Volleyball Visits CMU & EMU This Weekend

Friday, November 2

Mount Pleasant, MI

7 p.m.

Ball State University

Central Michigan University

Photo by: Michael Hickey

November 01, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes: CMU & EMU

Match 26 - Ball State at Central Michigan
Friday, Nov. 2 - 7 p.m. (McGuirk Arena)
Live Stats | ESPN3 Broadcast | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

Match 27 - Ball State at Eastern Michigan
Saturday, Nov. 3 - 7 p.m. (Convocation Center)
Live Stats | ESPN3 Broadcast | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

• THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens a three-match road swing this weekend with Mid-American Conference West Division showdowns at Central Michigan (Friday) and Eastern Michigan (Saturday) ... First serve for both contests are set for 7 p.m.

• WITH A WIN: With just four league matches remaining for Ball State, the Cardinals can clinch at least a share of the Mid-American Conference West Division title with one win this weekend ... BSU enters the week with a 10-2 league record, with Northern Illinois in second place in the division at 8-5 following a five-set win at Western Michigan Wednesday night ... One win would assure the Cardinals at least a share of MAC West Division title, while one win and a NIU loss Saturday versus Bowling Green would give Ball State the division outright ... BSU would also clinch at least a share of the division title with two losses and a NIU loss Saturday.

• FOLLOW THE ACTION: Fans can watch both of this weekend's matches on ESPN3 or follow the action with live stats courtesy of the home institutions ... Links can be found above.

• FOLLOW THE ACTION PART 2: Another great way to follow the Cardinals this season is on social media ... For in-match updates, pre-match features, post-match stories, videos and photos fans can follow the team on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat @BallStateWVB.

• ALL-TIME: Ball State boasts a 909-592-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 47th season of play ... The Cardinals have won eight MAC Regular Season Championships, six MAC Tournament Championships and made eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

• IN THE MAC: Ball State enters Friday's match at Central Michigan with a 379-192 (.664) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 381-191 (.666) ... Friday's opponent Central Michigan is seventh at 280-291 (.490), while Saturday's opponent Eastern Michigan is eighth at 252-319 (.441).

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
• Central Michigan enters Friday's contest with a 5-19 (2-10 MAC) record after splitting a pair of road matches last weekend ... The Chippewas picked up their second straight MAC win with a 3-1 victory at Eastern Michigan (Oct. 25), before suffering a 3-2 setback at Kent State (Oct. 27) ... Kalina Smith leads the squad with a 3.14 kills-per-set average, while the team ranks seventh in the league at 12.20 kills per set ... CMU has utilized three different setters this season, with Grace Butler leading the pack at a 5.95 assists-per-set average ... As a team, the Chippewas rank last in the league with a .164 attack percentage ... Megan Kern leads the CMU backcourt at 3.62 digs per set, while Maddie Whitfield leads the block at 0.72 blocks per set ... As a team, Central Michigan ranks ninth in the MAC in digs per set (15.31) and 11th in blocks per set (1.59).

• Eastern Michigan enters the weekend with a 14-12 (6-6 MAC) record and will host Toledo Friday ... Last week, EMU suffered a 3-1 home loss to Central Michigan (Oct. 25) and was swept at Ohio (Oct. 27) ... Jordan Smith leads the Eagles with a 3.43 kills-per-set average, while the team as a whole paces the MAC at 13.92 kills per set ... Mallory Rajewski and Riley Taylor have combined to set the EMU offense to a .227 attack percentage, which ranks second in the MAC, averaging 7.58 and 4.39 assists per set, respectively ... Alyssa LaFace leads the Eastern Michigan defense and ranks second in the league at 5.99 digs per set, while Cassie Haut paces the team at 1.01 blocks per set ... As a team, EMU ranks second in the MAC in digs per set (18.48) and fourth in blocks per set (2.11).

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS
• SERIES VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Cardinals hold a 47-32 lead in the all-time series versus Central Michigan, including a 3-0 (25-17, 27-25, 25-23) sweep in the first meeting this season played Sept. 29 in Worthen Arena ... Ball State has also won two straight road matches in the series and holds a 20-14 edge in contests played in Mount Pleasant ... CMU has not beaten the Cardinals in McGuirk Arena since a 3-1 (25-13, 25-21, 23-25, 25-11) victory Oct. 9, 2015 ... A complete series history can be found on page four of this release.

• CARDINALS VS. CHIPPEWAS ROUND 1: Junior setter Amber Seaman guided the Ball State offense to a .252 attack percentage in a 3-0 sweep of Central Michigan on Sept. 29 ... In addition to handing out a match-high 37 assists, Seaman also collected 11 digs, five kills, the only two aces of the match and a block assist ... Senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn led the Ball State attack with 13 kills, while freshman opposite Reece Kral collected 10 ... Dunn and Seaman led the BSU backcourt with 11 digs apiece, while junior libero Kate Avila and junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen each collected 10 ... Maddie Whitfield led the Chippewas with 13 kills, while Megan Kern collected a match-high 20 digs ... The Ball State defense limited the CMU attack to a .179 attack percentage and held an 8 to 7 edge in team blocks and a 63 to 59 lead in team digs.

• SERIES VS. EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Cardinals have won five straight matches versus the Eagles, upping its lead in the all-time series to 55-26 ... In the first meeting this season, Ball State scored a 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-20) win in Worthen Arena on Sept. 28 ... The Cardinals are 20-16 all-time in matches played in Ypsilanti and have won two straight on EMU's home court ... Eastern Michigan's last win at the Convocation Center was a 3-1 (26-28, 25-19, 26-24, 25-17) victory Oct. 10, 2015 ... The Eagle's last win in the series came later that same year with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-12, 20-25, 26-24) victory in Worthen Arena on Nov. 13, 2015 ... A complete series history can be found on page four of this release.

• CARDINALS VS. EAGLES ROUND 1: Ball State set the tone early in the first meeting with EMU, scoring three blocks in the first seven points on its way to the sweep on Sept. 28 ... The Eagles entered the match as the top blocking team in the MAC, but the Cardinals out-blocked EMU 8 to 3 for the night to take over the league lead ... Redshirt senior Meg Starling topped BSU with five total blocks, including combining with redshirt senior outside Jessica Lindsey for a match-ending block ... Ellie Dunn led the Ball State offense with a match-high 13 kills, while junior middle Sydnee VanBeek was next with nine ... Amber Seaman guided BSU to a .278 (44-12-115) attack percentage by dishing out 35 assists and connecting for a .600 (6-0-10) rate of success herself, while junior libero Kate Avila led the Cardinals backcourt with 11 digs to help limit the Eastern Michigan offense to a .155 (40-22-116) attacking mark ... Ariel Hamby paced the Eagles with 11 kills, while Franki Strefling was credited with a match-high 13 digs.

• For the second time this season, Ball State swept the MAC West Division weekly awards this week with Kate Avila being named defensive player of the week, Ellie Dunn earning offensive player of the week and Amber Seaman claiming setter of the week ... The Cardinals are the only MAC program to sweep divisional weekly awards twice this season, as EMU and Buffalo have both done it once.

• Amber Seaman turned in a milestone night versus last Saturday versus Western Michigan (Oct. 27), becoming just the sixth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists ... She also became just the 19th player in program history to serve up 100 career aces ... In addition, she tallied her 700th career dig and 100th career block in guiding the Cardinals to the 3-0 victory.

• A five-time MAC West Division Setter of the Week award winner this season, Amber Seaman enters Friday's match leading the MAC and ranked 53rd nationally with a 10.56 assists-per-set average ... Her 940 total assists are also first in the league and rank 40th among all NCAA Division I players ... In league play, Seaman is doing even better, handing out 11.61 assist per set.

• At the 18-9 mark in the opening set of last Saturday's win over Western Michigan (Oct. 27), Amber Seaman set up Jessica Lindsey for a kill to become just the sixth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists ... Her 3,023 career assists rank sixth on BSU's career list and are 513 shy of passing Angie Parrell's (2004-07) career total of 3,535 for fifth ... The 11th player in program history to record over 1,000 assists in a single season with 1,111 last year, Seaman's 10.18 career assists-per-set average ranks fifth on BSU's all-time list and she is on pace to become only the fifth Cardinal to hand out over 4,000 career assists.

• Amber Seaman is also getting things done from behind the service line this season, leading Ball State with 38 aces to raise her career total to 101 ... Her career total currently ties for 15th in program history ... Seaman joins Emily Sallee (1997-2000) and Brittany McGinnis (2008-11) as the only three players in program history to reach 3,000 career assists and 100 career aces.

• A two-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week, Kate Avila became just the sixth player in program history to reach 1,500 career digs with her fourth dig at Bowling Green (Oct. 20) ... Avila, who has played all but the first four sets of her collegiate career as the team's libero, enters the week with 1,554 career digs to rank sixth in program history and 44th among all active NCAA Division I players ... She is 16 digs shy of passing Amanda McCormick's (2005-06) career total of 1,579 for fifth on Ball State's career charts ... Her 4.65 career digs-per-set average is fourth on BSU's all-time list, while her 83 matches (including 54 straight) with double-figure digs are fifth.

• Kate Avila was the third-fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs, doing so in 57 matches ... Amanda McCormick (2005-06), who transferred to Ball State after playing two years at Nebraska, is the fastest player to reach 1,000 career digs as a Cardinal, doing so in 43 matches ... The only other BSU player to record 1,000 career digs faster than Avila is Alyssa Rio (2007-10), who accomplished the task in 55 matches and is second in program history with 2,089 career digs ... Stephanie Keller (2001-04), the program's all-time digs leader at 2,273 and Avila's high school coach at Yorktown, reached 1,000 career digs in 70 matches.

• At the 23-12 mark of the opening set in last Friday's win over Northern Illinois (Oct. 26), Ellie Dunn blasted the ball off the Huskies block and onto the Worthen Arena hardwood floor for her 1,000th career kill ... With the tally, Dunn become just the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills and the program's first to reach the mark since Julie Breivogel (2006-09) in 2009.

• A three-time MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week, Ellie Dunn raised her career kill total to 1,016 with 23 kills last weekend ... The total ranks 11th on BSU's career charts and is 106th among active NCAA Division I players ... Dunn needs 120 more kills to pass Mindy Stanley's (1993-96) career total of 1,135 for 10th on BSU's all-time list ... Dunn also ranks ninth on Ball State's career charts with double-figure kills in 57 career matches, while her 2.87 career kills-per-set average is 15th in program history and her 2,952 career attack attempts are ninth.

• Ellie Dunn enters Friday's match ranked fourth in the MAC and 74th nationally with a 3.81 kills-per-set average this season ... She has registered double-digit kills in 21 of the Cardinals' 25 matches this season, with her 21 kills versus Indiana (Sept. 8) tying as the 21st-highest individual total in the MAC this season ... She also registered 20 kills in the five-set victory over UMBC (Sept. 14) and at Miami (Oct. 19).

• Meg Starling enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and 46th nationally with a 1.25 blocks-per-set average ... She is looking to become the first Ball State player to finish the year with a 1.24-or-better blocks-per-set average, which would rank in the top 20 ion Ball State's single season charts, since Christine Kennedy (2006-07) averaged 1.31 blocks per set in 2006 ... Starling's 106 total blocks this season are equal her career total of 106 from her first three seasons combined.

• Meg Starling recorded her 200th career block at Miami (Oct. 19) ... She enters the week with 212 career blocks, including 49 solo blocks and 163 block assists ... Her career blocking total is 37 shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history, while she needs three more solo blocks to reach the top 20 on BSU's career charts.

• Meg Starling is not the only Ball State player to reach 200 career blocks this season, as junior middle Sydnee VanBeek recorded hers last Friday versus NIU (Oct. 26) and senior middle Emily Holland tallied hers last Saturday against WMU (Oct. 27) ... The last time Ball State had three players with 200 career blocks as a member of the program on the same team was in 2005 when Rachel Refenes (2004-05), Kristin Westhof (2002-05) and Sarah Obras (2002-05) were all seniors.

• Sydnee VanBeek and Meg Starling both enter Friday's match ranked in the top 10 in the MAC in attack percentage ... Starling leads the Cardinals and is fourth in the MAC at .322, while VanBeek is second on the team and seventh in the league at .319 ... The last time Ball State had a pair of players hit above .300 in the same season was 2013 when Mindy Marx (2010-13) led the league at .359 and Hayley Benson (2012-14) was third at .353.

• Ball State continues to lead the MAC with a .244 attack percentage this season ... The Cardinals have hit .250-or-better in 12 matches, owning a 11-1 record in those contests ... More impressively, Ball State has hit above .300 seven times this season, which is the most since the 2013 squad accomplished the feat eight times.

• Ball State also boasts the best block in the league at 2.58 blocks per set ... The average currently ranks 31st nationally ... Meg Starling leads the team, ranks second in the MAC and is 46th nationally with her 1.25 blocks-per-set average ... In addition, Starling's 106 total blocks are the most in the MAC and rank 46th among all NCAA Division I players.

• Ball State's 11 aces in the win over Ohio (Oct. 12) were the most the Cardinals have served up in 230 matches, dating back to Sept. 9, 2011 when the BSU aced Western Carolina 12 times.

• Led by nine aces from Amber Seaman, the Cardinals blasted 19 service aces in wins over Ohio (Oct. 12) and Kent State (Oct. 13) ... It's the most aces Ball State has registered in back-to-back matches since the 2007 season when the Cardinals tallied 22 starting with six in a five-set win at Toledo (Sept. 27) and followed with 16 in a home win over Buffalo (Sept. 29).

• Ball State's offense connected for a .469 (44-6-81) attack percentage in the win over Grambling State (Aug. 31) which stands as the third-best single match performance in program history ... The only two matches that were better, a .512 mark versus Southeast Missouri (Sept. 9, 2000) and a .506 effort at Indiana State (Oct. 11, 1988).

• In addition to a solid attacking performance versus Grambling State (Sept. 1), the Ball State defense limited the Tigers attack to a season-low -.061 (18-23-82) rate of success ... It's Ball State's best all-around effort on defense since holding Tennessee State to a -.084 (14-21-83) rate of success on Sept. 3, 2010.