Ball State University Athletics
Volleyball Returns to the Road for Omaha Classic Friday & Saturday
September 01, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
MATCH 5 • Ball State (0-4) at Omaha (0-3)
Friday, Sept. 2 • 1 p.m. (CT) • Omaha, Neb.
Live Stats • Live Video (PPV)
MATCH 6 • Ball State (0-4) vs. Drake (4-1)
Friday, Sept. 2 • 5 p.m. (CT) • Omaha, Neb.
Live Stats
MATCH 7 • Ball State (0-4) at South Dakota (3-1)
Saturday, Sept. 3 • Noon (CT) • Omaha, Neb.
Live Stats
• The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road this weekend for the Omaha Classic presented by Akserben Suites ... The Cardinals open the two-day event Friday with matches versus tournament host Omaha (1 p.m. CT) and Drake (5 p.m. CT) ... Saturday's tournament finale is versus South Dakota (Noon CT).
• Friday's match versus Omaha will be streamed live on Mavs All-Access (PPV) ... Live stats will be available for all three matches and linked to BallStateSports.com/livestats.
• The Ball State women's volleyball program is 21-23 all-time in its first game in the month of September ... The Cardinals own an 8-7 record in matches played on Sept. 2 after suffering a 3-0 setback at IUPUI on the date last season ... The last time Ball State played two matches on Sept. 2 was 2011, when the Cardinals earned wins over Evansville (3-2) and Valparaiso (3-0) as part of the Valparaiso Marriott Volley Brawl.
• Ball State owns a 2-2 all-time record versus teams in the Omaha Classic ... The Cardinals will be playing the host Mavericks for the first time in women's volleyball ... Ball State holds a 2-1 edge in the all-time series versus Drake, including a 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19) victory in the latest matchup Sept. 14, 2013 at the Iowa Hawkeye Challenge ... South Dakota won the only previous meeting versus Ball State on Sept. 19, 2015, edging out the Cardinals 3-2 (24-26, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10) at the Purdue Boiler Box Challenge.
• Senior OH Mackenzie Kitchel is the only active Ball State player to see action versus Drake, as she led all players with 12 kills and hit .357 (12-2-28) in the 2013 matchup ... She also tallied a dig and a solo block.
• Four Ball State players recorded double-figure kills in last season's match versus South Dakota, with sophomore OH Ellie Dunn leading the pack with a career-high 18 kills ... Mackenzie Kitchel and sophomore OH Brooklyn Goodsel each tagged 13 kills and helped the Cardinals post a .249 (71-28-173) attack percentage against the Coyotes ... Sophomore DS Carly Cappello served up two of Ball State's three aces in the match.
• With 11 kills Wednesday versus IUPUI (Aug. 31), Ellie Dunn has blasted double-digit kills in each of Ball State's four matches this season ... It marks the first time in her career Dunn has recorded double-digit kills in four consecutive matches ... She enters the Omaha Classic with a team-best 48 kills this season for a 2.82 kills-per-set average.
• Ellie Dunn has turned in an impressive performance at the net so far this season, tying for the team lead with 16 total blocks (two solo and 14 assists) ... She enters the weekend ranked ninth in the MAC with a 0.94 blocks-per-set average ... Her best blocking effort of the season came versus Fort Wayne (Aug. 27), when she scored a career-high six block assists.
• Redshirt sophomore MH Avery Devoe turned in one of the best matches of her career Wednesday versus IUPUI (Aug. 31), blasting a career-high six kills while hitting for a career-best .545 (6-0-11) attack percentage ... She also continued her strong play at the net with a team-high four total blocks ... Devoe enters the weekend tied for team-high honors with 16 total blocks (one solo and 15 assists), with her 1.00 blocks-per-set average ranking sixth in the league.
• With nine kills in Wednesday's match versus IUPUI (Aug. 31), Mackenzie Kitchel raised her career total to 502 kills ... Ball State's active career kills leader, Kitchel has led the Cardinals in kills in 13 matches over her career ... She has also recorded double-digit kills in 18 career matches, including previous meetings versus Drake (Sept. 14, 2013) and South Dakota (Sept. 19, 2015).
• Over the first two sets of Wednesday's match versus IUPUI (Aug. 31), the Ball State offense connected for a .338 (33-9-71) rate of success with redshirt junior OH Sabrina Mangapora setting a blistering pace of .588 (11-1-17) ... In fact, the Cardinals offense hit a season-best .341 (19-5-41) in the opening set and turned in its second-best effort of the season in the second frame at .333 (14-4-30) ... The Cardinals finished the match with a season-best .214 (53-23-140) attack percentage.
• Sabrina Mangapora finished Wednesday's match versus IUPUI (Aug. 31) with a team-high 13 kills and added 11 digs for her first career double-double ... It marked the second time this season, and 12th time in her career, Mangapora has paced the Cardinals in kills ... She also tallied a pair of blocks and a .917 (30-for-33) reception percentage after facing a team-high 33 serves from IUPUI.
• Ball State freshman setter Amber Seaman opened her collegiate career with three consecutive assist/dig double-doubles at the Fort Wayne Invitational ... Her best match came versus host Fort Wayne (Aug. 27), when she logged career-highs of 45 assists, 22 digs, five kills and four service aces ... The last time a Ball State setter opened the season with three consecutive double-doubles was the 2013 season when Jackie Seidel (2010-13) accomplished the task versus Gardner Webb (Aug. 24), VCU (Aug. 25) and Illinois State (Aug. 25).
• 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 ... The previous mark was 21 set by Jackie Seidel (2010-13) versus Toledo (Oct. 3, 2013) ... In addition, 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.
• Freshman defensive specialist Kate Avila finished the Murray State (Aug. 27) match with a career-high 17 digs after taking over as the team's libero in the second set ... She continued to wear the off-colored jersey and tallied 10 digs at Fort Wayne (Aug. 27) and a match-high 16 digs against IUPUI (Aug. 31) ... Only the second freshman libero in program history, Avila leads Ball State's primary passers with a .973 (71-for-73) reception percentage this season.
• Backcourt play has been one of the bright spots for the Cardinals this season, as the team's defense has out-dug opponents in three of the four matches ... The biggest differential came Wednesday versus IUPUI (Aug. 31), when four players notched double-digit digs in the same match for the first time this season to help Ball State hold a 65 to 48 advantage in the match ... Along with 16 digs from Kate Avila and 11 digs from Sabrina Mangapora, freshman DS Hannah Smith collected a career-high 13 digs and sophomore DS Lauren Schreiner earned 11.
• 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: S Amber Seaman from Carmel, DS Kate Avila from Yorktown, OH/DS Anna Jensen from Indianapolis Cathedral, DS Hannah Smith from Wapahani and MH Sydnee VanBeek from Illiana Christian.
