Ball State University Athletics
WVB Hosts Miami And Bowling Green This Weekend
October 19, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
►BACK HOME AGAIN: After playing its last four matches on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend for matches versus Mid-American Conference East Division foes Miami (Friday) and Bowling Green (Saturday) . . . Both contests start at 7 p.m.
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State Sports Link will webcast Friday's match versus Miami live on BallStateSports.com . . . Tim Keane and Zach Harrison will produce the match, while Pat Boylan and Josh Blessing will cover the action . . . In addition, Sports Link Radio on WCRD 91.3 FM will cover both matches with Adam Fox, Donnie Kolakowski and Bryan Lord bringing fans the action live from Worthen Arena.
►DIG PINK: Saturday's match versus Bowling Green will be Ball State's Dig Pink Match . . . BSU will be selling $1 pink bracelets at the match with proceeds going to the Side-Out Foundation . . . Fans can also donate online at:
http://www.side-out.org/application/ous/fundraising_page/2723.
►WEST VS. EAST: Ball State enters the week with a 3-0 record versus teams from the MAC East Division, including wins over Akron (3-1), Ohio (3-1) and Kent State (3-0) . . . In fact, the MAC West Division holds a 16-2 advantage in interdivisional play so far this season . . . Ohio is the only East Division team with wins over West Division foes, having defeated both Toledo and Eastern Michigan . . . Overall, the West Division has a 48-15 set record versus the East Division, including nine sweeps.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After posting a 2-0 record last week, the Cardinals enter Friday's match versus Miami with a 781-497-2 (.611) all-time record, including a 42-8 (.840) mark under second-year head coach Steve Shondell.
►IN THE MAC: With Friday's win at Ohio, the Ball State women's volleyball program became just the second in league history to collect 300 Mid-American Conference victories . . . BSU enters the week with a 301-146 (.673) all-time record in conference matches . . . BSU's record is the second-best in league history, trailing only Western Michigan which owns a 311-136 (.696) all-time league mark . . . Miami is the third-winningest program in MAC history at 278-169 (.622), while Bowling Green is the fifth at 240-207 (.537).
►WHAT A START: Ball State's 18-3 record is the best in program history through the first 21 matches of a season . . . Prior to this season, BSU had gone 17-4 over its first 21 matches five times (1973, 1974, 1993, 2000 and 2010) . . . The Cardinals' best record through the first 23 matches is 19-4 set by the 1993, 2000 and 2010 squads.
►HOME SWEET HOME: The Ball State women's volleyball team extended its homecourt winning streak to 20 matches with its win over Western Michigan (Oct. 1) . . . The streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only the 42-match winning streak from Sept. 9, 1999 - Nov. 20, 2001 . . . In addition, the streak is the fifth-longest active streak in the nation behind Cincinnati (42), Nebraska (30), Texas (23) and San Diego (22).
►MORE FROM THE NEST: The Aug. 28 win over IPFW in the championship match of the 2011 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge was the 200th victory for the Cardinals in Worthen Arena . . . BSU owns a 203-56 (.784) all-time record in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 153-30 (.836) mark versus Mid-American Conference teams.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter the week with an 18-3 (7-1 MAC) record after scoring wins at Ohio (3-1) and Kent State (3-0) last week . . . Kara Bates leads the team with a 2.95 kills-per-set average, while Kelsey Brandl is second at 2.87 . . . Brandl leads the team's attackers with a .351 hitting percentage, while posting a team-high 33 aces . . . Mindy Marx is BSU's top blocker, averaging 0.96 blocks per set . . . Brittany McGinnis and Jacqui Seidel have combined to set the BSU offense to a .248 hitting mark this season, dishing out 8.66 and 2.77 assists per set, respectively . . . Catie Fredrich leads the team with a 4.49 digs-per-set average . . . On defense, Ball State is holding its opponents to a .168 hitting mark.
►BALL STATE VS. MIAMI: The Cardinals own a 40-31 advantage in the all-time series versus Miami . . . In the lone meeting last year, BSU earned a 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 26-24) win in Oxford Oct. 22 . . . Overall, the road team has won the last five meetings, with BSU being the last team to pick up a win at home on Sept. 23, 2005 . . . Ball State holds a 19-13 edge in matches played in Muncie, including an 11-6 mark in Worthen Arena.
►SCOUTING MIAMI: The RedHawks enter the week with a 12-10 (3-5 MAC) record after dropping home matches to Eastern Michigan (3-0) and Central Michigan (3-1) last weekend . . . Amy Raseman leads the team with a 2.41 kills-per-set average, while Jenn Caylor is second at 2.21 . . . Raseman also paces Miami's attackers with a .302 hitting percentage, while Amy Kendall and Meg Riley have set the Miami offense to a .221 rate of success, averaging 6.89 and 5.02 assists per set, respectively . . . Madison Hardy has a team-best 4.87 digs-per-set average . . . Miami's opponents are hitting for a .196 rate of success.
►BALL STATE VS. BOWLING GREEN: The Cardinals hold a 35-16-1 lead in the all-time series versus Bowling Green . . . BSU snapped a six-match losing streak to the Falcons with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-12) win at Bowling Green in the lone meeting last season (Oct. 23) . . . BSU had won 24 straight matches before BGSU's winning streak . . . Ball State holds a 15-8 lead in matches played in Muncie, including a 12-3 record in Worthen Arena.
►SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons enter the weekend with a 16-6 (3-5 MAC) record after being swept on the road at Oakland Tuesday . . . BGSU also suffered home losses to Central Michigan (3-2) and Eastern Michigan (3-0) last weekend . . . Danielle Tonyan leads the Falcons with a 3.65 kills-per-set average, while Paige Penrod is second at 3.17 . . . Kari Galen has a team-best .378 hitting percentage, while Laura Avila and Erica Fullenkamp have combined to set the BGSU offense to a .258 rate of success by averaging 7.24 and 3.89 assists per set, respectively . . . Ashley Dunn has a team-best 3.87 digs-per-set average . . . Bowling Green's opponents are hitting for a .210 rate of success.
►FAREWELL TOUR: Bowling Green head coach Denise Van De Walle is in her final season at the helm of the Falcons after announcing her retirement last spring . . . A three-year letterwinner for the Ball State women's volleyball team from 1973-75, Van De Walle is the winningest coach in MAC history with a 524-372 record in 29 seasons at BGSU . . . In addition to her collegiate coaching career, Van De Walle has worked with the USA Women's National Setting Team for numerous years, including helping coach the squad to a silver medal in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics Games.
►THREE IN A ROW: Sophomore libero Catie Fredrich was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the third week in a row after helping guide BSU to wins at Ohio and Kent State last weekend . . . She has dominated the league in the backcourt over the past six league matches, racking up MAC-best totals in digs (121) and digs-per-set average (5.26) . . . Miami libero Madison Hardy is second during the same span with 115 digs and a 5.23 average in league-only matches.
►DIGGING IT UP: Catie Fredrich is taking control in the Ball State backcourt, racking up double-digit digs in BSU's last 20 matches . . . She has led the Cardinals in digs in 17 of the last 18 matches, while earning match-high honors in 14 of the contests.
►SPEAKING OF SOLID DEFENSE: Sophomore outside hitter Kylee Baker has picked up her game in the backcourt lately, racking up double-digit dig totals in six of BSU's last eight matches . . . Her defensive effort has her ranked 10th in the MAC in league-only matches with a 3.74 digs-per-set average . . . She collected a career-high 23 digs in the win over Western Michigan (Oct. 1), while posting kill-dig double-double three times.
►BRANDL IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl enters the week ranked 37th nationally with a 0.43 aces-per-set average . . . Her .351 hitting percentage ranks 62nd, while her 3.77 points-per-set average is 180th.
►MORE ON THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Three other Cardinals appear in the national rankings this week, with Catie Fredrich ranking 107th in digs (4.49), Jennifer Boyd ranking 174th in hitting percentage (.305) and Brittany McGinnis ranking 196th in assists (8.66) . . . As a team, BSU's .857 winning percentage is ninth nationally, while its .248 team hitting percentage is 39th.
►HITTING THE MARK: Kelsey Brandl enters the week ranked third in program history with a .346 career hitting percentage at Ball State . . . Brandl also ranks 19th in BSU annals with 799 career kills, 19th with 243 career total blocks and 20th with 203 career block assists . . . Brandl is in her third season at Ball State after transferring from Cincinnati . . . Including her one season at UC, Brandl has 929 kills, a .332 hitting percentage and 104 aces over her collegiate career.
►SETTING THE CARDINALS UP: In just her third collegiate start at setter, sophomore Jacqui Seidel guided the Ball State offense to a .203 rate of success and a four-set victory over MAC East Division leader Ohio last Friday . . . In the win, she dished out a career-high 48 assists and collected 14 digs to earn her second career double-double and help hand the Bobcats their first conference loss of the year . . . She also tallied three kills, a pair of aces and three total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs, as BSU recorded its first victory at Ohio since Sept. 28, 2002.
►OFFENSE DOMINATES KENT STATE: Led by Jacqui Seidel, the Cardinals hit for a season-best .390 mark in last Saturday's win at Kent State . . . The effort is BSU's best since the team connected for a .423 effort in a sweep of Chicago State Sept. 11, 2009.
►HITTING AT A NEAR-RECORD PACE: Ball State enters the week with a .248 team hitting percentage . . . If the season were to end today, it would be the fifth-best single-season hitting effort in program history . . . The best season hitting mark in BSU annals is .262 set by the 1998 squad.
►FROM THE SERVICE LINE: With nine more service aces, compared to just six errors last week, the Ball State women's volleyball team continues to be one of the top serving teams in the MAC, with a .937 service percentage . . . Only Western Michigan (.949) has a better serving percentage . . . BSU's 111 aces rank fourth in the league, while its 112 service errors are the third least . . . Overall, BSU's .991 ace-to-error ratio is the best in the MAC, with WMU being second at .899 (80-to-89) . . . Individually, Catie Fredrich is BSU's top server with a .993 serving percentage, having posted just two errors in 293 attempts with 12 aces.
►DISHING THE ROCK: With her third assist versus Murray State (Sept. 3), senior setter Brittany McGinnis moved into fourth in program history for career assists . . . Her 4,019 career assists are 385 shy of Wendy Carter's (1993-96) career total of 4,404 which ranks third in program history . . . In addition, McGinnis' 9.68 career assists-per-set average is sixth in BSU annals.
►MORE ON MCGINNIS: Brittany McGinnis has started 111 of 114 matches over her career, while playing in 415 of a possible 424 sets . . . Her 942 career digs rank 13th in program history, while her 38 matches with double-figure digs is 16th . . . She has also served up 103 career aces, which is 14th in BSU annals.
►SCHEMBRA IN THE RANKINGS TOO: Senior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra is also climbing her way up the BSU record books, moving into 19th in program history with 842 career digs . . . She has tallied double-figure dig totals in three of BSU's last five matches, giving her double-digit digs in 37 career matches to rank 17th in program history, right behind Brittany McGinnis.
