WVB Heads To Purdue Active Ankle Challenge
September 08, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live stats will be available for all three of Ball State's matches in the 2011 Purdue Active Ankle Challenge . . . In addition, live audio (FREE) and video (sign up for CBS All-Access starting at $9.95 a month) be available for Saturday's Ball State versus No. 13 Purdue match . . . All links can be found at the tournament central website:
http://www.purduesports.com/sports/w-volley/spec-rel/11-active-ankle.html
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: After going 4-0 last weekend at the 2011 Marriott Volley Brawl, the Cardinals enter the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with a 770-494-2 (.609) all-time record, including a 31-5 (.861) mark under current head coach Steve Shondell.
►IN-STATE COMPETITION: Ball State enters the weekend with a 4-0 record versus schools from the state of Indiana, with wins over IPFW (3-1), IUPUI (3-0), Evansville (3-2) and Valparaiso (3-0) . . . Saturday's match versus Purdue will be BSU's fifth and final regular season contest versus an in-state opponent . . . In his brief collegiate coaching career, Ball State head coach Steve Shondell is 7-0 versus Indiana programs.
►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 currently has the longest active homecourt winning streak at 39 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. PURDUE ACTIVE ANKLE CHALLENGE FIELD: The Cardinals will be meeting both Western Carolina and Jacksonville State for the first time in program history . . . Ball State trails Purdue 23-9 in the all-time series, with the Boilermakers winning the last 15 matches . . . Purdue won the first four matches in the series, all played in 1972, while the Cardinals won the next six (NOTE: nine of the first 10 matches were played before women's volleyball became a varsity sport at Purdue for the 1975 season) . . . Purdue followed with victories in four of the next five meetings, before Ball State broke through for a pair of wins during the 1977 season . . . BSU's last win in the series was a 2-1 (15-8, 10-15, 15-8) triumph Nov. 11, 1997 . . . The last meeting in the series was a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) win by Purdue in the 2009 season-opener for both squads.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: The Cardinals enter the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge with a 7-0 record after posting a 5-0 record last week, including wins over IUPUI (3-0), Evansville (3-2), Valparaiso (3-0), Murray State (3-0) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-0) . . . Kelsey Brandl, who was named the Most Valuable Player of both the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge and the Marriott Volley Brawl hosted by Valparaiso, leads the team with a 3.46 kills-per-set average, while Whitney Heeres is second at 2.89 . . . Brandl also leads the team's attackers with a .385 hitting percentage, while posting team-highs of 10 aces and 19 total blocks . . . Brittany McGinnis has set the BSU offense to a .259 hitting mark this season, dishing out 10.54 assists-per-set . . . Catie Fredrich leads the team with a 4.38 digs-per-set average, having collected double-digit digs in BSU's last 16 matches . . . On defense, Ball State is holding its opponents to a .142 hitting mark.
►SCOUTING WESTERN CAROLINA: The Catamounts enter the weekend with a 2-5 overall record after going 2-2 at last weekend's North Carolina State Tournament . . . At the two-day event, WCU scored wins over North Carolina A&T (3-0) and Campbell (3-0), before falling to North Carolina State (3-0) and Wisconsin (3-0) . . . Caitlin Piechota leads WCU with a 3.33 kills-per-set average, while Carrie Minogue is second at 2.14 . . . Minogue also owns a team-best .271 hitting percentage, while Brittany Lysik has set the Catamounts offense to a .141 rate of success, averaging 8.48 assists-per-set . . . Morgan Cochran has a team-best 4.24 digs-per-set average . . . Western Carolina's opponents are hitting for a .233 rate of success.
►SCOUTING JACKSONVILLE STATE: The Gamecocks enter the weekend with a 1-6 overall record after going 0-3 at last weekend's Georgia State Invitational . . . In the two-day event, JSU suffered losses to Georgia State (3-1), the College of Charleston (3-0) and Harvard (3-0) . . . Hivya Leite leads the Gamecocks with a 2.83 kills-per-set average, while Stephanie Koontz is second at 2.74 . . . Koontz also owns a team-best .283 hitting percentage, while Abbey Heredia and Alina Agamy have combined to set the JSU offense to a .172 rate of success by averaging 5.04 and 4.71 assists-per-set, respectively . . . Lauren Harkins has a team-best 3.88 digs-per-set average . . . Jacksonville State's opponents are hitting for a .231 rate of success.
►SCOUTING NO. 13 PURDUE: The Boilermakers enter the weekend with a 6-0 record and ranked 13th in the country in the latest AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll . . . Last weekend, Purdue scored wins over Air Force (3-0), Bryant (3-0) and Denver (3-1) at the Denver Invitational . . . Ariel Turner leads Purdue with a 4.42 kills-per-set average, while Tiffany Fisher is second at 3.37 . . . Fisher also leads Purdue's attackers with a .541 hitting percentage, while Rachel Davis has set the Boilermakers offense to a .281 rate of success, averaging 11.53 assists-per-set . . . Carly Cramer has a team-best 2.94 digs-per-set average . . . Purdue's opponents are hitting for a .091 rate of success.
►FAMILY AFFAIR PART 2: Saturday's nightcap versus No. 13 Purdue will mark another family showdown for Ball State head coach Steve Shondell, as he battles his brothers Dave Shondell (head coach) and John Shondell (assistant coach) . . . Earlier this season, the Cardinals battled IPFW which had Shondell's niece Jasmine Fullove as an assistant coach . . . BSU freshman setter Jaclyn Fullove is also the niece of all three Shondell brothers and the sister of Jasmine.
►FAMILIAR TERRITORY: In addition to the family showdown, Ball State assistant coach Kelli Miller returns to Belin Court for the first time in her coaching career . . . Miller was a four-year letterwinner for the Boilermakers from 2005-08 and is the program's record-holder for career digs (2,013) and digs in a match (40 at Indiana, Oct. 17, 2007).
►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 . . . 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.
►BRANDL ON THE BLOCK: In addition to her solid tournament performances, Kelsey Brandl dominated play in last Tuesday's sweep of IUPUI, racking up a career-best nine blocks to go along with seven kills, five digs and a service ace . . . A two-time First Team All-MAC selection, Brandl enters the weekend ranked fourth in the MAC in hitting percentage (.384) and points per set (4.29), while ranking fifth in kills per set (3.46) and aces per set (0.42).
►HITTING THE MARK: After a solid first seven matches from the attack line, Kelsey Brandl has raised her Ball State career hitting percentage to .349 which continues to rank third in program history . . . She also climbed over the 600 kill mark for her BSU career at 661, and has served up 57 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 791 kills, a .332 hitting percentage and 81 aces over her collegiate career.
►DISHING THE ROCK: With her third assist versus Murray State last Saturday, senior setter Brittany McGinnis moved into fourth in program history for career assists . . . Her 3,605 career assists are 799 shy of Wendy Carter's (1993-96) career total of 4,404 which ranks third in program history . . . In addition, McGinnis' 9.96 career assists-per-set average is sixth in BSU annals.
►MORE ON MCGINNIS: Brittany McGinnis has started all 100 matches over her career, while playing in 362 of a possible 371 sets . . . Her 837 career digs rank 20 in program history, while her 34 matches with double-figure digs ties for 17th . . . She has also served up 92 aces, which is three shy of the top 20.
►GETTING COMFORTABLE IN HER NEW HOME: Junior transfer Kara Bates is starting to find her rhythm in the Cardinal and White, blasting double-digit kills in two of BSU's last three matches . . . In last Saturday's tournament finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Bates posted her first Ball State double-double, collecting 11 kills and 10 digs in the three-set victory . . . A two-year letterwinner at Maryland, Bates posted double-digit kills in 20 matches, while adding one kill-dig double-double for the Terps.
►FREDRICH DIGGING IT UP: Sophomore libero Catie Fredrich is starting to take control in the Ball State backcourt, racking up 75 digs for a 5.36 digs-per-set average at last weekend's Marriott Volley Brawl . . . Fredrich has collected double-digit digs in the last six matches, including a season-high 20 in the three-set victory at Valparaiso . . . She enters the weekend ranked fourth in the league with a 4.29 digs-per-set average for the season.
