Volleyball Set To Battle Valparaiso Thursday in NIVC First Round

Match 32 - NIVC First Round vs. Valparaiso
Thursday, Nov. 29 - 5:30 p.m. (Millett Hall / Oxford, Ohio)
Tournament Central | Live Stats | RedHawks All-Access ($9.95) | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

Match 33 - NIVC Second Round vs. Miami / Northern Kentucky
Friday, Nov. 30 - 7 p.m. (Millett Hall / Oxford, Ohio)
Tournament Central | Live Stats | RedHawks All-Access ($9.95) | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

• THIS WEEK: The Ball State women's volleyball program will be making its ninth postseason appearance Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when it opens competition in the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) versus Valparaiso at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio ... The winner advances to play either pod host Miami or Northern Kentucky in the second round of the 32-team tournament Friday at 7 p.m.

• ABOUT THE NIVC: Produced by Triple Crown Sports, this is the ninth season for the NIVC and just the second since 1995 ... The NIVC was held for seven seasons (1989-95) as a 20-team event and was reestablished in 2017 with a 32-team field ... Much like the WNIT & NIT events in college basketball, which are also produced by Triple Crown Sports, the NIVC taps into the impressive depth of D-I volleyball and is designed to give more high-performing, highly skilled programs a chance to play for a postseason title ... This will be Ball State's first-ever appearance in the event.

• IN THE POSTSEASON: Thursday's match versus Valparaiso will mark the ninth postseason appearance for the Cardinals and the first in the NIVC ... Ball State's other eight postseason appearances all came in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2011 ... The Cardinals are 2-8 all-time in postseason play, but 2-0 in postseason play in the month of November with wins at Illinois (Nov. 30, 1994) and at home versus Loyola (Nov. 29, 1995).

• FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State fans unable to make it to Oxford, Ohio for the first two rounds of the NIVC can still watch the action live on RedHawks All-Access ($9.95 per month) ... Live stats will also be available for this week's matches courtesy of Miami ... Links to follow the action 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.

• SCOUTING VALPARAISO: Valparaiso enters Thursday's match with a 25-10 overall record after advancing to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference where it suffered a 3-1 loss to eventual tournament champion UNI ... The Crusaders use a balanced offensive attack with four players averaging at least 2.00 kills per set led by Katherine Carlson at 2.80 ... Brittany Anderson has set the Valpo offense to a .208 attack percentage, handing out 10.59 assists per set ... On defense, the Crusaders average 18.12 digs per set and 2.14 blocks per set ... Rylee Cookerly paces the backcourt at 5.12 digs per set, while Peyton McCarthy leads the block at 1.15 blocks per set.

• ALL-TIME VERSUS VALPARAISO: Ball State holds a 13-1 lead in the all-time series versus the Crusaders, including back-to-back wins ... In the last meeting, the Cardinals picked up a 3-1 (25-23, 25-9, 21-25, 25-17) victory Sept. 16, 2016 in the Ball State Active Ankle Challenge at Worthen Arena ... Valpo's lone win in the series was a 3-0 (30-27, 30-20, 30-24) victory Sept. 4, 2004 also in Muncie ... The Cardinals hold a 1-0 edge in neutral site contests, with the lone matchup being the first-ever meeting, a 2-0 (15-8, 15-7) Ball State victory Dec. 12, 1972 at the IWISO State Tournament in Indianapolis.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS
• WITH A WIN: With a win in Thursday's first round match of the NIVC, the Cardinals would advance to play either pod host and Mid-American Conference rival Miami or Northern Kentucky out of the Horizon League ... Ball State is 43-37 all-time versus Miami, but has lost four straight matches to the RedHawks, including both meetings this season in five sets ... The Cardinals are 2-3 all-time versus Northern Kentucky, with the Norse picking up a 3-1 victory in the last meeting Sept. 9, 2016 at the Morehead State Invitational.

• ALL-TIME: Ball State boasts a 912-595-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 47th season of play ... The Cardinals have won nine MAC West Division Championships, eight MAC Regular Season Championships, six MAC Tournament Championships, made eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament and will be making its first appearance in the NIVC Thursday.

• ALL-TIME IN THE MAC: With a 12-4 league record, Ball State finished the 2018 regular season with a 381-194 (.663) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 384-191 (.668).

• LAST TIME OUT: Ball State's 2018 MAC Tournament run came to an early end with a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Miami (Nov. 17) in the semifinals ... The Cardinals won the first two sets and led 21-20 late in the third, only to see the RedHawks battle back and take the victory ... Ball State opened the tournament with a five-set win over Ohio (Nov. 16) in the quarterfinals.

• Redshirt senior middle Meg Starling was named to the MAC All-Tournament team after turning in a pair of strong performances during the Cardinals' run ... She tied her career-high with 15 kills versus Miami (Nov. 17) and finished the two matches with 27 total kills and a .434 (27-4-53) attack percentage ... Her 27 kills are the most she has recorded in back-to-back matches in her career.

• Meg Starling also turned in a tremendous effort at the net during the MAC Tournament, recording a season-high eight blocks versus Ohio (Nov. 16) and six against Miami (Nov. 17) to give her a 1.40 blocks-per-set average for the tournament ... Starling enters the NIVC ranked first in the MAC and 40th nationally with a 1.26 blocks-per-set average for the year.

• Ball State was heavily rewarded for its run to the 2018 MAC West Division Championship, with four players earning postseason honors as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and announced by the MAC office Nov. 14 ... Highlighting the list was junior setter Amber Seaman who became the first player in program history to earn MAC Setter of the Year honors in the award's 12-year existence ... Seaman was also named to the All-MAC First Team along with senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn and junior middle Sydnee VanBeek... In addition, Meg Starling was named to the All-MAC Second Team.

• With the four All-MAC award winners, Ball State continues to rank second in MAC history in both total All-MAC selections (99) and total First Team All-MAC honorees (49).

• A five-time MAC West Division Setter of the Week award winner this season, Amber Seaman enters the NIVC leading the league and ranked 67th nationally with a 10.32 assists-per-set average ... Her 1,187 total assists are also first in the league, rank 47th among all NCAA Division I players and are the 13th-best single season total in program history.

• At the 18-9 mark in the opening set of the Oct. 27 win over Western Michigan, Amber Seaman set up Jessica Lindsey for a kill to become just the sixth player in program history to reach 3,000 career assists ... Currently, her 3,270 career assists rank sixth on BSU's career list and are 265 shy of passing Angie Parrell's (2004-07)career total of 3,535 for fifth ... Seaman's 10.12 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 51 aces to raise her career total to 114 ... Her career total currently ranks 11th 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 three-time MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week this season, Ellie Dunn raised her career kill total to 1,097 with 31 kills at the MAC Tournament ... The total ranks 11th on BSU's career charts and is 105th among active NCAA Division I players ... Dunn needs 39 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 62 career matches, while her 2.89 career kills-per-set average is tied for 12th and her 3,206 career attack attempts are eighth.

• At the 23-12 mark of the opening set in the Oct. 26 win over Northern Illinois, 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.

• Sydnee VanBeek and Meg Starling both enter the NIVC ranked in the top 10 in the MAC in attack percentage ... Starling leads the Cardinals and is fifth in the MAC at .324, while VanBeek is second on the team and seventh in the league at .318 ... 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.

• Sydnee VanBeek stepped up her defense in MAC play, leading the league with 1.28 blocks per set in conference action ... Her 1.03 blocks-per-set average for the season ranks fifth in the league and is 182nd nationally ... Over her career, VanBeek has tallied 232 blocks and is on pace to finish her career as one of the top 15 blockers in program history.

• Meg Starling recorded her 200th career block at Miami (Oct. 19) ... She enters the NIVC with 241 career blocks, including 56 solo blocks and 185 block assists ... Her career blocking total is eight shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history, while her 56 solo blocks are tied for 15th on BSU's career charts.

• Meg Starling is not the only Ball State player to reach 200 career blocks this season, as Sydnee VanBeek recorded hers versus NIU (Oct. 26) and senior middle Emily Holland tallied hers 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.

• A two-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week this season, Kate Avila has played all 360 sets over her career, including the last 356 as BSU's libero ... She enters the NIVC with 1,655 career digs to rank fifth in program history and 43rd among active NCAA Division I players ... In addition, Avila's 4.60 career digs-per-set average is fourth on BSU's all-time list, while her 89 matches (including 60 straight) with double-figure digs are fifth.

• Ball State leads the MAC with a .238 attack percentage this season ... The Cardinals have hit .250-or-better in 12 matches, producing an 11-1 record in those contests ... 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 34th nationally and is the program's best mark since the 2005 team was credited with 2.62 blocks per set.

Volleyball Set To Battle Valparaiso Thursday in NIVC First Round

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Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Ellie Dunn

Emily Holland

Jessica Lindsey

Amber Seaman

Meg Starling

Sydnee VanBeek