Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Faces NIU In MAC Tournament Semifinals
November 19, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
►TOURNAMENT TIME: After opening MAC Tournament play with a 3-1 quarterfinal win over No. 5 seed Eastern Michigan Friday, the No. 4 Ball State women's volleyball team advanced to Saturday's 2:30 p.m. semifinal match where it will face No. 1 Northern Illinois who swept No. 8 Bowling Green . . . The winner will advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. championship match where it will face either No. 2 Ohio or No. 6 Central Michigan . . . The championship match will be televised by SportsTime Ohio and webcasted live on ESPN3.com.
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State Sports Link Radio on WCRD 91.3 FM will cover all of the Cardinals' matches in the 2011 MAC Tournament . . . Adam Fox, Donnie Kolakowski and Bryan Lord will bring fans the action live from the SPIRE Institute . . . The broadcasts can be heard free of charge on ballstatesports.com . . . Live stats will also be available for all tournament matches, as well as free live video for the championship match at MAC Tournament Central: http://www.mac-sports.com/Championships/Volleyball.aspx
►NO. 4 SEED: Ball State earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament by virtue of its 12-4 league mark . . . BSU's record tied No. 3 seed Western Michigan's, however, the Broncos received the higher seed by virtue of winning the second tiebreaker which was divisional record . . . BSU went 6-4 vs. teams in the MAC West Division, while WMU went 7-3 . . . The first tiebreaker was head-to-head record, in which the two squads split the regular season series.
►21 AND COUNTING: Ball State is making its 21st straight Mid-American Conference Tournament appearance, and 23rd overall . . . Ball State is 29-16 (.644) all-time in MAC Tournament matches . . . Both BSU's 29 wins and 45 matches played are league records . . . Overall, Ball State is 4-1 in first round matches, 10-4 in quarterfinal matches, 9-8 in semifinal matches and 6-3 in championship matches . . . Ball State has more tournament wins (29) than seven other MAC schools have matches played . . . Miami (42), Western Michigan (41) and Bowling Green (35) are the only schools to play in more tournament matches than BSU has wins, while Ohio's 29 MAC Tournament matches played equals BSU's win total.
►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 six tournament Most Valuable Player selections trail only Ohio's seven.
►VERSUS THE FIELD: Ball State holds a 98-67 record versus the remaining 2011 MAC Tournament field, including a 1-8 mark in tournament action and a 0-2 ledger in championship matches.
►BALL STATE VS. NORTHERN ILLINOIS: Ball State holds a slim 27-26 advantage in the all-time series with the Huskies after the teams split a pair of regular season meetings this season . . . Both teams held home court with BSU earning a 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-11, 25-23, 15-9) win Sept. 30 and NIU scoring a 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-23) victory Nov. 5 . . . The Huskies hold a 3-1 advantage in the four previous MAC Tournament meetings, with BSU's only tournament win over the Huskies coming in 2004 . . . BSU has a slight 5-4 advantage in neutral site contests.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The No. 4 Cardinals enter Saturday's semifinal match with a 24-6 (12-4 MAC) record . . . BSU knocked off No. 5 Eastern Michigan (3-1) in quarterfinal action to advance . . . Kara Bates leads the team with a 3.24 kills-per-set average, while Kelsey Brandl is second at 2.79 . . . Brandl leads the team's attackers with a .341 hitting percentage, while posting a team-high 47 aces . . . Mindy Marx is BSU's top blocker, averaging 0.97 blocks per set . . . Brittany McGinnis and Jacqui Seidel have combined to set the BSU offense to a .245 hitting mark this season, dishing out 9.54 and 2.49 assists per set, respectively . . . Catie Fredrich leads the team with a 4.62 digs-per-set average . . . On defense, Ball State is holding its opponents to a league-low .181 hitting mark.
►SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS: The No. 1 Huskies enter Saturday's semifinal match with a 26-5 (14-2 MAC) record . . . NIU knocked off No. 8 Bowling Green (3-0) in quarterfinal action to advance . . . Lauren Wicinski leads the nation with a 5.45 kills-per-set average, while Allison McGlaughlin is second on the team at 2.90 . . . Sarah Angelos owns a team-best .366 hitting percentage, while Kristin Hoffman has set the NIU offense to a .284 rate of success by averaging 12.31 assists per set . . . Amber Walker has a team-best 3.89 digs-per-set average . . . Northern Illinois' opponents are hitting for a .212 rate of success.
►SEASON SERIES PART 1: In the first two meetings this season, five Cardinals have collected 10-or-more kills against the Huskies led by sophomore Kylee Baker's 19 . . . Sophomore Whitney Heeres is second at 18 followed by junior transfer Kara Bates at 17 . . . Senior Jennifer Boyd as a team-best .483 (15-1-29) hitting mark versus NIU, while senior Kelsey Brandl has served up a series-best five aces . . . Catie Fredrich is averaging 3.62 digs-per-set . . . Lauren Wicinski has blasted a series-best 46 kills for a 5.75 kills-per-set average, while Allison McGlaughlin is second on the squad with 20 markers . . . Mary Kurisch has a team-best .371 hitting mark versus Ball State, while Sarah Angelos leads all players with seven total blocks . . . Amber Walker is averaging a series-high 3.75 digs per set.
►SEASON SERIES PART 2: As a team, the Cardinals are hitting .252 versus Northern Illinois, while averaging 13.38 digs, 12.38 kills, 1.00 blocks and 1.12 aces per set . . . The Huskies are hitting .313, while averaging 14.62 digs, 14.12 kills, 1.62 blocks and 1.00 aces per set . . . Complete 2011 series stats can be found on the next page.
►WEST VS. EAST: Ball State went 6-0 versus teams from the MAC East Division this season . . . Including one 2011 MAC Tournament match up, the MAC West Division holds a 31-6 advantage in interdivisional play this season, with only Ohio (3), Bowling Green (1), Kent State (1) and Miami (1) picking up wins out of their division . . . Overall, the West Division has a 100-33 set record versus the East Division, including 20 sweeps.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After earning a 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals, the Cardinals enter Saturday's semifinal showdown versus Northern Illinois with a 787-500-2 (.611) all-time record, including a 48-11 (.813) mark under second-year head coach Steve Shondell.
►MORE ON SHONDELL: The 2010 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, Steve Shondell's current .813 overall winning percentage ranks third among all coaches in league history . . . Shondell also owns a 26-6 (.813) all-time record in league action, which is the fourth-best league winning percentage in MAC annals.
►IN THE MAC: With a 3-1 victory at Ohio (Oct. 14), Ball State became just the second women's volleyball program in league history to collect 300 Mid-American Conference victories . . . BSU ended the 2011 MAC season with a 306-149 (.673) all-time record in conference matches . . . BSU's record is the second-best in league history, trailing only Western Michigan's 317-138 (.697) all-time league mark . . . Eastern Michigan is eighth all-time in league play at 205-250 (.451).
►THE RECORD: Ball State was the first league team to reach 20 wins this season, accomplishing the task Oct. 22 versus Bowling Green . . . BSU's 24-6 overall record is the seventh-best in program history through 30 matches . . . The 1993 squad has the best 30-match mark at 26-4 . . . Five squads are tied at 25-5.
►HOME SWEET HOME: Prior to last Thursday's home loss to Eastern Michigan, the Ball State women's volleyball team had won 23 straight matches at Worthen Arena . . . The streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only the 42-match winning streak from Sept. 9, 1999 - Nov. 20, 2001.
►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 207-57 (.784) all-time record in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 157-31 (.835) mark versus Mid-American Conference teams . . . BSU its 9-1 at home this season, with a Nov. 26 home match versus St. Louis to close out the regular season.
►FOR THE RECORD: Ball State's 23-6 overall record entering play in the 2011 MAC Tournament was the 25th-best record in the nation among the 327 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball programs . . . BSU's 23 wins entering the week tied as the 19th-best win total in the nation this season.
►MORE ON THE NATIONAL RANKING FRONT: Five Cardinals appear in the national rankings this week, led by Kelsey Brandl who is 53rd in aces (0.39) and 89th in hitting (.332) . . . Brittany McGinnis enters the tournament ranked 149th in aces (0.31) and 156th in assists (9.40) . . . Kara Bates also appears in two categories, ranking 202nd in kills (3.23) and 233rd in points (3.61) . . . Catie Fredrich is 96th in digs (4.58), while Jennifer Boyd is 164th in hitting (.309).
►HITTING THE MARK: Kelsey Brandl enters the MAC Tournament semifinals third in program history with a .343 career hitting percentage at Ball State . . . Brandl also ranks 14th in BSU annals with 890 career kills, 15th with 268 career total blocks and 18th with 224 career block assists . . . Brandl is in her third season at Ball State after transferring from Cincinnati . . . Including her one season at UC, Brandl has 1020 kills, a .331 hitting percentage and 321 total blocks over her collegiate career . . . She has also served up 118 career aces, with 94 coming in her three seasons at Ball State.
►HITTING AT A NEAR-RECORD PACE: Ball State enters Saturday's match with a .245 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.
►BOYD VERSUS THE MAC: Senior middle blocker Jennifer Boyd has stepped up her play in league action, ranking first on the team and fifth in the MAC in league-only matches with a .350 attack percentage . . . She ranked second on the team with double-figure kills in seven of the 15 league matches she played in this season, while posting a 2.24 kills-per-set average . . . She has hit .300-or-better in 10 conference matches, while ranking second on the team with 31 total blocks in MAC action.
►DEPTH ON THE LEFT: Ball State's offense has been helped out by its ability to rely on three different left side hitters over the course of the season . . . Junior transfer Kara Bates currently has the hot hand, racking up a team-best 32 kills last weekend . . . Bates enters the week ranked sixth in the MAC with a 3.56 kills-per-set average in league matches . . . Sophomore Kylee Baker tallied three kills and nine digs versus Eastern Michigan, while posting her seventh double-double of the season with 11 kills and 14 digs versus Central Michigan . . . Sophomore Whitney Heeres posted 11 kills and a .269 (11-4-26) hitting mark versus Eastern Michigan, giving her double-figure kills in five of the 14 MAC matches she has played in.
►MORE ON BATES: Kara Bates has found a home in the Ball State lineup over the last five weeks, blasting double-figure kills in eight of BSU's last nine matches . . . Over that span, Bates has tallied 128 kills for a 3.76 kill-per-set average . . . Kelsey Brandl is second over the span with 91 kills and a 2.60 average . . . Bates is tied for first on the team with double-digit kills in 17 matches this season . . . Bates has also posted double-figure digs in five matches this season, while collecting four kill/dig double-doubles, including Friday's match against Eastern Michigan with 14 kills and a career-high 20 digs.
►FROM THE SERVICE LINE: With nine more service aces, compared to just six errors Friday versus EMU, the Ball State women's volleyball team continues to be one of the top serving teams in the MAC, with a .936 service percentage . . . Only Western Michigan (.955) has a better serving percentage . . . BSU's 157 aces rank third in the league, while its 166 service errors are the third least . . . Overall, BSU's .946 ace-to-error ratio is the best in the MAC, with WMU being second at .851 (103-to-121).
►MORE FROM THE SERVICE LINE: Individually, sophomore libero Catie Fredrich paces all league servers with more than 130 attempts with a .990 serving percentage . . . In 418 service attempts, Fredrich had racked up 15 aces while committing just four errors . . . The MAC's second-best server so far this season is Western Michigan's Jessica Brown with a .986 percentage, having 15 aces and six errors in 429 attempts . . . Over her career, Fredrich has a .989 career service percentage with 33 aces to just nine errors in 824 attempts.
►FREDRICH ON D: A four-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week selection this season, Catie Fredrich has racked up double-digit dig totals in each of BSU's last 29 matches . . . She has recorded a career-high 31 digs in two matches (at EMU, Oct. 8 and vs. Miami, Oct. 21), while adding 30 digs in BSU's home win over Western Michigan (Oct. 1) . . . She has led the Cardinals in digs in 26 of the last 27 matches, while earning match-high honors in 20 of the contests.
►DIGGING DEEP: Catie Fredrich enters Saturday's match with 774 career digs and needs just 84 more to break into the top 20 in program history . . . She has collected 517 digs so far this season which is the 10th-best single-season dig total in program history . . . Her 39 career matches with double-figure digs ranks 17th in program history, while her nine career matches with 20-or-more digs is sixth.
►DISHING THE ROCK: With her 54 assists in Friday's MAC Tournament Quarterfinal win over Eastern Michigan, senior setter Brittany McGinnis moved from fourth to second in program history with 4,421 career assists . . . Emily Sallee (1997-2000) tops BSU's list with 6,408 career assists . . . In addition, McGinnis' 9.82 career assists-per-set average is sixth in BSU annals.
►ONE OF THREE: With her 13th dig at Western Michigan Nov. 4, Brittany McGinnis became the 13th player in program history to record 1,000 career digs . . . She collected 18 digs in BSU's win over EMU Friday to raise her career total to 1,049 . . . McGinnis is one of just three players in program history to record over 1,000 assists and 1,000 digs, joining Emily Sallee (1997-2000) and Tiffany Stevens (1992-95) . . . Sallee had 6,408 assists and 1,120 digs over her career, while Stevens recorded 1,597 assists and 1,087 digs.
►MORE ON MCGINNIS: Brittany McGinnis has started 119 of 123 matches over her career, while playing in 450 of a possible 461 sets . . . Her 44 matches with double-digit digs rank 13th in program history, while she has tallied 43 double-doubles over her career . . . She has also served up 118 career aces, which is 10th in BSU annals . . . In last Saturday's win over Central Michigan, McGinnis tallied a career-high seven aces, including five in the pivotal third set.
►SCHEMBRA IN THE RANKINGS TOO: Senior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra is also climbing her way up the BSU record books, moving into 16th in program history with 897 career digs . . . She has tallied double-figure dig totals in five of BSU's last 14 matches, giving her double-digit digs in 39 career matches to rank 17th in program history.
►THE GRANT FACTOR: Sophomore transfer right side hitter Lauren Grant was a huge factor in Friday's win over EMU, blasting 12 kills and hitting a career-best .571 (12-0-21) . . . Over the last five matches, Grant's 56 kills rank second on the team, while her .388 hitting percentage leads the Cardinals . . . She tallied a career-high 15 kills at Western Michigan (Nov. 4), while blasting 14 kills versus Eastern Michigan (Nov. 10) . . . In MAC play, Grant ranked second on the team with a .305 hitting mark . . . She has hit .300-or-better in eight league matches, while tallying four-or-more kills in 13 of the 16 matches.
