WVB Opens Season Friday at Indiana Invitational

Friday, August 25

Bloomington, IN

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Indiana University

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

August 24, 2017 | Women's Volleyball

Weekly Notes: Indiana Invitational

THE WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, Aug. 25 vs. Indiana (7 p.m) | Live Stats | BTN Plus (PPV) | IU Radio (Free)
Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Indiana State (10 a.m) | Live Stats
Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. DePaul (5 p.m) | Live Stats

MORE TO REVIEW:
Season Preview - Women's Volleyball: Building on Tradition

WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEKEND:
• THE WEEKEND AHEAD: Friday's match versus Indiana (7 p.m.) at the Indiana Invitational will open the 46th season of play for the Ball State women's volleyball program ... The Cardinals, who enter the two-day event with an 871-575-2 (.602) all-time record, will also battle in-state rival Indiana State (10 a.m.) and DePaul (5 p.m.) Saturday.

• AGAINST THE FIELD: Ball State is 67-33-1 all-time versus opponents in the Indiana Invitational ... Indiana holds a slim 24-20 lead in the all-time series, including a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16) victory in the latest meeting, played Sept. 19, 2008 in Bloomington ... Prior to the 2008 match, the Cardinals and Hoosiers had not met in volleyball since a 3-1 (15-5, 7-15, 15-10, 15-7) Ball State victory Sept. 17, 1996 in Munice ... Ball State holds a 41-5-1 advantage in the all-time series versus Indiana State, including 14 straight wins ... The Cardinals picked up a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-18) victory over the Sycamores in the latest meeting, Aug. 28, 2010 in Edwardsville, Ill. ... The Cardinals hold a 6-4 edge in the all-time series against DePaul, including back-to-back wins ... The last meeting was a 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22) Ball State victory Sept. 13, 2008 in Chicago.

• FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State fans unable to attend the Indiana Invitational will be able to watch a live video stream of Friday's match versus the host Hoosiers on BTN Plus, the digital network of the Big Ten Network, with subscriptions starting at $9.95 a month ... Live stats will be available for all matches ... In addition, fans can follow the Cardinals on twitter (@BallStateWVB) for regular match updates ... Links for Friday's live video and the weekend's live stats can be found above.

• SEASON-OPENING MATCHES: Despite suffering a 3-0 (25-16, 34-32, 25-19) setback to Youngstown State to open the 2016 season, Ball State maintains a 23-22 all-time record in season-opening matches ... Prior to last season, the Cardinals had won six consecutive season openers ... Over the past seven seasons, Ball State is 14-6 in season-opening tournaments.

NEWS & NOTES:
• There will be a pair of familiar faces on the Indiana bench Friday, starting with head coach Sherry Dunbar-Kruzan who was a four-year letterwinner for the Ball State women's volleyball program from 1988-91 ... Dunbar-Kruzan still ranks fifth in program history with 377 total blocks and is one of only eight players in program history to finish a career averaging more than one block per set, ranking seventh at 1.16 ... In addition, IU director of volleyball operations Shane Wilkinson spent three seasons (2005-07) as an administrative assistant for the Cardinals.

• Ball State was picked as the favorite to win the 2017 MAC West Division title as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches in the annual preseason poll ... The Cardinals received four votes to win the West Division, which is one more than both Northern Illinois and Western Michigan who were selected second and third, respectively ... Toledo was picked fourth in the division and earned two first-place votes, while Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan rounded out the MAC West ... Ball State also received one vote to claim the 2017 MAC Regular Season Championship and one vote to win the 2017 MAC Volleyball Tournament.

• Junior outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel was named to the six-member Preseason All-MAC West Division Team ... Goodsel led the Ball State offense and ranked ninth in the MAC with a 2.96 kills-per-set average last season ... A First Team All-MAC selection in 2016, Goodsel blasted double digit kills in a team-high 19 matches, including a career-high 21 kills versus Toledo (Sept. 29, 2016) ... She led the Ball State offense in kills 13 times last season, while scoring at least four kills in 30 of the 31 matches she played.

• 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.

• Ball State returns two of the league's top six freshman from a year ago, as Kate Avila and Sydnee VanBeek were both named to the six-member 2016 MAC All-Freshman Team ... With the two honorees, the Cardinals have 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.

• Kate Avila ranked fifth in the MAC with 528 digs last season, while her 4.19 digs-per-set average was sixth in the league … Ball State's starting libero in all but four sets in 2016, Avila tallied double digit digs in 29 matches which ties as the fifth-best single season total in program history ... In addition, her nine matches with 20-or-more digs rank as the 13th-best single season total in BSU annals … Avila collected a career-high 36 digs versus Appalachian State (Sept. 10, 2016) which ties as the 19th-best single match total in Ball State's record book.

• After being limited by injury in the first half of the 2016 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, 2016) ... Named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 7, 2016, she hit a career-best .538 (8-1-13) at Toledo (Nov. 3, 2016), while hitting .400-or-better in six league outings ... VanBeek also led Ball State in total blocks (42) and aces (11) in MAC play last season.

• Overall, seven different Cardinals recorded double-digit kills in a match last season, with five returning to the roster in 2017 ... Brooklyn Goodsel led the Cardinals with double-digit kills in 19 matches last season, while junior outside attacker Ellie Dunn was second among returning players at 11.

• Amber Seaman opened the 2016 season with three consecutive assist/dig double-doubles at the Fort Wayne Invitational which included a career-high 22 digs at Fort Wayne (Aug. 27, 2016) ... The 22 digs are the most for a Ball State setter in a match in the rally scoring era (2001-present) and the most for a Cardinals setter since Emily Sallee (1997-2000) was credited with 26 at Bowling Green on Sept. 22, 2000 ... Wendy Carter (1993-96) also tallied 26 digs versus Bowling Green on Nov. 18, 1994, which is the program record for digs by a setter.