Ball State University Athletics
WVB Visits Toledo And Buffalo This Week
October 07, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
►ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After a brief two-match home stand last weekend, the Cardinals return to the road this week for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches . . . Thursday, the Cardinals wrap up their first tour through the MAC West Division with a 7 p.m. showdown at Toledo . . . Saturday, the Cardinals battle their first MAC East Division foe when they travel to Buffalo for a 5 p.m. first serve.
►WEEKEND REVIEW: The Ball State women's volleyball team climbed into a four-way tie for first place in the MAC West Division with league wins over Central Michigan (3-1) and Eastern Michigan (3-0) last weekend . . . In the two wins, the Cardinals limited its opponents to a combined .119 attack percentage.
►STRONG START: Through its first 16 matches, the Ball State women's volleyball team has tallied a 13-3 overall record, which ties as the best start to a season in program history with the 1973 and 2000 squads . . . Both squads went on to post wins in their next two matches to improve to 15-3.
►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 best 16-match record in program history at 13-3 . . . 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 (13-3) used league wins over Central Michigan (3-1) and Eastern Michigan (3-0) to vault into first place in the MAC West Division . . . Entering the week, junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl leads the team in kills per set (3.18), hitting percentage (.326) and blocks per set (0.89) . . . Freshmen outside hitters Kylee Baker and Whitney Heeres rank second (3.00) and third (2.77), respectively, on the team in kills per set . . . Baker also leads the squad in aces (17) and ranks second in digs per set (2.70) . . . In the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio leads the nation with her 5.95 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, the Cardinals are out-hitting their opponents .206 to .150 on the year, while holding a 13.56 to 11.25 advantage in kills per set.
►BALL STATE VS. TOLEDO: Ball State owns a commanding 53-4 lead in the all-time series versus Toledo, including sweeping the season series in 2009 . . . BSU had won 42-straight matches in the all-time series before the Rockets scored a hard-fought 3-2 (25-21, 18-25, 23-25, 25-20, 18-16) victory Nov. 6, 2008 at Worthen Arena . . . The Cardinals are 22-2 all-time in matches played in Toledo.
►SCOUTING TOLEDO: The Rockets enter the week with a 5-10 (0-4 MAC) record after dropping home league matches to Eastern Michigan (3-1) and Central Michigan (3-0) last weekend . . . Toledo did pick up a win over then-No. 12 Michigan (Aug. 28) and received votes in the AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll twice (Aug. 30 & Sept. 13) . . . Amber DeWeerdt leads Toledo with a 2.94 kills-per-set average, while Lauren Rafdal (2.42) and Cassie Kleespies (2.12) follow . . . Katie Westerfeld leads the Rockets backcourt with a 3.89 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, UT is being out-hit by its opponents .172 to .215, while averaging 12.39 kills per set compared to 13.48 for opposing teams.
►BALL STATE VS. BUFFALO: Ball State is a perfect 14-0 all-time versus Buffalo, including a 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 25-15) home win last season (Oct. 10) . . . The Bulls have only picked up five set victories over the Cardinals in the 14 matches played between the two teams . . . BSU is 5-0 all-time in Buffalo.
►SCOUTING BUFFALO: The Bulls enter the week with a 13-7 (1-3 MAC) record after suffering league losses at Kent State (3-2) and at Ohio (3-0) last weekend . . . Buffalo hosts Akron Thursday before playing the Cardinals Saturday . . . Dana Musil leads UB with a 2.88 kills-per-set average, while Kayla Govier (2.38) and Marisa Hornbaker (2.36) follow . . . Kelly Svoboda leads the Bulls backcourt with a 3.71 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, Buffalo is out-hitting its opponents .217 to .130, while averaging 13.22 kills per set compared to 9.59 for opposing teams.
►MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW: For the second consecutive week, Ball State senior libero Alyssa Rio has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week . . . Rio posted 26 digs in each of Ball State's wins last weekend for a 7.43 digs-per-set average.
►LEADING THE NATION: After another solid weekend in the backcourt, Alyssa Rio ranks first in the nation with a 5.95 digs-per-set average . . . Rio, who is one of four players to see action in all of BSU's 57 sets this season, has tallied 339 digs this year . . . In MAC play, Rio has collected an astonishing 107 digs in 15 sets for a 7.13 average . . . Rio is not the only BSU libero to flirt with the national lead in digs, as then senior Amanda McCormick (2005-06) finished the 2006 season with a NCAA record 7.68 digs-per-set average, topping the previous mark of 7.02.
►SPEAKING OF DEFENSE: Ball State's defense shined over the weekend, limiting its two opponents to a combined .119 (80-46-286) attack percentage . . . In Friday's win over CMU, the Cardinals limited the Chippewas to a season-low .106 (40-26-132) hitting mark . . . In Saturday's victory over EMU, Ball State limited the Eagles' offense to a .130 (40-20-154) effort from the attack line, its third-lowest mark of the season.
►CARDINALS DIGGING IT: As a team, the Cardinals enter the week ranked 13th in the nation with a 17.81 digs-per-set average . . . West Virginia leads the nation at 19.23, while Western Michigan leads the league and ranks ninth nationally at 17.91 . . . Among the top 15 teams in the digging rankings, 13 have records at or above .500.
►SOLID ON OFFENSE TOO: In addition to ranking 13th in the nation in digging, Ball State's offense is 55th among the 328 ranked teams with its 13.56 kills-per-set average . . . Stanford leads the nation at 15.44, while Northern Illinois (14.00; T-27th) and Western Michigan (13.84; 39th) are the only league schools ahead of Ball State.
►SPEAKING OF RANKINGS: The Ball State women's volleyball team is ranked 60th among 328 teams in the first 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball RPI which was released Monday . . . Western Michigan is the top-ranked MAC team at 50, followed by Ohio (52) and BSU . . . All six teams in the MAC West Division are ranked in the top half led by WMU, BSU, Northern Illinois (71), Eastern Michigan (86), Central Michigan (133) and Toledo (151).
►FRESHMEN DUO HEATING UP IN MAC PLAY: In helping lead the Cardinals to a 14.00 kills-per-set average last weekend, freshmen outside hitters Whitney Heeres and Kylee Baker blasted 24 and 23 kills, respectively, in BSU's two matches . . . Heeres and Baker tied for match-high honors with 13 kills apiece versus Central Michigan . . . Heeres blasted a match-best 11 kills against Eastern Michigan, while Baker added 10.
►DOUBLING UP: In Saturday's win over Eastern Michigan, a pair of Cardinals collected double-doubles in the same match for the first time this season . . . Junior setter Brittany McGinnis earned her fourth double-double of the season with 40 assists and 11 digs . . . Freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker blasted 10 kills and logged a career 17 digs for her third double-double of the year.
