Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Travels To IPFW Tuesday
September 14, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
►CARDINALS HIT THE ROAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team continues its seven-match road swing with four contests this week . . . Tuesday, the Cardinals travel up I-69 to battle in-state rival and Summit League member IPFW in a 7 p.m. first serve . . . Friday, Ball State will be in Chapel Hill, N.C., for the 2010 Tar Heel Classic . . . BSU will play the host North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. Friday, before battling Temple (11 a.m.) and Appalachian State (5:30 p.m.) Saturday.
►BALL STATE VS. IPFW: The Cardinals hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series versus IPFW, including a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-23) home win in the most-recent meeting Sept. 4, 2009 . . . The Cardinals have won two straight over the Mastodons, and three of the last five contests overall . . . Ball State is 3-2 in matches played in Fort Wayne, Ind., despite losses in its last two trips up I-69 . . . BSU's last win at IPFW was Sept. 30, 2003.
►VERSUS TAR HEEL CLASSIC FIELD: Ball State is a combined 2-2 versus teams in the 2010 Tar Heel Classic . . . The Cardinals have battled the host Tar Heels three times, owning a 2-1 record with all three matches played on UNC's home court . . . BSU won the first two meetings; 3-2 (Sept. 23, 1989) and 3-1 (Sept. 11, 1992), while the Tar Heels won the latest match 3-1 (22-30, 33-31, 30-23, 30-23) Sept. 13, 2002 . . . Ball State has played Appalachian State once, with the Mountaineers posting a 3-1 (23-30, 30-22, 30-18, 30-28) victory Sept. 16, 2006 . . . Ball State and Temple will be playing in women's volleyball for the first time.
►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 7-1 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).
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday, with a 1-3 (16-25, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25) setback at Wright State . . . Earlier in the week, the Cardinals scored a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-11) sweep of IUPUI . . . Kylee Baker leads the Cardinals with 91 kills and a 3.64 kills-per-set average . . . Kelsey Brandl is BSU's top attacker based on percentage, at .394, and ranks second in kills (83) and kills-per-set average (3.32) . . . Alyssa Rio enters the week with 135 digs and a 5.40 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, the Cardinals are out-hitting their opponents .269 to .137 on the year, while holding a 14.84 to 10.20 advantage in kills per set.
►SCOUTING IPFW: The Mastodons enter the week with a 5-5 overall record after going 3-0 last week with wins over Oakland (3-2), at Bowling Green (3-0) and versus Cornell (3-1) . . . Mayara Schlindwein leads the team with 125 kills and a 3.47 kills-per-set average, while Stephanie Lamberti is second with 87 kills and a 2.42 kills-per-set average . . . Muncie Central graduate Tessa McGill leads the Mastodons' backcourt with 185 digs and a 5.14 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, IPFW is being out-hit .183 to .225 on the season, with opponents averaging 14.47 kills per set compared to 11.67 for the Mastodons.
►BAKER LEADING THE CHARGE: Freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker continues to lead the Ball State offense with 91 kills and a 3.65 kills-per-set average . . . The average ranks fifth among all players in the Mid-American Conference . . . Baker also ranks fourth in the league in points per set (4.38), and after collecting a career-high four service aces Tuesday versus IUPUI, she ranks ninth in the MAC in aces per set (0.40).
►HITTING THE MARKS: After struggling on offense the past four seasons, the Cardinals enter the week ranked second in the league with a .269 team hitting percentage . . . BSU has two attackers (Kylee Baker and Kelsey Brandl) ranked in the top six in both kills-per-set and points-per-set average, while the team as a whole ranks first in the league in kills-per-set average at 14.84 . . . Last season, Ball State finished the year ranked 10th in the league in hitting percentage (.183) and ninth in kills-per-set average (12.43).
►SPREADING THE WEALTH: Junior setter Brittany McGinnis continues to keep opponents guessing, as she has led the Cardinals to a .269 hitting mark so far this season . . . She enters the week ranked second in the MAC with an 11.16 assists-per-set average . . . Behind McGinnis' setting, the Cardinals have hit .270-or-better in six matches this season, including a season-high .339 mark in the championship match of the Active Ankle Challenge versus Oakland . . . BSU's best team hitting percentage during the rally scoring era (2001-pres.) came in 2001, when the team combined for a .240 rate of success.
►DOUBLING UP: In addition to setting the BSU offense to a solid hitting mark, Brittany McGinnis leads the team with a pair of double-doubles on the year . . . McGinnis collected her second double-double of the year with season-bests of 41 assists and 14 digs . . . McGinnis enters the week tied for second on the team with 62 total digs and a 2.48 digs-per-set average.
►UP TO THIRD: With her season-high 28 digs Saturday at Wright State, senior libero Alyssa Rio climbed to third in program history with 1,585 career digs . . . She passed Amanda McCormick's (2005-06) career total of 1,579 for third on BSU's all-time list . . . Rio also ranks third in BSU history with 76 career matches with double-figure digs.
►LEAGUE LEADER: In addition to climbing the BSU career charts, Alyssa Rio has climbed to the top of the Mid-American Conference statistical rankings with a league-best 5.40 digs-per-set average . . . Rio has collected double-digit digs seven times this season, including 20-or-more on two occasions . . . Behind Rio's stellar play, Ball State also tops the MAC's team charts with a 16.76 digs-per-set mark.
►DEFENSIVE DOMINATION: BSU's defense continued to dominate last week, limiting IUPUI and Wright State to a combined .182 hitting mark . . . BSU has held six of its opponents below .170 this season, including a -.084 (14-21-83) mark from Tennessee State . . . For the season, BSU is limiting its opposition to a .137 rate of success, while connecting at a .269 clip on offense.
►HARD HITTING HEERES: Freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres led the Cardinals with 16 kills Saturday at Wright State . . . It is the second time this season she has led the Cardinals in kills . . . She recorded a career-best 17 kills versus Indiana State (Aug. 28) . . . She enters the week ranked third on the team in kills (72) and kills-per-set average (2.88).
