 non-MAC slate.
►PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF: Ball State head coach Steve Shondell picked up right where he left off at Burris Laboratory School, winning his first seven matches with the Cardinals and guiding the team to the second-best 14-match record in program history at 11-3 . . . As the head coach for Burris, Shondell racked up an 1183-95 record over his 34-year career from 1976-2009 . . . The 2007 American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee coached the Owls to 21 state championships, including 13 straight Indiana Class 2A titles . . . The Owls won four national championships (1990, 1992, 1997 and 2004), and finished with undefeated records seven times (1985, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1997, 2004 and 2009).
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State (11-3) opened league play last weekend with a 3-2 win at Northern Illinois and a 3-0 setback at Western Michigan . . . Entering the week, junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl leads the team in kills per set (3.28), hitting percentage (.348) and blocks per set (0.86) . . . Freshmen outside hitters Kylee Baker and Whitney Heeres rank second (2.96) and third (2.68), respectively, on the team in kill per set . . . Baker also leads the squad in aces (15) and ranks second in digs per set (2.58) . . . In the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with her 5.74 digs per set . . . As a team, the Cardinals are out-hitting their opponents .204 to .155 on the year, while holding a 13.50 to 11.22 advantage in kills per set.
►BALL STATE VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Ball State holds a 34-28 advantage in the all-time series versus the Chippewas, including a 3-0 (26-24, 27-25, 25-8) victory in the most recent meeting, Nov. 8, 2009 . . . Prior to the win, CMU had racked up five-straight victories . . . Ball State holds a 17-11 edge in matches played in Muncie, with Central Michigan posting a 3-13 record in Worthen Arena.
►SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas, the preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division, enter the week with a 6-8 (0-2 MAC) record after dropping league contests at Eastern Michigan (3-2) and versus Ohio (3-2) last weekend . . . Lauren Krupsky leads CMU with a 3.47 kills-per-set average, while Val DeWeerd (2.29) and Kaitlyn Schultz (2.27) follow . . . Jenna Coates leads the Chippewas backcourt with a 2.87 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, CMU is out-hitting its opponents .231 to .213, while averaging 12.38 kills per set compared to 11.49 for opposing teams.
►BALL STATE VS. EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Cardinals hold a commanding 43-20 lead in the all-time series versus Eastern Michigan, despite being swept in the season series last year . . . In 2008, BSU took all three matches versus EMU, including a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) win in the first round of the MAC Tournament for its latest victory in the series . . . Ball State is 25-7 all-time versus EMU in Muncie, with the Eagles holding a 2-19 record in Worthen Arena.
►SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN: After posting a 5-28 (4-12 MAC) record in 2009, the Eagles are the surprise team in the league this season with a 14-3 (2-0 MAC) mark . . . EMU opened league play last weekend with a 3-2 win over Central Michigan and a sweep of Kent State . . . Eastern Michigan plays road matches at Wright State (Tuesday) and Toledo (Friday), before visiting Ball State (Saturday) . . . Rachel Iaquaniello leads EMU with a 3.72 kills-per-set average, while Paige Roback (2.44) and Kristen Baker (2.15) follow . . . Haley Stein leads the Eagles backcourt with a 5.10 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, EMU is out-hitting its opponents .227 to .150, while averaging 13.23 kills per set compared to 10.64 for opposing teams.
►BSU LIBERO EARNS MAC WEEKLY HONOR: After posting a 6.88 digs-per-set average last weekend, Ball State senior libero Alyssa Rio was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week . . . After turning in a match-best 28 digs in five sets at Northern Illinois, Rio tallied 27 digs in three sets at Western Michigan for a 9.00 digs-per-set average for the match . . . Rio enters the week ranked first in league and fourth in the nation with a 5.74 digs-per-set average.
►1,700 AND COUNTING: With her 55 total digs last weekend, Alyssa Rio raised her career total to 1,737, becoming just the second player in program history to eclipse the 1,700 dig mark . . . Rio only trails Stephanie Keller's (2001-04) 2,273 digs in the BSU record book.
►FROM THE MIDDLE: Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl paced the Ball State offense with 35 total kills last weekend, including a team-high 19 at NIU and a match-best 16 at WMU . . . She also hit .468 (35-6-62) for the week . . . Brandl enters the week ranked third in the MAC in hitting percentage (.348) and eighth in kills per set (3.28) . . . She has collected double-digit kills in a team-best 10 matches this season, while hitting .300-or-better 10 times.
►HITTING THE MARK: Kelsey Brandl enters the week with a .342 career hitting percentage as a member of the Ball State squad . . . She has also registered 394 kills in her two seasons at BSU, and needs just 106 more kills to become eligible for Ball State's hitting percentage record list which is led by Julie Zylka (1998-2001) at .360.
►DISHING IT OUT: With her 77 assists last weekend, junior setter Brittany McGinnis climbed from seventh to fifth in program history with 2,716 career assists . . . Next on the list for McGinnis to pass in Angie Parrell (2004-07) at 3,535 . . . McGinnis' 9.67 career assists-per-set average currently ranks sixth in program history.
►CARDINALS DIGGING IT: As a team, the Cardinals enter the week ranked 13th in the nation with a 17.56 digs-per-set average . . . West Virginia leads the nation at 19.94, while Western Michigan leads the league and ranks seventh nationally at 18.25.
►SOLID ON OFFENSE TOO: In addition to ranking 13th in the nation in digging, Ball State's offense is 61st of 328 ranked teams with its 13.50 kills-per-set average . . . Stanford leads the nation at 15.41, while Northern Illinois (14.04; 25th) and Western Michigan (13.71; 43rd) are the only league schools ahead of Ball State.
►PERFECT IN FIVE: After securing its second-straight come-from-behind victory of the year at Northern Illinois last Friday, the Cardinals improved to 3-0 in five-set matches this season . . . In the rally scoring era (2001-present), the Cardinals own a 42-26 all-time mark in five-set matches, including a school-record 10-0 mark in 2002.
