Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Opens Season Friday at Fort Wayne Invite
August 25, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
MATCH 1 • Ball State (0-0) vs. Youngstown State (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 26 • 4 p.m. • Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats • Live Video (PPV)
MATCH 2 • Ball State (0-0) vs. Murray State (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 27 • 10 a.m. • Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats • Live Video (PPV)
MATCH 3 • Ball State (0-0) at Fort Wayne (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 27 • 7 p.m. • Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats • Live Video (PPV)
• Friday's match versus Youngstown State (4 p.m.) at the Fort Wayne Invitational Sponsored by Hyatt Place will open the 45th season of play for the Ball State women's volleyball program ... The Cardinals enter the two-day event with an 858-557-2 (.608) all-time record and will also battle Murray State (10 a.m.) and Fort Wayne (7 p.m.) Saturday.
• Ball State is 16-4 all-time versus opponents in the Fort Wayne Invitational ... Friday's match will mark the first meeting in women's volleyball between the Cardinals and Youngstown State ... The Cardinals own a 3-0 lead in the all-time series against Murray State, including a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) victory in the latest meeting Sept. 3, 2011 at the Valparaiso Marriott Volley Brawl ... Ball State is 13-4 all-time versus Fort Wayne, formerly named IPFW, including a hard-fought 3-2 (25-20, 27-25, 11-25, 25-27, 15-9) home court victory Sept. 16, 2015 ... The last three meetings between the Cardinals and Mastodons have went five sets, with Ball State winning all three.
• Fort Wayne will offer streaming video for all three of Ball State's matches this weekend at http://gomastodons.com/showcase ... Fans can purchase an all-tournament pass for $9.95 or a 24-hour pass for $5.95 ... Only matches featuring Fort Wayne will have broadcasters, while non-Fort Wayne matches will include ambient noise ... Fans can also follow the action with live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/fortwayne/wvball/
• Kelli Miller will be making her head coaching debut Friday versus Youngstown State ... An assistant coach for Ball State the past six seasons, Miller has helped guide the Cardinals to a 119-68 (64-32 Mid-American Conference) record, the 2010 MAC regular season championship, an at-large berth into the 2011 NCAA Tournament and the 2013 MAC West Division crown.
• Ball State is 23-21 all-time in season-opening matches ... The Cardinals have won six consecutive season openers, including a 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19) victory over Albany last season ... Over the past six seasons, Ball State is 14-3 in season-opening tournaments, including a perfect 3-0 record at last season's Ball State Active Ankle Challenge.
• Senior OH Mackenzie Kitchel was named to the 2016 Preseason All-MAC West Division Team as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches ... A two-time Academic All-MAC selection, Kitchel enters her senior campaign as Ball State's active career leader in kills (478), total blocks (80), solo blocks (28) and block assists (52).
• The Ball State women's volleyball team enters 2016 looking to offset the loss of four senior starters and the team's libero from last season ... Overall, the Cardinals outgoing seniors accounted for 53.0% of the team's kill production in 2015, as well as 57.5% of its total blocks, 62.4% of its service aces, 66.7% of its total digs and 94.8% of its assists.
• Despite the losses, the Cardinals return six players who started at least 10 matches last season: Kitchel (14), sophomore OH/OPP Brooklyn Goodsel (14), sophomore DS Lauren Schreiner (14), junior OH/DS Bailey Baumer (11), sophomore MH Emily Holland (11) and sophomore OH Ellie Dunn (10).
• Kitchel is the top returning attacker with 185 kills a year ago, while Goodsel (142), Dunn (134) and Holland (117) each recorded over 100 ... Schreiner is the team's top returning defender with 168 digs last season, while Baumer (136) and Goodsel (102) each tallied over 100 ... Sophomore DS Carly Cappello leads the returners with 13 aces in 2015, while Baumer and Goodsel each served up 11.
• Over the last four matches of the 2015 season, Kitchel tied for team-high honors with 40 kills, while Schreiner tied for team-high honors with 63 digs ... In MAC Tournament play, Schreiner led the Ball State defense with 32 digs and also served up one of the team's five aces.
• The Ball State offense will feature a new setter in 2016, with junior McCallen Kennedy and freshman Amber Seaman both battling for the position ... Kennedy has seen action in eight matches over the last two seasons behind Jenna Spadafora who was a two-time First Team All-MAC selection and finished her career ranked sixth in program history with 2,876 career assists ... Seaman joined the Cardinals for the 2016 spring semester after completing her course work at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School a semester early ... A two-time Academic All-State selection, Seaman helped guide Brebeuf to the 2013 IHSAA Class 3A State Championship.
• Ball State's 2016 freshman class was named a PrepVolleyball.com Top 30 Recruiting Class Honorable Mention ... Combined, the five helped guide their programs to four Indiana High School Athletics Association (IHSAA) state championship titles, a pair of IHSAA state runner-up finishes and one national championship ... Ball State's 2016 freshman class includes: Seaman, DS Kate Avila from Yorktown, OH/DS Anna Jensen from Indianapolis Cathedral, DS Hannah Smith from Wapahani and MH Sydnee VanBeek from Illiana Christian.
• Starting with the 2016 home opener versus IUPUI on Aug. 31, the Ball State women's volleyball program will have 10 of its 13 home matches carried live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app ... Last season, the Cardinals went 6-2 in matches aired on ESPN3, including wins in six of the seven matches broadcast from Worthen Arena.
• Ball State was selected to finish third in the MAC West Division in the league's annual preseason poll ... Defending MAC regular season champion Northern Illinois was tabbed to win the division with 11 first-place votes, followed by Western Michigan with one first-place nod ... After the Cardinals were Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Toledo.
