Ball State University Athletics
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Three Cardinals Earn MAC West Division Weekly Honors
November 11, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
CLEVELAND, Ohio - - After earning road wins at Western Michigan and Northern Illinois last weekend, the Ball State women's volleyball program had three student-athletes recognized by the Mid-American Conference on Monday (Nov. 11).
Freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, while senior Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman Esther Grussing both earned MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors for the second time this year.
Risi continued her solid play, averaging 5.00 kills per set and leading the Ball State offense in kills at both WMU and NIU. In last Friday's 3-1 victory over the Broncos, Risi smashed 18 kills and added 10 digs of her eighth double-double of the season. She followed with 17 kills and a .310 (17-4-42) attack percentage in last Saturday's sweep of the Huskies, with the 17 kills tying as the third-most in a three-set match in the MAC this season.
"Risi had another big time weekend," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "She was hitting smart shots and really moving the ball around to keep the defense off balance. She trains and practices with focus and confidence 100% of the time, and that allows her to play free and confident come match day."
Seaman and Grussing combined to guided the Ball State offense to a .237 rate of success last weekend. The pair split time in BSU's two wins with Seaman handing out 55 assists over five sets for an 11.00 assists-per-set average, while Grussing dished out 34 assists over three sets for an 11.33 average.
"Our setters really sparked us again this weekend," Phillips said. "They are both very versatile and confident. They also bring different strengths out of our team. They both ran our offense well this weekend and continue to give us depth and versatility which keeps our opponents on their toes."
Grussing started Friday's match at Western Michigan, handing out 10 assists in the opening set. In an effort to throw off the WMU defense, the Cardinals turned to Seaman to open the second frame and she went on to hand out 41 assists and guide the offense to a .241 (49-16-137) attack percentage over the final three sets.
Saturday at Northern Illinois, Seaman set the first set-and-a-half, dishing out 14 assists and becoming just the fifth player in program history to record over 4,000 career assists. The Cardinals turned to Grussing over the final set-and-a-half, and she handed out 24 assists down the stretch.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the regular season this weekend with home matches versus Eastern Michigan (Friday) and Central Michigan (Saturday). Both contests start at 7 p.m., with Saturday's match also serving as the Cardinals' senior night.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, while senior Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman Esther Grussing both earned MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors for the second time this year.
Risi continued her solid play, averaging 5.00 kills per set and leading the Ball State offense in kills at both WMU and NIU. In last Friday's 3-1 victory over the Broncos, Risi smashed 18 kills and added 10 digs of her eighth double-double of the season. She followed with 17 kills and a .310 (17-4-42) attack percentage in last Saturday's sweep of the Huskies, with the 17 kills tying as the third-most in a three-set match in the MAC this season.
"Risi had another big time weekend," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "She was hitting smart shots and really moving the ball around to keep the defense off balance. She trains and practices with focus and confidence 100% of the time, and that allows her to play free and confident come match day."
Seaman and Grussing combined to guided the Ball State offense to a .237 rate of success last weekend. The pair split time in BSU's two wins with Seaman handing out 55 assists over five sets for an 11.00 assists-per-set average, while Grussing dished out 34 assists over three sets for an 11.33 average.
"Our setters really sparked us again this weekend," Phillips said. "They are both very versatile and confident. They also bring different strengths out of our team. They both ran our offense well this weekend and continue to give us depth and versatility which keeps our opponents on their toes."
Grussing started Friday's match at Western Michigan, handing out 10 assists in the opening set. In an effort to throw off the WMU defense, the Cardinals turned to Seaman to open the second frame and she went on to hand out 41 assists and guide the offense to a .241 (49-16-137) attack percentage over the final three sets.
Saturday at Northern Illinois, Seaman set the first set-and-a-half, dishing out 14 assists and becoming just the fifth player in program history to record over 4,000 career assists. The Cardinals turned to Grussing over the final set-and-a-half, and she handed out 24 assists down the stretch.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the regular season this weekend with home matches versus Eastern Michigan (Friday) and Central Michigan (Saturday). Both contests start at 7 p.m., with Saturday's match also serving as the Cardinals' senior night.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
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