Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Heads To Spartan Invitational
September 14, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
►CARDINALS WRAP UP PRE-CONFERENCE SLATE: The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes its pre-conference tournament slate this weekend when it heads to the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State . . . During the two-day event, the Cardinals will battle the host Spartans (Friday at 7 p.m.), Sacred Heart (Saturday at 10 a.m.) and Virginia Commonwealth (Saturday at 5:30 p.m.).
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live stats will be available for all three of Ball State's matches in the Spartan Invitational . . . In addition, live audio (FREE) and video (sign up for Big Ten Digital Network starting at $9.95 a month) be available for Friday's match versus Michigan State.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After going 2-1 last weekend at the 2011 Purdue Active Ankle Challenge, the Cardinals enter the Spartan Invitational with a 772-495-2 (.609) all-time record, including a 33-6 (.846) mark under current head coach Steve Shondell.
►GREAT START: The Cardinals' 9-1 start is the second-best in program history, trailing only the 10-0 mark set by the 1973 squad . . . Last year, BSU went 8-2 in its first 10 matches.
►HOME SWEET HOME: With its pair of home wins in the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge (Aug. 26-28), the BSU women's volleyball team extended its Worthen Arena winning streak to 17 matches . . . The homecourt winning streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only the only the 42-match winning streak from Sept. 9, 1999 - Nov. 20, 2001 . . . In addition, the streak ties as the fifth-longest in the nation . . . Cincinnati has the longest active homecourt winning streak at 39 matches . . . Sacred Heart enters this weekend's tournament with the fourth-longest home winning streak in the nation at 20 matches.
►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 200-56 (.781) all-time record in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 150-30 (.832) mark versus Mid-American Conference teams.
►BALL STATE VS. SPARTAN INVITATIONAL FIELD: The Cardinals will be meeting both Sacred Heart and VCU for the first time in program history . . . Ball State hopes to even the all-time series against Michigan State who leads 7-6, with the Spartans winning the last two matches . . . Michigan State won the first match, played in 1972, while the Cardinals won the next three . . . MSU followed with victories in four of the next five meetings, before Ball State broke through for wins in 1991 and 1993 . . . BSU's last win in the series was a 3-0 (15-6, 15-10, 15-10) triumph Sept. 10, 1993 . . . Michigan State won the last meeting 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-20) Sept. 26, 2006.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter the Spartan Invitational with a 9-1 record after going 2-1 at the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with wins over Western Carolina (3-0) and Jacksonville State (3-1), before falling to the then 13th-ranked Boilermakers (3-1) . . . Kelsey Brandl, who has been named to all three all-tournament squads including two MVP awards, leads the team with a 3.49 kills-per-set average, while Whitney Heeres and Kara Bates tie for second at 2.48 . . . Brandl also leads the team's attackers with a .395 hitting percentage, while posting team-highs of 19 aces and 24 total blocks . . . Brittany McGinnis has set the BSU offense to a .251 hitting mark this season, dishing out 10.00 assists per set . . . Catie Fredrich leads the team with a 4.26 digs-per-set average . . . On defense, Ball State is holding its opponents to a .154 hitting mark.
►SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE: The Spartans enter the weekend with an 8-1 overall record after going 2-1 at last weekend's Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational . . . At the two-day event, MSU fell to host Bowling Green (3-1) before scoring wins over Canisius (3-0) and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (3-0) . . . Jenilee Rathje leads MSU with a 4.19 kills-per-set average, while Kyndra Abron is second at 3.46 . . . Alexis Mathews paces MSU's top hitters with a .438 hitting percentage, while Kristen Kelsay and Natalie Emro have set the Spartans offense to a .337 rate of success, averaging 5.71 and 5.43 assists per set, respectfully . . . Carli Weiler has a team-best 3.64 digs-per-set average . . . Michigan State's opponents are hitting for a .146 rate of success.
►SCOUTING SACRED HEART: The Pioneers enter the weekend with an 8-2 overall record after going 2-1 at last weekend's Spring Hill Suites at Arundel Mills Invitational . . . In the two-day event, SHU suffered a loss to Delaware (3-1), before snagging wins over Maryland (3-2) and Yale (3-1) . . . Kimmee Roleder leads the Pioneers with a 3.37 kills-per-set average, while Dianis Mercado is second at 2.69 . . . Johanna Ovsenek owns a team-best .318 hitting percentage, while Megan Pulone and Alisa Mesa have combined to set the SHU offense to a .170 rate of success by averaging 5.57 assists per set each . . . Jessica Colberg has a team-best 5.00 digs-per-set average . . . Sacred Heart's opponents are hitting for a .143 rate of success.
►SCOUTING VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH: The Rams enter the weekend with a 4-6 overall record after going 2-1 in their own Third Degree Sportswear Invitational last weekend . . . VCU scored wins over Cornell (3-1) and North Carolina A&T (3-0) before suffering a loss to George Washington (3-1) . . . Kristin Boyd leads VCU with a 3.33 kills-per-set average, while Jessica Ojukwu is second at 2.24 . . . Courtney Hott leads VCU's attackers with a .364 hitting percentage, while Cecilia Aragao has set the Rams offense to a .215 rate of success, averaging 7.77 assists per set . . . Arago and Amanda Love pace the Rams' regulars with 2.58 digs-per-set averages . . . VCU's opponents are hitting for a .192 rate of success.
►SERVING IT UP: In last Friday's sweep of Western Carolina, senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl served up a career-high seven aces . . . Her seven aces are the most for a BSU server since Nov. 6, 1993, when Sharon Knecht also connected for seven aces . . . The program record for aces in a match is eight, held by five players and last accomplished by Stefanie Decker Sept. 15, 1991 . . . For the year, Brandl has served up 19 aces and ranks second in the MAC and 24th nationally with a 0.54 aces-per-set average.
►HER FRIENDS CALL HER MVP: Kelsey Brandl is making the most of her senior season, picking up Most Valuable Player honors at both the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge and the Marriott Volley Brawl hosted by Valparaiso . . . She was also named to the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge all-tournament team last weekend . . . Last season, Brandl also picked up MVP honors at the BSU Active Ankle Challenge, while being named to the SIUE Classic and Tar Heel Classic All-Tournament Teams.
►HITTING THE MARK: After a solid first 10 matches from the attack line, Kelsey Brandl has raised her Ball State career hitting percentage to .352 which continues to rank third in program history . . . With her final kill versus the Boilermakers, she upped her BSU career total to 700 and is 71 shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history . . . She has also served up 66 career aces for the Cardinals . . . Brandl is in her third season with the Cardinals after transferring from Cincinnati . . . Including her one season at UC, Brandl has 830 kills, a .335 hitting percentage and 90 aces over her collegiate career.
►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 3,702 career assists are 702 shy of Wendy Carter's (1993-96) career total of 4,404 which ranks third in program history . . . In addition, McGinnis' 9.92 career assists-per-set average is sixth in BSU annals.
►MORE ON MCGINNIS: Brittany McGinnis has started all 103 matches over her career, while playing in 373 of a possible 382 sets . . . Her 854 career digs rank 19th in program history, while her 34 matches with double-figure digs ties for 17th . . . She has also served up 96 career aces, which is 20th in BSU annals.
►FREDRICH DIGGING IT UP: Sophomore libero Catie Fredrich is taking control in the Ball State backcourt, racking up 44 digs for a 4.00 digs-per-set average at last weekend's Purdue Active Ankle Challenge . . . Fredrich has collected double-digit digs in the last nine matches, including a season-high 20 in the three-set victory at Valparaiso . . . She enters the weekend ranked fourth in the league with a 4.26 digs-per-set average for the season.
►BOYD BLASTS OFF: Senior middle blocker/right side attacker Jennifer Boyd was named to the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge All-Tournament team after finishing the two-day event with 21 kills and a .372 hitting mark . . . Her best match came versus Jacksonville State when she blasted nine kills on 15 swings with no errors to hit .600.
