Ball State University
Central Michigan
Volleyball Opens MAC Play with CMU & EMU This Weekend
September 22, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
• The Ball State women's volleyball team opens the Mid-American Conference portion of its 2016 schedule with home matches versus Central Michigan (Friday) and Eastern Michigan (Saturday) this weekend ... Both matches are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App.
• Ball State picked up its first ESPN3 victory of the season last Friday, 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 ... 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 one coming versus Central Michigan (Nov. 8, 2009) at home and one against Eastern Michigan (Nov. 18, 2011) in the MAC Tournament.
• This weekend's ESPN3 matches will be the first produced by Ball State Sports Link and Digital Sports Production ... Cory Stace and Noah Reed will cover the action, while Kaitlyn Young will produce both broadcasts ... In 2013, Ball State University became the first school in the nation to offer a degree in Digital Sports Production through the Department of Telecommunications ... Digital Sports Production is an interactive learning experience combined with an immersive learning project, Ball State Sports Link.
• Ball State is 1-2 on ESPN3 so far this season, with the first three matches produced by Ball State University Media Services and featuring Joel Godett covering the play-by-play action and women's volleyball alumna (2007-10) and former student assistant coach (2011) Alyssa Rio serving as analyst ... The 2010 CVU.com Libero of the Year, Rio finished her career ranked second in program history with 2,089 career digs and first with 20-or-more digs in 49 career matches.
• Ball State enters the weekend with a 244-74 (.767) all-time record in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 2-3 mark this season ... In 2015, the Cardinals went 10-2 in home matches, including a 6-2 mark in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State is 178-42 (.809) all-time versus MAC teams in Worthen Arena, with no MAC foe holding a winning record on the Cardinals' court.
• The Cardinals hold a 43-31 lead in the all-time series versus Central Michigan, including an 18-4 (.818) edge in matches played in Worthen Arena ... Ball State closed the 2015 regular season with a 3-2 (27-29, 25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 15-10) home court victory over the Chippewas (Nov. 15), avenging a road loss to CMU earlier in the year ... The Cardinals have won the last three meetings on its home court and hold a 22-12 (.647) all-time series advantage in Muncie.
• Despite suffering three straight losses to Eastern Michigan, Ball State maintains a 50-26 lead in the all-time series, including a 22-5 (.815) advantage in Worthen Arena ... Last season, the Eagles scored a 3-1 (25-21,25-12, 20-25, 26-24) victory in Muncie on Nov. 14 to complete the season sweep after winning on its own home court earlier in the year ... Ball State's last victory in the series came at home on Oct. 3, 2014 by a score of 3-2 (25-16, 16-25, 15-25, 27-25, 15-13) ... Overall, Ball State is 28-10 (.737) all-time versus Eastern Michigan in matches played in Muncie.
• Ball State is 10-5 all-time in matches played on Sept. 23, with its last match on the date being a 3-0 (30-22, 30-18, 30-19) loss to Bowling Green in 2006 ... Prior to the loss, Ball State had won five straight matches on Sept. 23.
• Ball State is 7-8 all-time in matches played on Sept. 24, including a thrilling 3-2 (13-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-11, 15-10) come-from-behind victory at Toledo to start league play last season ... Ball State has won its last three matches on Sept. 24, with all three coming in league play.
• Ball State enters the 2016 MAC season ranked second in the league with a 349-178 (.662) all-time MAC record ... Western Michigan is first with a 364-163 (.691) all-time league mark ... Central Michigan is seventh at 266-261 (.505), while Eastern Michigan is eighth at 236-291 (.448).
• Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after leading the Ball State offense with a .308 (43-11-104) attack percentage and averaging 3.58 kills and 1.92 digs per set at the Active Ankle Challenge (Sept. 16-17) ... In Ball State's 3-2 win over UNCG (Sept. 16), Goodsel recorded her second double-double of the season by blasting a career-high tying 17 kills and adding 14 digs ... She went on to tally 16 kills in the win over in-state rival Valparaiso (Sept. 16) and a team-high 10 kills versus 19th-ranked Ohio State (Sept. 17).
• Freshman libero Kate Avila was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 5.17 digs per set and logging a .966 (56-for-58) reception percentage in the Active Ankle Challenge (Sept. 16-17) ... Avila recorded double-digit digs in all three matches, including 32 in a four-set win over Valparaiso (Sept. 16) which equates to an 8.00 digs-per-set average for the match ... Avila is one of only two MAC players to record 30-or-more digs in a multiple matches this season.
• Kate Avila recorded a career-high 36 digs in Ball State's win over Appalachian State (Sept. 10) which ties as the 19th-best single match total in program history ... It was the best individual effort in a match for a Ball State player since Oct. 29, 2010 when then-senior Alyssa Rio collected a career-high 44 digs versus Western Michigan.
• Kate Avila continued her climbed up the MAC statistical rankings, moving up one spot to seventh with a 4.05 digs-per-set average this season ... Avila's 231 total digs rank fourth in the conference, while her 36 dig effort versus Appalachian State (Sept. 10) ranks as the fourth-best single match performance in the MAC this season.
• Redshirt junior outside hitter Sabrina Mangapora led the Ball State offense with 46 kills in the Active Ankle Challenge … Her 20 kills in the four-set win over Valparaiso (Sept. 16) were a tournament-high and marked the third time this season Mangapora has scored at least 20 kills in a match ... Mangapora enters the week as the only player in the MAC to score at least 20 kills in three matches this season … Her career-high 22 kills versus Appalachian State (Sept. 10) rank as the fifth-best single match total in the MAC this season, while her 20 kill efforts versus Valpo and at Omaha (Sept. 2) are tied for 10th.
• Thanks to her strong offensive performance last weekend, Sabrina Mangapora enters the week ranked seventh in the MAC with a 3.04 kills-per-set average ... It's the first time a Ball State player has been ranked in the top 10 in the MAC in kills per set since the Sept. 14, 2015 statistical rankings.
• Ball State's defense came up huge in the win over Appalachian State (Sept. 10), finishing the night with 110 digs which ties as the 13th-best single match performance in program history ... It was also the most digs in a match for Ball State since the team collected 123 versus Toledo on Sept. 28, 2006 ... In addition, the Cardinals held a +28 advantage in team digs with Appalachian State earning just 82 ... It was the biggest digs advantage for the Cardinals in a match in the rally scoring era (2001-present), with the previous best being 26 twice versus Eastern Michigan in 2008.
• Ball State's defense has played a big role in the team's four wins this season, averaging 18.44 digs and 2.33 blocks per set ... The effort has helped limit opposing teams to a combined .125 attack percentage, including a .037 rate of success for Morehead State (Sept. 9) and a .101 mark for Valparaiso (Sept. 16) ... The Cardinals also boast a .958 (316 for 330) reception percentage in its wins ... For the year, Ball State averages 16.04 digs and 2.11 blocks per set, while producing a .931 (1077 for 1157) reception percentage.
• 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 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) ... Seaman currently has seven assist/dig double-doubles on the season.
• 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 ... 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.
