Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Travels To Wright State Saturday
September 09, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
►CARDINALS HIT THE ROAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens a seven-match road swing Saturday with a 4 p.m. non-conference match up at Horizon League member Wright State . . . Next week, the Cardinals travel to IPFW (Tuesday) and to North Carolina (Friday & Saturday) for the Tar Heel Classic.
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: 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 . . . Fans can also watch Saturday's match at Wright State through The Horizon League Network.
►BALL STATE VS. WRIGHT STATE: The Cardinals have a 12-6 edge in the all-time series versus Wright State, despite a 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-22) setback in the latest match Sept. 19, 2006 . . . Prior to the loss, the Cardinals had won the previous three meetings between the two programs . . . Ball State is 3-4 all-time in matches played in Dayton, Ohio, with its last road win in the series coming Sept. 1, 2004.
►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.
►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 . . . 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: Ball State picked up its seventh straight win of the 2010 season Tuesday, with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-11) victory over IUPUI to improve to 7-0 on the year . . . Kylee Baker and Kelsey Brandl led the Ball State attack with 13 and 10 kills, respectively, while Alyssa Rio added a match-best 19 digs . . . Entering Saturday's match, Baker leads the Cardinals with 82 kills and a 3.90 kills-per-set average . . . Brandl is BSU's top attacker based on percentage, at .438, and ranks second in kills (70) and kills-per-set average (3.33) . . . Rio enters the week with 107 digs and a 5.10 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, the Cardinals are out-hitting their opponents .290 to .116 on the year, while holding a 14.81 to 9.52 advantage in kills per set.
►SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders suffered a 2-3 (18-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-18, 9-15) setback at Miami Wednesday evening to drop to 3-5 on the year . . . Last Saturday, WSU ended play in the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational with a 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-21, 15-13) win over IUPUI . . . Jessica Woods provides a bulk of the Raiders' offense with 115 kills for a 3.59 kills-per-set average . . . Heidi Splinter is second on the squad with 78 kills and a 2.44 kills-per-set average . . . In the backcourt, Woods also has a team-best 133 digs, while Kenzie Egan is second with 119 . . . As a team, the Raiders are out-hitting their opponents .199 to .194 on the season, despite trailing 12.16 to 12.28 in kills per set.
►SCOUTING IPFW: The Mastodons entered the week with a 2-5 overall record after losing all three matches in last weekend's Xavier Invitational . . . IPFW opens Summit League play Friday versus Oakland, before competing in the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational Saturday . . . Mayara Schlindwein leads the team with 81 kills and a 3.38 kills-per-set average, while Taryn Parker is second with 57 kills and a 2.38 kills-per-set average . . . Muncie Central graduate Tessa McGill leads the Mastodons' backcourt with 130 digs and a 5.42 digs-per-set average . . . As a team, IPFW is being out-hit .159 to .244 on the season, with opponents averaging 15.17 kills per set compared to 10.62 for the Mastodons.
►BAKER LEADING THE CHARGE: Freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker tallied a match-high 13 kills in Tuesday's win over IUPUI to mark the fourth time this season she has led the BSU offense in kills . . . Last Saturday in the championship match of the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge, Baker posted her first career double-double with career highs of 16 kills and 11 digs . . . The effort earned her a spot on the all-tournament team.
►MORE ON BAKER: Kylee Baker entered the week ranked fourth in the Mid-American Conference with her team-leading 3.83 kills-per-set average, having amassed 82 kills in 21 sets . . . Her 4.53 points-per-set average is also fourth in the league.
►LOOK BACK TO 2002: Through her first seven matches with the Cardinals, BSU's and the MAC's all-time kill leader (1,975 kills) Sarah Obras (2002-05) had tallied 99 kills and a 3.67 kills-per-set average in 27 sets.
►BRANDL EARNS MVP: Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge after turning in a .444 (27-3-54) attack percentage in the event, while blasting 3.00 kills per set . . . Tuesday versus IUPUI, Brandl added 10 kills and a match-best .529 (10-1-17) attack percentage.
►SPREADING THE WEALTH: Junior setter Brittany McGinnis continues to keep opponents guessing, as she has led the Cardinals to a .290 hitting mark so far this season . . . In the championship match of the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge versus Oakland, McGinnis guided BSU to a season-high .339 rate of success, with the team committing just eight total attack errors (six errors and two blocks) . . . 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.
►TOPPING 1,500: With her second dig versus Robert Morris, senior libero Alyssa Rio became just the fourth player in program history to reach 1,500 career digs . . . Rio enters Saturday's match at Wright State with 1,557 career digs after collecting a match-best 19 versus IUPUI Tuesday . . . She needs 23 more digs to pass Amanda McCormick's (2005-06) career total of 1579 for third on BSU's all-time list . . . Rio also ranks third in program history with 75 career matches with double-figure digs.
►DEFENSIVE DOMINATION: BSU's defense continued to dominate Tuesday, limiting the Jaguars to a .112 (30-17-116) 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 .116 rate of success, while connecting at a .290 clip on offense.
►GOOD START: Ball State's 7-0 start is the second-longest winning streak to open a season in program history . . . The longest season-opening winning streak came in 1973, when the Cardinals collected victories in their first 10 matches.
►SET STREAK: Ball State is a perfect 21-for-21 in sets played this season . . . The 21-set winning streak ties as the second-longest in program history, as BSU won 21-straight sets from 10/9/2004 - 10/30/2004 . . . The longest set winning streak in program history was 23 straight from 11/3/1993 - 11/27/1993.
