Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Hosts Active Ankle Challenge
September 02, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
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Live Stats / Live Audio / Live Video
►CARDINALS HOST ACTIVE ANKLE CHALLENGE: The Ball State women's volleyball team hits the Worthen Arena hardwood for the first time in 2010 when it hosts the Active Ankle Challenge this weekend . . . The two-day event features the Cardinals, Tennessee State, Robert Morris and Oakland.
2010 Active Ankle Challenge Schedule:
Fri., Sept. 3 - - Oakland vs. Robert Morris 5 p.m. (Live Stats/Video)
- - Ball State vs. Tennessee State 7:30 p.m. (Live Stats/Video/Audio)
Sat., Sept. 4 - - Oakland vs. Tennessee State 10 a.m. (Live Stats/Video)
- - Ball State vs. Robert Morris 12:30 p.m. (Live Stats/Video/Audio)
- - Tennessee State vs. Robert Morris 5 p.m. (Live Stats/Video)
- - Ball State vs. Oakland 7:30 p.m. (Live Stats/Video/Audio)
►BALL STATE ALL-ACCESS: Ball State fans have a new way to follow the women's volleyball team this season, with Ball State All-Access streaming video . . . All of Ball State's home matches will be streamed live through ballstatesports.com starting with the Active Ankle Challenge . . . A subscription to Ball State All-Access is needed to watch the matches, with prices starting at $9.95 a month . . . A special package will also be available for this weekend's Active Ankle Challenge for a price of $7.95.
►FRIDAY SPECIALS: For Friday's Ball State home opener versus Tennessee State, the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive a free Ball State Volleyball foam noodle . . . In addition, any fan who brings their ticket stub from Thursday's Ball State football game versus Southeast Missouri State will receive one free ticket to Friday's opening session of the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge.
►BALL STATE VS. TOURNAMENT FIELD: The Cardinals are 1-1 versus the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge field, with both matches coming versus Robert Morris . . . The Cardinals scored a 3-0 (15-6, 15-6, 15-2) win over the Colonials on Oct. 11, 1986, while RMU earned a 3-2 (30-23, 30-28, 28-30, 27-30, 15-13) victory in the latest meeting on Sept. 27, 2003 . . . Ball State has never played Tennessee State or Oakland in women's volleyball.
►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 three matches with the Cardinals . . . As the head coach for Burris, Shondell racked up an 1183-95 record over his 34-year career from 1976-2009 . . . He 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: Last weekend, the Cardinals captured the 2010 SIUE Cougar Classic with sweeps of The Citadel, Indiana State and host SIU-Edwardsville . . . For their efforts in the two-day event, Kelsey Brandl, Kylee Baker and Whitney Heeres were named to the seven-member all-tournament team . . . Baker led the Cardinals with 34 kills, while Brandl and Heeres added 33 each . . . As a team, the Cardinals blasted 15.11 kills per set, which currently ranks first in the Mid-American Conference . . . BSU's .277 hitting percentage ranks second in the MAC, while its .120 opponent hitting percentage is third.
►SCOUTING TENNESSEE STATE: The Tigers opened their 2010 season Tuesday with a 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-17) loss to Western Kentucky . . . Santia Sanders led TSU with nine kills, while Shaquita Williams added seven . . . Calasia Williams added a team-best 11 digs . . . As a team, the Tigers hit .122 in the contest, compared to .363 for WKU.
►SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS: The Colonials posted a 2-2 record at last weekend's Duquesne/Robert Morris Invitational, with wins over Radford (3-0) and Morgan State (3-0) book ending losses to Montana State (2-3) and Lehigh (1-3) . . . Amanda Graham led RMU with 37 kills over the four matches, while five players smashed at least 24 kills . . . Corinne Moser led the defense with 48 digs . . . As a team, the Colonials hit .191 while limiting their opponents to a .139 rate of success.
►SCOUTING OAKLAND: The Golden Grizzlies turned in a 1-3 record at last weekend's Northern Illinois Invitational, losing matches to South Dakota (1-3), Northern Illinois (1-3) and the College of Charleston (0-3) before sweeping Chicago State (3-0) . . . Meghan Bray led OU with 35 kills, while Allison Bell and Jenna Lange added 28 each . . . Brittany Dunn led the Golden Grizzlies backcourt with 66 digs . . . As a team, OU hit .157 while its opponents' offense operated at a .149 clip.
►A FRESH ATTACK: BSU's offense shined last weekend behind a pair of freshman outside hitters . . . Kylee Baker recorded 15 kills in each of her first two matches, while Whitney Heeres smashed 17 kills in her second collegiate contests, while following with nine in her third . . . The pair combined for 67 of BSU's 136 kills in the tournament.
►MORE ON BAKER: Kylee Baker finished her first collegiate weekend with 34 kills and a .391 (34-7-69) attack percentage . . . She hit a career-best .609 (15-1-23) in the season-opener versus The Citadel . . . Her .391 hitting percentage and 3.78 kills-per-game average both rank fifth among all players in the Mid-American Conference.
►MORE ON HEERES: Whitney Heeres' 17 kills versus Indiana State are the most for a BSU player in a match this season . . . Heeres finished the week with 33 kills and ranks sixth in the league with a 3.67 kills-per-set average . . . Heeres also finished the week with a .256 hitting percentage, including a .353 (17-5-34) mark versus ISU.
►BRANDL ALSO SHINES: Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl also turned in a solid performance at the SIUE Cougar Classic, posting 33 kills and a team-best .407 hitting mark . . . Brandl carried the Cardinals in the tournament championship match with match-highs of 12 kills, six total blocks and a .429 (12-3-21) hitting percentage . . . She enters the week ranked fourth in the league in hitting (.407) and blocks-per-set average (1.11), while tying for sixth in kills-per-set (3.67).
►SPREADING THE WEALTH: Junior setter Brittany McGinnis led the Cardinals to a .277 team hitting percentage last weekend, by spreading the ball between BSU's three main offensive weapons . . . She also accounted for 10 kills herself, while hitting .400 (10-2-20) . . . In addition, McGinnis recorded the team's first double-double of the season with 24 assists and a season-best 13 digs versus SIU-Edwardsville . . . Behind McGinnis' setting, the Cardinals currently rank first in the league in kills-per-set (15.11) and second in team hitting (.277).
►NEARING 1,500: With 34 total digs in the SIUE Cougar Classic, senior libero Alyssa Rio upped her career digs total to 1,484 . . . She needs just 16 more digs to become only the fourth player in program history to eclipse the 1,500 dig mark . . . Rio also ranks third in program history with 71 career matches with double-figure digs.
►BLOCK PARTY: Ball State threw up a season-high 11 total blocks in Saturday's win over SIU-Edwardsville . . . Kelsey Brandl led the charge at the net with six total blocks, while Kylee Baker and freshman middle blocker Mindy Marx added four apiece.
►GOOD START: Ball State is off to a 3-0 start for the first time since 2005, which was the last winning season for the Cardinals . . . BSU went 21-10/11-5 MAC in 2005, advancing to the MAC Tournament Championships match.
