Ball State University Athletics
No. 1 Seed WVB Opens MAC Tournament Friday
November 18, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
►TOURNAMENT TIME: The No. 1 seed Ball State women's volleyball team opens play in the 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Friday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal match versus No. 8 seed Toledo at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio . . . The winner will advance to face either No. 4 Northern Illinois or No. 5 Eastern Michigan in the 4:30 p.m. semifinal match up Saturday . . . The 2010 MAC Tournament Championship match is set for 3 p.m. Sunday.
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State women's volleyball fans can follow the Cardinals' 2010 MAC Tournament run with FREE live audio courtesy of WCRD 91.3 FM . . . Use the WCRD Audio link above to listen to the broadcast . . . Live Stats will also be available for free through the MAC Tournament Central Link above . . . Fans can also watch the matches live for a fee with an All-MACcess account.
►CARDINALS EARN NO. 1 SEED: The Ball State women's volleyball team enters the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed after completing the regular season with a 24-4 (14-2 MAC) record . . . It is the first time Ball State has earned the No. 1 seed since the 2002 season.
► 20 AND COUNTING: When Ball State takes the floor Friday, it will mark the 20th-straight Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance, and 22nd overall, for the Cardinals . . . After topping Akron in the first round and losing to Ohio in the semifinals of the 2009 MAC Tournament, Ball State is 28-15 (.651) all-time in MAC Tournament matches . . . Both BSU's 28 wins and 43 matches played are league records . . . Overall, Ball State is 4-1 in first round matches, 9-3 in quarterfinal matches, 9-8 in semifinal matches and 6-3 in championship matches . . . Ball State has more tournament wins (28) than eight other MAC schools have matches played . . . Miami (39), Western Michigan (39) and Bowling Green (34) are the only schools to play in more tournament matches than BSU has wins.
► AT THE SEAGATE CENTRE: Since the SeaGate Centre became the host site for the final three rounds of the MAC Tournament in 2005, Ball State is 2-4 in tournament play in the building . . . BSU's only wins came in the inaugural tournament, when BSU advanced to the finals with a quarterfinal win over Miami (3-0) and a semifinal victory over Eastern Michigan (3-2) . . . The Cardinals lost to then-No. 21 Ohio (3-0) in the championship match.
► ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: The Cardinals placed at least one player on the MAC All-Tournament squad every year from 1991-2005, marking a league-record 15-straight seasons with an all-tournament honoree . . . Since the inception of the all-tournament team in 1989, BSU has received the most selections, being honored 24 times among 16 players . . . In addition, Ball State is tied with Ohio for the edge in tournament Most Valuable Players with six.
► VERSUS THE FIELD: Ball State holds a 247-132 record versus the remaining MAC Tournament field, including a 15-11 mark in tournament action and a 3-3 ledger in championship matches.
►BALL STATE VS. TOLEDO: The Cardinals and Rockets will meet for the second consecutive Friday when the two teams square off in the quarterfinal round of the 2010 MAC Tournament . . . Last Friday, the Cardinals used a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) sweep of the Rockets to clinch the 2010 MAC Regular Season Championship outright . . . The victory was BSU's fourth straight in the series, including a 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 26-28, 25-21, 15-10) road win in the first match this season (Oct. 7) . . . BSU also swept the regular season series in 2009 . . . BSU had won 42-straight matches in the 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 two teams have only meet once in MAC Tournament play, with BSU scoring a 3-0 (15-4, 15-13, 15-10) semifinal sweep of the Rockets in the 1993 event.
►COMING UP NEXT: The winner of Friday's match between No. 1 seed Ball State and No. 8 Toledo will battle the winner of the 11 a.m. quarterfinal match which pits No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Eastern Michigan . . . The Cardinals swept the season series with both NIU and EMU this season, sweeping the home contests and earning 3-2 road wins.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State earned the No. 1 seed in the 2010 MAC Tournament and a first round bye after locking up the 2010 MAC Regular Season Title with wins over Toledo (3-0) and Akron (3-1) last weekend . . . BSU finished the regular season with a 24-4 (14-2 MAC) record . . . Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl leads the team in kills per set (3.21), hitting percentage (.349), blocks per set (0.86) and service aces (30) . . . Freshmen outside hitters Whitney Heeres and Kylee Baker rank second (3.09) and third (2.95), respectively, on the team in kills per set . . . In the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio leads the nation with her 5.88 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, Ball State is out-hitting its opponents .224 to .171 on the year, while holding a 13.73 to 11.61 advantage in kills per set.
►SCOUTING TOLEDO: The Rockets entered the 2010 MAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed and secured a place in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 16-25, 25-21) first round victory over No. 9 Kent State . . . Toledo enters the contest with a 12-16 (6-10 MAC) record . . . Sondra Parys leads the Toledo attack with a 2.87 kills-per-set average, but she has seen limited action since the team's 3-2 win at Northern Illinois (Oct. 29), including playing in just one set in Tuesday's win over Kent State . . . She also missed a majority of UT's non-conference slate . . . Lauren Rafdel (2.84) and Cassie Kleespies (2.27) are second and third, respectively, on the Rockets attacking list . . . Katie Westerfeld paces the UT backcourt with a 4.14 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, Toledo is being out-hit by its opponents .129 to .191, while UT's foes have a 13.52 to 13.03 edge in kills per set.
►THE SEASON SERIES: In the two matches played this season, Kelsey Brandl paced all players with 37 kills, including a career-high 25 in the Oct. 7 five-set road victory . . . Brandl is hitting .484 (37-6-64), while adding seven blocks and a pair of aces . . . Whitney Heeres is next with 20 kills, followed by Kylee Baker at 15 . . . BSU libero Alyssa Rio has collected 53 digs over the two matches for a 6.68 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, the Cardinals hold a .259 to .201 attacking advantage, while out-digging the Rockets 18.25 to 16.88 . . . BSU has also out-blocked the Rockets 2.00 to 0.38 in the series, while both teams averaged 1.12 aces per set.
►TOLEDO IN THE SERIES: Becca Reidy leads the Toledo attack with 18 kills in eight sets in the season series, while Sondra Parys has 13 kills and a 3.25 kills-per-set average playing in just four of the eight sets . . . In the backcourt, Katie Westerfeld has a team-best 4.62 digs-per-set average, collecting 37 digs in the two matches . . . The Rockets, who have only collected three blocks in the eight sets played, are giving up 14.12 kills per set to the Cardinals, while collecting only 11.88 on offense.
►THE RECORD: Ball State's 24-4 record gives the Cardinals the 13th-best winning percentage in the nation at .857 . . . No. 3 Hawaii is first at .963 (26-1).
►MORE ON THE RECORD: Ball State's 24-4 record so far this season ties as the best in program history through 28 matches with the 1993 squad . . . The 1993 team finished the year with a 26-5 overall record, winning the MAC Tournament before losing to Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament . . . The 1974, 1994, 1999 and 2000 squads all went 23-5 in their first 28 matches, with the 1994, 1999 and 2000 teams all making the NCAA Tournament . . . The first year for the NCAA Tournament was 1981.
►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 a 24-4 record so far this season . . . 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).
►RIO DIGS 2000: Alyssa Rio became just the second player in program history to eclipse the 2,000 dig mark with her third dig at Central Michigan (Nov. 6) . . . With 50 more digs last weekend, Rio upped her career total to 2,073 . . . Rio is one of only eight players in MAC history to eclipse the 2,000 digs mark including BSU's all-time digs leader Stephanie Keller (2001-04) who is second in league history with 2,273 career digs.
►DIGGING 20: After collecting 20-or-more digs in both matches last weekend, Alyssa Rio is first in program history with 20-or-more digs in 49 career matches . . . In addition, Rio ranks second in program history with double-digit digs in 96 matches, trailing Stephanie Keller's (2001-04) total of 101 . . . Rio also enters the week second in program history with her 5.03 career digs-per-set average.
►DISHING THE ROCK: Junior setter Brittany McGinnis led the Ball State attack to a .311 hitting percentage last week . . . BSU connected for a .358 rate of success in its MAC regular season title clinching victory over Toledo, while posting a .276 mark in its four-set win over Akron to end the season with a perfect 12-0 record at home . . . BSU has hit .200-or-better 21 times this season, including seven matches above .300.
►MINIMIZING ERRORS: As a team, the Cardinals have been one of the most consistent serving teams in the league this season, ranking second in the MAC with a .941 serving percentage . . . Only WMU's .961 average is higher . . . BSU's 1.34 errors-per-set average is also second only to the Bronco's 0.90 mark.
►3,000 AND COUNTING: With 85 assists last weekend, junior setter Brittany McGinnis raised her career total to 3,314 which ranks fifth in program history . . . She needs just 222 more to pass Angie Parrell's (2004-07) career total of 3,535 for fourth on BSU's all-time list . . . McGinnis' 9.89 career assists-per-set average is sixth in BSU annals . . . This season, McGinnis is averaging a career-best 10.48 assists per set and collected her third-straight 1,000-plus assist season at 1,038.
►THE LAST 10: Ball State's current 10-match winning streak is its longest since the 2004 season, when the Cardinals won 11-straight from Sept. 25 to Oct. 30 . . . During the streak, Ball State is out-hitting its opponents .272 to .199, while holding a 16.28 to 13.77 edge in digs per set . . . BSU has served up 40 aces over the last 10 contests, while only being aced 30 times . . . Whitney Heeres leads the BSU offense with a 3.46 kills-per-set average during the span, while Kelsey Brandl and Kylee Baker are tied for second at 3.31 . . . Brandl is hitting a team-best .417 (122-26-230), while Alyssa Rio has a 5.77 digs-per-set average.
