Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Returns Home This Weekend
October 02, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
►THE WEEK AHEAD: After spending the last month on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend for matches versus Eastern Michigan (Friday) and Central Michigan (Saturday) ... First serve for both matches is set for 7 p.m.
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Fans have a variety of ways to follow the Cardinals this weekend, starting with live streaming video with your Ball State All Access subscription ... SL Radio WCRD 91.3 FM will cover the match live and free over the airwaves and on both BallStateSports.com and WCRD.net ... Rob Connett will handle the play-by-play duties for the student-run production, with Andy Wright serving as the color analyst ... Live stats are available on BallStateSports.com ... Fans can also follow the program on twitter @BallStateWVB and @BallStateSports.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: The Ball State women's volleyball team enters Friday's match versus Eastern Michigan with an 833-535-2 (.609) all-time record ... The Cardinals boast a 94-46 (.671) mark under fifth-year head coach Steve Shondell, including a 46-20 (.697) ledger in MAC play.
►IN THE MAC: Ball State enters the weekend with a 331-166 (.6659) all-time record in Mid-American Conference matches, which ranks second among all league schools ... Western Michigan is first with a 346-151 (.696) all-time league mark, while Central Michigan is seventh at 256-241 (.515) and Eastern Michigan is eighth at 222-275 (.447).
►HOME SWEET HOME: After playing its last 12 matches on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena Friday versus Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals own a 226-67 (.771) all-time record in Worthen Arena, including a 166-38 (.814) mark versus MAC opponents ... Ball State opened its 2014 home schedule Aug. 29-30 with the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge ... At the two-day event, the Cardinals scored wins over Western Illinois (3-0) and Northern Colorado (3-0), surrounding a loss to Eastern Illinois (1-3).
►FROM THE ROAD: Ball State's 12 straight contests on the road (including neutral matches) marked the longest string of matches the Cardinals have played without a stop at home since joining the MAC in volleyball in 1980 ... The Cardinals played 11 consecutive matches away from home in four previous seasons since joining the MAC; 1982, 1989, 2003 and 2011 ... Ball State's longest single-season road swing is 19 matches in 1974 ... The Cardinals also played the final 13 matches of the 1973 season away from home, moving its total to 32 consecutive contests on the road from Nov. 16, 1973 to Oct. 24, 1974.
►VERSUS EMU: Ball State holds a 49-23 lead in the all-time series versus Eastern Michigan, including three straight victories ... Last season, the Cardinals swept the regular season series versus the Eagles with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-23) road win Sept. 27 and a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16) home victory Nov. 2 ... Ball State holds a 27-9 lead in matches played in Muncie, including a 21-4 mark in Worthen Arena ... However, EMU has won two of the last three matches played on Ball State's home court.
►VERSUS CMU: Ball State maintains a 40-30 lead in the all-time series versus Central Michigan after claiming a pair of victories over the Chippewas last season ... Ball State scored a 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19) road win Sept. 28 and a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-12) home victory Nov. 1 ... The Cardinals hold a 20-12 lead in matches played in Muncie, including a 16-4 mark in Worthen Arena ... Overall, Ball State has won seven of the last nine meetings in the series.
QUICK HITS
● Ball State enters Friday's match versus Eastern Michigan with a 7-8 (1-1 MAC) record ... The Cardinals opened league play last Friday with a thrilling 3-2 win at Western Michigan, before suffering a 3-0 setback at Central Michigan Saturday ... Hayley Benson leads the squad with 149 kills and a 2.48 kills-per-set average, while Alex Fuelling averages a team-best 3.82 digs per set.
● Eastern Michigan enters Friday's match at Ball State with a 10-6 (1-1 MAC) record after sweeping Oakland Tuesday ... Last Thursday, the Eagles opened MAC play with a 3-1 loss at Central Michigan, before rebounding Saturday to sweep Kent State at home ... Stacey Perinar leads EMU with 210 kills and a 3.50 kills-per-set average, while Corynne Smith has a team-high 184 digs for a 3.61 digs-per-set average.
● Central Michigan enters the weekend with a 6-8 (1-1 MAC) record and plays at Toledo Friday, before traveling to Ball State ... The Chippewas opened league play with a 3-1 home win over Eastern Michigan last Thursday, before suffering a 3-1 home loss to Ohio Saturday ... Kaitlyn McIntyre leads CMU with 165 kills and a 3.00 kills-per-set average, while Kristen Reenders averages a team-high 4.15 digs per set.
● Junior middle hitter Hayley Benson earned MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after posting a team-best 26 kills, a .474 (26-5-47) attack percentage, seven total blocks and four aces in the Cardinals' two matches last week.
● Junior middle hitter Kelly Hopkins enters the weekend as the MAC's leader in attack percentage in league-only matches ... Hopkins hit .519 (19-5-27) in Ball State's two matches last week, including a career-best .643 (11-2-14) effort at Northern Illinois.
● Over the last nine matches, freshman outside hitter Sabrina Mangapora has been a key component for the Ball State offense, leading the team with 103 kills and a 2.71 kills-per-set average ... Hayley Benson is second over the same span with 86 kills.
● Sabrina Mangapora has also provided several key plays at the net, collecting 12 solo blocks so far this season ... In last Friday's win at Western Michigan, Mangapora collected a career-high five solo blocks, which are the most for a Ball State player in a match since Hayley Benson logged five versus SMU Sept. 21, 2013.
● Ball State opened MAC play by posting its two best team attack percentages of the season ... At Western Michigan, the Cardinals connected for a season-best .290 (69-27-145) rate of success ... Ball State followed by hitting .265 (38-16-83) at Northern Illinois, which is the second-best effort this season ... Overall, the Cardinals hit .281 (107-43-228) for the two matches and enter the weekend ranked second in the league in attack percentage in MAC-only contests.
● Ball State's 36-34 opening set victory at IPFW (Sept. 17) marked the longest set in the 25-point rally scoring era for Ball State ... Prior to last Wednesday, the previous longest set were a pair of 32-30 set losses versus Wisconsin-Green Bay in the first-ever 25-point rally scoring match for the Cardinals Aug. 29, 2008 ... Ball State also lost a 32-30 set versus George Washington on Sept. 18, 2009.
