Ball State University Athletics
WVB Places Two On Preseason All-MAC West Team
August 27, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
CLEVELAND, Ohio - - Senior middle blocker Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and senior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) have been named to the 2015 Preseason All-Mid-American Conference West Division Team as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and release by the league office.
“Jenna and Kelly have been in the league for a long time and have earned the respect of the MAC coaches,” sixth-year Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “Both girls know what it takes to succeed at the collegiate level, as they have been through many MAC volley wars. It is said a team will go as far as its seniors take them, and that is why we are thankful to have these two young ladies wearing a Cardinals uniform.”
Hopkins is coming off a highly-successful junior campaign which saw her earn All-MAC First Team accolades for the first time in her career. She smashed double-digit kills in 15 matches last season, including a career-high 17 to help guide the Cardinals to a win versus Eastern Michigan (Oct. 3). Hopkins hit a career-best .643 (11-2-14) at Northern Illinois (Sept. 27), while registering above a .300 percentage in 16 contests. She ranked ninth in the MAC in league-only matches with a .324 hitting percentage, while her .291 attack percentage for the year ranked second on the team and just outside the top 10 in the league.
Spadafora, another first-time All-MAC First Team honoree in 2014, guided the Ball State offense to a .206 attack percentage last season by dishing out the ninth-best single season assists total (1,245) total in program history. She ranked fourth in the MAC with a 10.46 assist-pet-set average, which ties as the 18th-best single season effort in program history. Spadafora dished out a career-high 60 assists at IPFW (Sept. 17) to lead the Cardinals to a thrilling 3-2 victory over her hometown team and tied the mark in another thrilling 3-2 win over Western Michigan (Nov. 1). She also tied a career-high with four aces in the win versus the Broncos.
In addition to the individual accolades, the Cardinals were selected to finish third in the MAC West Division in the annual MAC Preseason Poll. Northern Illinois was picked to win the division with seven first-place votes, followed by Western Michigan in second with five first-place tallies. Following the Cardinals in the division were Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Toledo.
Three-time defending MAC regular season champion Ohio was picked once again to win the East Division crown with 10 first-place votes, and is also the preseason favorite to win both the league's regular season (10 votes) and tournament (eight votes) titles. Following the Bobcats in the opposite division were Miami with two first-place votes, Kent State, Bowling Green, Buffalo and Akron.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
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MAC West Order of Finish |
MAC East Order of Finish |
2015 Regular Season Champion |
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1. Northern Illinois (7) |
1. Ohio (10) |
1. Ohio (10) |
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2. Western Michigan (5) |
2. Miami (2) |
T2. Miami (1) |
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3. Ball State |
3. Kent State |
T2. Northern Illinois (1) |
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4. Central Michigan |
4. Bowling Green |
2015 MAC Tournament Champion |
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5. Eastern Michigan |
5. Buffalo |
1. Ohio (8) |
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6. Toledo |
6. Akron |
2. Northern Illinois (3) |
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3. Eastern Michigan (1) |
