Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Opens League Play This Weekend
September 25, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
►THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens league play this weekend with matches at Western Michigan (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Northern Illinois (Saturday at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT).
►FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live stats are available for both of this weekend's matches and will be linked to the live stats page on BallStateSports.com ... In addition, both Western Michigan and Northern Illinois will offer live streaming video (pay-per-view) of this weekend's matches ... Fans can also follow the program on twitter @BallStateWVB and @BallStateSports.
►CARDINALS ALL-TIME: The Ball State women's volleyball team enters the 2014 league season with an 832-534-2 (.609) all-time record ... The Cardinals boast a 93-45 (.674) mark under fifth-year head coach Steve Shondell, including a 45-19 (.703) ledger in Mid-American Conference play.
►IN THE MAC: Ball State opens league play with a 330-165 (.667) all-time record in Mid-American Conference matches, which ranks second among all league schools ... Western Michigan is first with a 345-150 (.697) all-time league mark, while Northern Illinois is third based on winning percentage at 210-134 (.610).
►FROM THE NEST: Ball State opened the 2014 season by posting a 2-1 mark at the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge, moving its all-time record in Worthen Arena to 226-67 (.771).
►ROAD WARRIORS: Ball State will be playing its 11th and 12th consecutive matches away from Muncie this weekend ... The 12 straight contests on the road (including neutral matches) will mark the longest string of matches the Cardinals have played without a stop at home since joining the Mid-American Conference in volleyball in 1980 ... The Cardinals played 11 consecutive matches away from home in four previous seasons; 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 WMU: Western Michigan holds a slim 42-40 lead in the all-time series versus Ball State thanks to a 3-1 victory in the opening round of the 2013 MAC Tournament in Geneva, Ohio (Nov. 22) ... The Cardinals won both regular season meetings last year, scoring a 3-1 home win (Oct. 11) and a 3-1 road victory (Nov. 16) ... Overall, the Cardinals are 14-23 in matches played in Kalamazoo, Mich., having only won two of the last 10 matches played on WMU's home court.
►VERSUS NIU: The series with Northern Illinois is currently tied at 29-29 after the Cardinals won both regular season meetings last year ... Ball State swept the Huskies both at home (Oct. 12) and on the road (Nov. 11) ... Overall, the Cardinals are 9-17 in matches played in DeKalb, Ill., including wins in four of the last 10 matches played on NIU's home court.
QUICK HITS
● Ball State enters league play with a 6-7 overall record after earning a five-set victory at IPFW last Wednesday and going 2-1 at the VCU Invitational with wins over East Tennessee State (3-1) and Virginia (3-0), before losing to the host Rams (0-3) ... Hayley Benson leads the squad with 123 kills and a 2.37 kills-per-set average, while Alex Fuelling averages a team-best 3.94 digs per set.
● Western Michigan enters league play with an 8-5 overall record after going 3-1 last week ... The Broncos scored a 3-1 win over Iona Thursday, before topping Kennesaw State (3-1) and St. Francis-Brooklyn (3-0), while losing to Stony Brook (3-2) in the Seawolves Invite hosted by Stony Brook ... Alysia Baznik leads WMU with 167 kills and a 3.27 kills-per-set average, while Caroline Rose has a team-high 184 digs for a 3.61 digs-per-set average.
● Northern Illinois enters league play with a 7-7 overall record after going 1-3 last week ... After a Tuesday win over UIC (3-1), the Huskies lost three matches at the UCSB/Cal Poly Invitational, falling to Cal Poly (3-1), Santa Clara (3-0) and UC Santa Barbara (3-1) ... Mackenzie Roddy leads NIU with 199 kills and a 3.83 kills-per-set average, while Anna Brereton averages a team-high 4.15 digs per set.
● Ball State enters the weekend as the defending MAC West Division Co-Champions after ending the 2013 regular season with wins at Northern Illinois and Western Michigan to clinch a share of the title.
● Friday's match at Western Michigan will mark just the fifth time Ball State has opened league play versus the Broncos ... Of the four previous matches, three have been played in Kalamazoo and one was played in Muncie ... WMU won all three contests played on its home court, including the most recent held Sept. 24, 1999 ... Ball State won the only season-opening meeting played in Muncie, Sept. 12, 1995.
● The Cardinals had three players named to last weekend's VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team, with Hayley Benson, Mackenzie Kitchel and Kati Vasalakis all earning a spot on the squad.
● 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.
● Over the last two weeks, Sabrina Mangapora has led the Ball State attack with 78 kills and a 2.60 kills-per-set average ... She has a team-high five matches with double-digit kills over the span, including blasting a career-high 15 kills versus Miami (Sept. 13) and at IPFW (Sept. 17) ... She is also tied for team-high honors with six solo blocks over the last seven matches.
● Mackenzie Kitchel turned in her best week of the young 2014 season last weekend, blasting 46 kills and averaging 2.71 kills per set ... She slammed a season-high 15 kills at IPFW, while logging 14 kills versus East Tennessee State and 12 at VCU.
