Volleyball Opens MAC Tournament Thursday vs. Western Michigan

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• THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play No. 8 seed Western Michigan in Thursday's 6 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (CT) first-round match at Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Ill.

• ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: The 2016 MAC Tournament features the league's top eight teams battling it out at Victor E. Court in DeKalb, Ill., for an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament ... The top two seeds, No. 1 Miami (15-1 MAC) and No. 2 Northern Illinois (15-1 MAC), earned double byes to advance directly to Saturday's semifinals ... In the first quarterfinal match Friday, No. 4 Bowling Green (10-6 MAC) will play the winner of No. 5 Ball State (9-7 MAC) and No. 8 Western Michigan (6-10 MAC), who open the tournament at 5 p.m. (CT) Thursday ... In the second quarterfinal match Friday, No. 3 Ohio (11-5 MAC) will face the winner of No. 6 Toledo (8-8 MAC) and No. 7 Kent State (8-8 MAC), who square off in first-round action at 7:30 p.m. (CT) Thursday ... By virtue of earning the No. 1 seed in the tournament and a share of the 2016 MAC regular season championship, Miami will host the 2017 MAC Tournament in Oxford, Ohio.

• BALL STATE IN THE TOURNAMENT: Ball State will be making its 26th consecutive appearance in the Mid-American Conference Tournament this season, and its 28th overall trip to the league's premier event ... Ball State is 30-21 (.588) all-time in MAC Tournament matches, including a 5-1 record in first round matches, a 10-8 mark in quarterfinal matches, 9-9 ledger in semifinal matches and 6-3 record in championship matches.

• ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Since the inception of the MAC All-Tournament Team, Ball State is tied with Miami and Ohio for the league lead with 25 selections ... Ball State placed at least one player on the MAC All-Tournament team every year from 1991-2005, marking a league-record 15-straight seasons with a honoree ... In addition, Ball State's six tournament Most Valuable Player selections trail only Ohio's eight.

• VERSUS THE FIELD: Ball State holds a 292-171 record versus the 2016 MAC Tournament field, including a 3-7 record in matches this season ... In tournament action, the Cardinals are 16-19 versus this season's field, including a 5-3 record in championship matches.

All-Time Versus 2016 MAC Tournament Field

	Team	Overall	Tournament	Champ.	Streak
1.	Miami	43-34	5-3	2-0	L1
2.	Northern Illinois	30-34	1-4	0-1	L3
3.	Ohio	34-18	0-5	0-1	L3
4.	Bowling Green	39-17-1	6-1	2-0	W3
6.	Toledo	63-9	1-1	0-0	L2
7.	Kent State	39-14	1-2	0-0	L3
8.	Western Michigan	44-45	2-3	1-1	W2
	Total	292-171	16-19	5-3

• VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN: Despite sweeping the 2016 regular season series, the Cardinals trail the Broncos 44-45 in the all-time series ... This season, the Cardinals won the first meeting played Oct. 8 in Kalamazoo by a score of 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23), while taking the second 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 12-25, 25-14) in Worthen Arena Nov. 11 ... This is the third time in the last four seasons Ball State has swept the regular season series, also accomplishing the task in 20013 and 2014 ... Like this season, the Cardinals would square off for a third time against the Broncos in both the 2013 and 2014 MAC Tournaments ... Each team has five neutral site wins in the all-time series.

• THIRD TIME THE CHARM VS. WMU IN MAC TOURNAMENT: Ball State hopes the third time is the charm in this season's MAC Tournament match-up, as the last two times Ball State has swept the regular season series, the Broncos have ended the Cardinals' year in the MAC Tournament ... Overall, Western Michigan holds a 2-3 edge in MAC Tournament matches thanks to the their wins in 2013 (3-1; 17-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-21) and 2014 (3-1; 25-12, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24) ... Ball State's last MAC Tournament win over the Broncos was a 3-0 (31-29, 30-23, 30-28) win in the 2002 quarterfinals ... Each teams has clinched a tournament championship over the other, with the Cardinals winning it all in 1999 and the Broncos in 2000.

• THIS YEAR VS. THE BRONCOS: Over the first two meetings this season, sophomore right side Brooklyn Goodsel paces the Ball State offense with 25 kills and a 3.12 kills-per-set average versus WMU ... She has also tallied an impressive 30 digs to rank second on the squad behind freshman libero Kate Avila's 40 digs ... Overall, Ball State is averaging 12.62 kills per set vs. Western Michigan this season, while hitting .153 and collecting 19.50 digs per set ... The Broncos are averaging 12.25 kills per set, hitting .129 and averaging 19.25 digs per set versus the Cardinals.

• VS. BOWLING GREEN: Thanks to a 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-15) sweep of the Falcons in the lone regular season meeting this season, played Oct. 21 at Bowling Green, the Cardinals maintain a 39-17-1 lead in the all-time series ... Ball State has won the last three meetings in the all-time series and holds a 6-1-1 edge in neutral site matches.

• VS. BGSU IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: Ball State holds a 6-1 advantage over the Falcons in the MAC Tournament, including a 2-0 record in championship matches ... However, the last time the two teams meet in the tournament, the Falcons came out the victors by a score of 3-0 (30-11, 30-26, 30-16) in the 2006 quarterfinals ... Ball State's last of six MAC Tournament wins over the Falcons came by a score of 3-2 (28-30, 30-22, 25-30, 37-35, 17-15) in the 2001 semifinals ... The Cardinals claimed both the 1992 and 1993 MAC Tournament titles with wins over BGSU.

• THIS YEAR VS. BOWLING GREEN: In her first career Mid-American Conference start at setter, junior McCallen Kennedy led the Ball State offense to a .282 (41-12-103) attack percentage and kept the Falcons off balance on defense all night ... Ball State's .282 team attack percentage was its third-best effort of the season and four different Cardinals finished the match hitting .381-or-better ... On defense, freshman middle Sydnee VanBeek recorded a career-high six total blocks to help limit the MAC's top attacking team to a season-low .060 (31-24-117) rate of success ... Brooklyn Goodsel led the Cardinals offense with 11 kills and also paced all players with 13 digs for her seventh of eight double-doubles on the year.

• VS. MIAMI: Ball State holds a 43-34 led in the all-time series with the RedHawks despite suffering a 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 26-24) setback in Oxford on Oct. 22 ... Since the 2011 regular season, the teams have alternated victories in the regular season series, with each of the last three matches ending in three sets ... Miami holds a 6-4 edge in neutral site matches.

• VS. MIAMI IN THE MAC TOURNAMENT: The Cardinals and RedHawks have played eight times in the MAC Tournament, but have not met since a 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-27) Ball State victory in the 2005 quarterfinals ... The Cardinals lead the tournament series 5-3, including wins in both the 1994 and 1995 championship matches ... The RedHawks' last tournament win over Ball State came in the 1997 semifinals.

• THIS YEAR VERSUS MIAMI: Brooklyn Goodsel was the only Ball State attacker to reach double-figure kills at Miami (Oct. 22) with 10 ... She also hit a team-best .348 (10-2-23) and finished two digs shy of a double-double ... Kate Avila earned a team-high 14 digs and successfully passed all of the match-high 27 serves she faced ... Overall, the RedHawks held a .317 to .111 attacking advantage in the match, thanks in large part to a 10.0 to 2.0 lead in total blocks.

• GOODSEL JOINS ELITE COMPANY: Brooklyn Goodsel became the 32nd player in program history to earn First Team All-MAC honors when she was named to the 14-member 2016 squad ... With Goodsel's selection, the Cardinals continue to rank second in MAC history with 92 total All-MAC selections and 45 total First Team All-MAC honorees.

• ABOUT GOODSEL'S MAC SEASON: Brooklyn Goodsel led the Ball State offense and ranked seventh in the MAC with a 3.19 kills-per-set average in league play ... She produced double-digit kills in 11 of Ball State's 16 conference matches, including a career-high 21 kills at Toledo (Sept. 29) ... Goodsel secured six kill/dig double-doubles in MAC play, while earning double-digit digs nine times including a career-high 19 versus Kent State (Oct. 14) ... Goodsel also tied for third on the team with 26 total blocks in MAC play, including four total blocks versus Central Michigan (Sept. 23) and at Toledo (Nov. 3) ... Her nine aces in MAC play tied for second on the team.

• TWO OF SIX TOP FRESHMEN: The 2016 Ball State squad boasted two of the league's top six freshman as Kate Avila and Sydnee VanBeek were named to the six-member MAC All-Freshman Team ... With the two honorees, the Cardinals have now had 14 different players earn MAC All-Freshman accolades ... Of the previous 12 honorees, nine would go on to earn All-MAC honors at some point over their careers.

• ABOUT AVILA'S MAC SEASON: Kate Avila led the Ball State defense and ranked 10th in the MAC with a 4.35 digs-per-set average in league play ... In addition, her 287 total digs in MAC play ranked sixth among conference defenders ... She recorded double-digit digs in all 16 MAC matches, including 20-or-more on five occasions and a MAC season-high 31 digs in a near upset of MAC Co-Champion Northern Illinois (Nov. 12) ... She also led Ball State's primary passers with a .968 (361-for-373) reception percentage in league play.

• ABOUT VANBEEK'S MAC SEASON: Sydnee VanBeek smashed double-digit kills in each of Ball State's final three conference matches, including a career-high 13 in a win over Western Michigan (Nov. 11) ... Named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 7, she hit a career-best .538 (8-1-13) at Toledo (Nov. 3), while hitting .400-or-better in six MAC matches ... VanBeek led the Cardinals defense with 42 total blocks in MAC play for a 0.82 blocks-per-set average ... She registered a career-high six total blocks at Bowling Green (Oct. 21) and versus MAC Co-Champion Northern Illinois (Nov. 12) ... VanBeek also served up a team-best 11 aces in conference play, including a career-high three aces at MAC Co-Champion Miami (Oct. 22).

• THE HOT STREAK CONTINUES: Since starting the season 0-9, Ball State has been one of the hottest teams in the MAC, going 13-8 over its last 21 matches ... Only three league teams have a better record over that span; MAC East Division leader Miami which is 20-1, MAC West Division leader Northern Illinois which is 18-3 and Bowling Green which is 15-6.

BALL STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• Ball State ended the 2016 regular season ranked second in the league with a 358-185 (.659) all-time MAC record ... Thursday's opponent Western Michigan is the all-time leader in MAC wins at 370-173 (.681).

• With 31 digs versus Northern Illinois, Kate Avila raised her career total to 518 ... She needs 14 more digs to pass the total of 531 set by last year's senior libero Kati Vasalakis for 13th on BSU's single-season charts ... Avila is just the eighth player in program history to record 500-or-more digs in a single season.

• Kate Avila continues to be one of the top defenders in the MAC, ranking sixth in the conference with a 4.21 digs-per-set average ... Avila's 518 total digs rank fourth in the league, while her 36 digs versus Appalachian State (Sept. 10) at the fifth-best single match performance in the MAC.

• Sydnee VanBeek continued to have the hot hands for the Cardinals, leading the squad with 24 kills over the final weekend of MAC play ... In Friday's win over WMU (Nov. 11), VanBeek led the team with 13 kills and secured a match-best .444 (13-1-27) attack percentage ... She also logged four total blocks ... VanBeek added 11 kills versus NIU (Nov. 12) to give her double-digit tallies in the last three matches ... She also tied a career-high with six total blocks against the MAC Co-Champion Huskies.

• With 10 kills versus Akron (Nov. 6), Sydnee VanBeek became the seventh different Ball State player to record at least 10 kills in a match this season ... Brooklyn Goodsel leads the Cardinals with double-digit kills in 19 matches, while redshirt junior outside attacker Sabrina Mangapora is second at 16 and sophomore outside attacker Ellie Dunn is third at 11.

• With her 22 kills versus Kent State (Oct. 14), Ellie Dunn became the third different Ball State player to score 20-or-more kills in a match this season … She joins Sabrina Mangapora who has tallied 20-or-more kills in three matches and sophomore right side Brooklyn Goodsel who has accomplished the task twice … It's the first time since the 2009 season Ball State has had three different players log 20-or-more kills in a match in the same season.

• Ball State finished the Nov. 6 match versus Akron with a season-high .327 (45-9-110) attack percentage ... All eight players who scored a kill against the Zips finished with a positive attack percentage, with six Cardinals hitting .400-or-better ... It marked the second time this season the Cardinals offense has topped .300, with the team's pervious best being a .311 (54-17-119) rate of success at Buffalo (Oct. 1).

• The Oct. 29 come-from-behind victory at Central Michigan was truly a team effort, as all 16 players dressed for the match saw action ... It was the first time this season all 16 dressed players saw action in a match ... Previously, Ball State had played 15 players in a match three times; at Omaha (Sept. 2), vs. Eastern Michigan (Sept. 24) and at Miami (Oct. 22).

• One of the biggest contributions in the win over Central Michigan (Oct. 29) came from redshirt senior outside hitter Mackenzie Kitchel who came off the bench to start the final three sets and scored nine kills and hit a team-best .500 (9-0-18).

• Sabrina Mangapora continues to be Ball State's active career kills leader at 632, just ahead of Mackenzie Kitchel's career total of 614 ... Mangapora has blasted double-digit kills in 10 of Ball State's 13 wins this season ... She currently leads the Ball State offense with 180 kills and a 3.33 kills-per-set average in the team's victories this season.

• The Ball State defense has collected double-digit blocks in each of the last four matches ... The Cardinals started the run with 11 blocks at Toledo (Nov.3) and scored 11 more versus Akron (Nov. 6) ... Last weekend, Ball State tallied 10 blocks versus Western Michigan (Nov. 11) and fell one block short of its season high with 14.0 against Northern Illinois ... Ball State scored a season-high 15.0 total blocks at Morehead State (Sept. 9) ... Redshirt sophomore middle Avery Devoe leads the team with 18 total blocks during the streak, while Sydnee VanBeek is right behind at 17 ... It's the first time the Cardinals have collected 10-or-more blocks in four straight matches since the 2013 season.

• Avery Devoe played a big role in the Cardinals' win at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 28), leading all players with six total blocks, while depositing 10 kills ... It marked the second time Devoe has scored double-digit kills in her career, with the other coming in a career-high 11 kill outburst versus Ohio (Oct. 15) ... Devoe also led the Cardinals for the first time in her career with 14.0 total points at EMU.

• Ball State freshman setter Amber Seaman opened her collegiate career with three consecutive assist/dig double-doubles at the Fort Wayne Invitational ... Seaman currently has a team-leading 13 double-doubles on the season, all of the assist/dig variety.

• Amber Seaman's 22 digs at Fort Wayne (Aug. 27) are the most for a Ball State setter in a match in the rally scoring era (2001-present) ... The previous mark was 21 set by Jackie Seidel (2010-13) versus Toledo on Oct. 3, 2013 ... The 22 digs are the most for a Ball State setter since Emily Sallee (1997-2000) recorded 26 at Bowling Green on Sept. 22, 2000, which is tied as the program record for digs by a setter ... Wendy Carter (1993-96) also tallied 26 digs versus Bowling Green on Nov. 18, 1994.

• Ball State picked up its first ESPN3 victory of the season when it downed in-state rival Valparaiso 3-1 (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 25-17) in its second match of the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge on Sept. 16 ... The 25-9 second set victory ties as the seventh-largest set victory for the Cardinals in the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present) ... Ball State has won six sets by a score of 25-8 since 2008, with three coming in MAC play.

Volleyball Opens MAC Tournament Thursday vs. Western Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Avery Devoe

Ellie Dunn

Brooklyn Goodsel

McCallen Kennedy

Mackenzie Kitchel

Sabrina Mangapora

Amber Seaman

Sydnee VanBeek

Kati Vasalakis