Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Heads To Nothern Colorado Classic
September 05, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
►THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it opens play in the Northern Colorado Classic with a 6:30 p.m. (ET) / 4:30 p.m. (MT) first serve versus Creighton ... The Cardinals continue the tournament Saturday with matches versus tournament host Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. (ET) / Noon (MT) and Tulsa at 7 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (MT).
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Northern Colorado will provide live stats for both Friday's match versus Creighton and Saturday's nightcap against Tulsa ... Audio for BSU's match versus Creighton will also be carried live online thanks to Creighton's KZOT (1180 AM).
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: Ball State enters Friday's contest with a 792-505-2 (.610) all-time record after posting a 2-2 record last week ... BSU boasts a 53-16 (.768) mark under third-year head coach Steve Shondell.
►VS. TOURNAMENT FOES: Ball State will be playing both Creighton and Northern Colorado for the first time in program history ... Ball State holds a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series versus Tulsa, scoring a 2-0 (15-4, 15-7) victory in the only previous meeting Oct. 8, 1982.
►FIRST-TIME FOES: The Cardinals have posted a 2-1 record so far this season against first-time opponents ... BSU opened the season with a 3-0 sweep of Gardner-Webb (Aug. 24) ... Last weekend, BSU scored a 3-0 win over Georgia State (Aug. 31) before losing to North Texas (Sept. 1) by a score of 0-3.
►SCOUTING THE CARDINALS: Ball State enters the Northern Colorado Classic with a 4-3 record after posting a 2-2 mark last week ... The Cardinals dropped a Tuesday match at IPFW (1-3), before scoring wins over Georgia State (3-0) and IUPUI (3-0), while losing to North Texas (0-3) at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational ... Kara Bates leads the Ball State attack with a 3.50 kills-per-set average, while Kylee Baker is second at 2.58 ... Jacqui Seidel has set the Ball State offense to a .217 hitting percentage this season, having collecting assist/dig double-doubles in five of BSU's seven matches ... Catie Fredrich paces the BSU backcourt with a 5.00 digs-per-set average ... As a team, Ball State is limiting its opponents to a .173 hitting mark.
►SCOUTING THE JAYS: Creighton enters the Northern Colorado Classic with a 5-1 record after going 2-1 in its own Bluejay Invitational last weekend ... Creighton scored wins over Syracuse (3-0) and Denver (3-1), while losing to then-No. 21 Kansas State (0-3) at the event ... Kelli Browning leads the Creighton attack with a 2.71 kills-per-set average, while Kate Elman has a team-best 4.76 digs-per-set average ... The Jays are hitting .248 as a team, while allowing opponents to hit .169.
►SCOUTING THE BEARS: Northern Colorado enters its second consecutive home tournament with a perfect 6-0 record ... Last weekend, the Bears scored wins over Oklahoma (3-2), Air Force (3-1) and North Dakota State (3-0) in the Hampton Inn & Suites Northern Colorado Classic ... Tambre Haddock has a team-best 3.23 kills-per-set average, while Merideth Johnson leads the squad with a 4.36 digs-per-set average ... As a team, the Jays are hitting .243, while limiting opponents to a .141 rate of success.
►SCOUTING THE GOLDEN HURRICANE: Tulsa enters the Northern Colorado Classic with a 5-3 record, including a Tuesday win at Oral Roberts (3-2) ... Last weekend at the Kansas Invitational, the Golden Hurricane scored wins over Arkansas State (3-0) and Nebraska-Omaha (3-0), while losing to tournament host Kansas (1-3) ... Two-time AVCA All-American and Conference USA Player of the Year Tyler Henderson leads the Tulsa attack with a 5.66 kills-per-set average, while Jessica Adams has a team-best 4.93 digs-per-set average ... As a team, Tulsa is hitting .227, while limiting its opposition to a .197 mark.
►THE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS: Junior outside hitter Kylee Baker picked up her second all-tournament team honor of the season last weekend, as she has been named to both the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge and the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational all-tournament teams ... Senior outside hitter Kara Bates joined Baker on the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge all-tournament squad, while senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott was also named to the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational all-tournament list.
►WARMING UP: After having not played in a match since Nov. 24, 2010, prior to joining the Cardinals for the 2012 season, senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott is starting to find her rhythm on the court ... At last weekend's IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, Scott led the Cardinals with a .333 (26-7-57) attack percentage and a 0.89 blocks-per-set average ... Her 26 total kills ranked second on the squad over the three matches, while her eight total blocks led BSU ... In her first four matches after sitting out for nearly two years, Scott tallied 24 kills and hit .217.
►MID-SEASON FORM: Senior outside hitter Kara Bates, a 2012 Preseason All-MAC selection, already looks to be in mid-season form, leading the Ball State attack with a 3.50 kills-per-set average which also ranks sixth among all Mid-American Conference players ... Bates has smashed double-figure kills in five of BSU's seven matches this season, including a season-high 19 at IPFW (Aug. 28) ... Last season, Bates earned a spot on the All-MAC First Team after leading the Cardinals with a 3.20 kills-per-set average for the year, including a 3.56 average in MAC action.
►FREDRICH ON D: A four-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week selection in 2011, junior defensive specialist Catie Fredrich has racked up double-digit digs in six of BSU's seven matches this season, with 20-or-more digs three times ... Last weekend, she posted a season-high 25 digs in BSU's win over Georgia State (Aug. 31), while adding 21 digs in the victory over IUPUI (Sept. 1) ... Overall, Fredrich has led the Cardinals in digs in 35 of the last 37 matches dating back to last season, while earning match-high honors in 26 of the contests.
►DIGGING DEEP: After collecting 52 digs at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational last weekend, Catie Fredrich climbed from 18th to 14th in program history with 939 career digs ... Her 21-dig effort at IUPUI (Sept. 1) marked the 12th time in her career she has posted 20-or-more digs in a match which ranks fifth in BSU annals ... Fredrich's 562 digs in 2011 were the ninth-best single season dig total in program history, while her 48 career matches with double-figure digs ranks 11th and her 3.71 career digs-per-set average is fourth.
►IN THE PRESEASON POLLS: The Ball State women's volleyball team was picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference West Division in the annual preseason poll ... Western Michigan was chosen first and garnered 10 first place votes, followed by BSU and Central Michigan with one first place vote each ... Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Toledo rounded out the division.
►FROM THE NEST: The Aug. 28, 2011 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 ... After going 2-1 at home to open the 2012 season, BSU owns a 210-58 (.784) all-time record in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 157-31 (.835) mark versus Mid-American Conference teams.
