Volleyball Enters Senior Weekend Hunting MAC West Title

Match 27 - Ball State (15-11; 9-5 MAC) hosts Eastern Michigan (10-16; 5-9 MAC)
Friday, Nov. 15 - 7 p.m. (Muncie, Ind. / Worthen Arena)
ESPN+ | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

Match 28 - Ball State (15-11; 9-5 MAC) hosts Central Michigan (20-6; 10-4 MAC)
Saturday, Nov. 16 - 7 p.m. (Muncie, Ind. / Worthen Arena)
Live Video | Live Stats | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

• THE WEEK AHEAD: With a third straight Mid-American Conference West Division championship in its sights, the Ball State women's volleyball team closes the 2019 regular season with a pair of home matches this weekend ... The Cardinals host Eastern Michigan Friday in a 7 p.m. match broadcast live on ESPN+ and then welcome current MAC West Division leader Central Michigan to "The Nest" Saturday for a 7 p.m. Senior Night Celebration.

• QUICK LOOK AT THE STANDINGS: If the season were to end today, the Cardinals would be the fifth seed in the upcoming eight-time MAC Championships with a 9-5 league record ... Miami (11-3 MAC) is currently the No. 1 overall seed, while Saturday's opponent CMU (10-4 MAC) is the second, with both in line to receive double byes ... While Ball State is tied with Bowling Green (9-5 MAC) and Akron (9-5 MAC) record wise, the Falcons and the Zips are slotted third and fourth, respectively, due to tiebreakers and are in line to earn single byes ... Rounding out the current eight teams in are Ohio (7-7 MAC), Buffalo (7-7 MAC) and Kent State (6-8 MAC) ... Eastern Michigan (5-9 MAC) and Northern Illinois (5-9 MAC) are the first two teams out, followed by Western Michigan (4-10 MAC) and Toledo (2-12 MAC) ... The 2019 MAC Championships will be held Nov. 21-24 at Bowling Green's Stroh Center.

• THIS WEEK'S PROMOTIONS: On Friday, Ball State will host Riley Dance Marathon Night with $1 for every Ball State student in attendance being donated to the cause ... Saturday, fans can get in free to the Senior Night Celebration by showing their ticket or ticket stub to the Cardinals football game versus CMU earlier in the day.

• WAYS TO FOLLOW: Friday's match versus Eastern Michigan will be streamed live on ESPN+ courtesy of Ball State Sports Link ... Ball State All-Access will provide live video for Saturday's match versus the Chippewas ... 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 EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Eagles enter Friday's match with a 10-16 (5-9 MAC) record and are in a must-win situation to stay in contention for a MAC Championship berth ... Last week, EMU swept division leader CMU on Thursday, before falling in five at Kent State Saturday ... The Eagles rank 10th in the league in attack percentage (.211) and are eighth in opponent hitting percentage (.217) ... EMU is also third in kills per set (13.41) and blocks per set (2.10) ... Individually, Cassie Haut and Franki Strefling rank fifth (3.36) and sixth (3.27), respectively, in kills per set, while Raeven Chase is second in attack percentage (.365) and sixth in blocks (1.00).

• SERIES VS. EMU: With a 3-2 (20-25, 25-14, 24-26, 25-16, 15-8) victory over the Eagles in the first meeting this season, played Oct. 12 in Ypsilanti, Ball State extended its lead in the all-time series to 56-27 ... The Cardinals have won six of the last seven meetings and own a 31-10 lead in matches played in Muncie, including a 25-5 edge in Worthen Arena ... Eastern Michigan's last win in Worthen Arena was a 3-1 (25-21, 25-12, 20-25, 26-24) victory Nov. 13, 2005.

• SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: The Chippewas enter the weekend with a 20-6 (10-4 MAC) record ... The current MAC West Division leader, CMU was swept at home by Eastern Michigan and on the road at Ohio last week ... The Chippewas rank sixth in the MAC in attack percentage (.215), while leading the league in opponent attack percentage (.158) ... CMU is allowing a MAC-low 11.85 kills per set and ranks third in digs per set at 17.05 ... Individually, Kalina Smith is third in the league with a 3.45 kills-per-set average, while Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez is third in hitting percentage (.364) and fifth in aces per set (0.32) ... Megan Kern is also fourth in the MAC with 4.95 digs per set.

• SERIES VS. CMU: While Central Michigan has won the last two meetings, including a 3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 26-24, 25-19) victory in Mount Pleasant on Oct. 11 in the first match up this season, the Cardinals maintain a 47-34 lead in the all-time series ... Ball State also holds a 24-13 edge in matches played in Muncie, including a 20-5 mark in Worthen Arena ... CMU's is 1-5 in its last six trips to Muncie, with the lone victory coming by a score of 3-2 (15-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 15-10) on Oct. 27, 2017.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS
• Ball State enters the week with an opportunity to win its third consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division title ... If the Cardinals win both matches this weekend, they will be guaranteed at least a share of the title ... If Ball State wins both matches and CMU also loses Friday at Toledo, the Cardinals will win the title outright ... BSU can also earn a share of the title with a loss Friday and a win Saturday, as long as the Chippewas go 0-2 on the weekend.

• Ball State boasts a 927-607-2 (.604) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 48th 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 earned one bid into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

• Ball State enters the weekend with a league-best 390-199 (.662) all-time record in MAC play ... Friday's opponent Eastern Michigan is eighth all-time at 260-329 (.441), while Saturday's opponent Central Michigan is seventh at 292-297 (.496).

• With a 7-4 home record this season, including five-set wins over Toledo (Oct. 31) and Buffalo (Nov. 2) in the last home weekend, Ball State maintains a 275-87 (.760) all-time record in Worthen Arena, including a 199-51 (.796) mark versus MAC foes ... No league foe has a winning record at Worthen Arena with EMU entering Friday's match at 5-25 (.167) and CMU entering Saturday's contest at 5-20 (.200).

• For the second straight week, and the second time in her career, redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing has been named the MAC West Division Setter of the Week ... However, this time she shares the award with senior setter Amber Seaman who earns the honor for the seventh time in her career ... The pair combined to guide the Ball State offense to a .237 rate of success last weekend, with Seaman handing out 55 assists over five sets for an 11.00 assists-per-set average and Grussing dishing out 34 assists over three sets for an 11.33 average.

• Freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi also earned her second career MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honor last week after 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.

• So far this season, Ball State's student-athletes have earned eight MAC weekly awards ... Esther Grussing and Amber Seaman have both earned a pair of MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors, while Natalie Risi and freshman opposite Allison Hamaker have both earned a pair of MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors.

• Natalie Risi smashed a career-high 27 kills in Ball State's five-set win over Toledo (Oct. 31)... The 27 kills tie as the 19th-best single-match effort in program history, are the second-most in a match in the MAC this season and are the most for a Ball State player since Rachel Refenes (2004-05) scored 27 versus Western Michigan on Oct. 1, 2004.

• Over the last two matches in October, Natalie Risi collected 52 total kills with 25 coming versus Bowling Green (Oct. 26) and 27 against Toledo (Oct. 31) ... Risi's total is the most for a Ball State attacker in consecutive matches since Sarah Obras (2002-05) smashed 56 in 2004, with 30 at Toledo on Sept. 25, 2004 and 26 versus Western Michigan on Oct. 1, 2004.

• Freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi joined elite company with her back-to-back 20-or-more kill performances, becoming just the second Ball State freshman in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to smash 20-or-more kills in multiple matches in her debut season ... The only other was Ball State's all-time career kills leader Sarah Obras (2002-05) who smashed 20-or-more kills in nine matches her freshman season (2002) on her way to 1,975 career kills.

• Natalie Risi is not the only Ball State freshman to register at least 20 kills in a match this season however, as outside attacker Natalie Mitchem blasted a career-high 21 kills versus USF (Aug. 30) to become the fourth Ball State player in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to register 20-or-more kills in a match as a freshman ... Prior to the Mitchem, the last player to accomplish the feat was Julie Breivogel (2006-09) with 24 kills versus Toledo on Sept. 28, 2006 ... Before that, it was Kelly Cochran (2003-06) on Nov. 7, 2003 with 20 kills at Toledo.

• Speaking of players scoring 20-or-more kills in a match, junior outside attacker Kia Holder became the third Ball State player to pass the mark this season with her career-high 21 blasts in the win over Buffalo (Nov. 2) ... Over the last four matches, Holder ranks second on the team with 48 kills and a 3.00 kills-per-set average ... She has smashed double-digit kills in three of the four matches, and also hit a season-best .271 (21-5-59) against the Bulls ... Prior to the last four matches, Holder had just 31 kills in 11 previous match appearances on the year.

• One of only two players to see action in all 102 sets for the Cardinals this season, Natalie Risi leads the Ball State offense with 313 kills and is third on the team with 276 digs ... She has smashed double-figure kills in a team-high 16 matches, including 12 of the last 15 ... She has also been credited with double-digit digs in 12 matches, including a career-high 22 at Northern Kentucky (Sept. 13), and has recorded a team-high eight kill/dig double-doubles ... Risi's 313 kills are also the most for a Ball State freshman since the 2010 season when Whitney Heeres (2010-11) scored 340 and Kylee Baker (2010-13) collected 318.

• The other player to see action in all 102 sets for the Cardinals this season is senior Kate Avila who has played all 466 sets over her collegiate career, including 460 as Ball State's libero ... Only two players in program history have played in more sets than Avila; 473 by Tiffany Stevens (1992-95) and 470 by Stephanie Keller (2001-04) ... Avila could pass both this weekend if she sees action in eight total sets.

• Kate Avila enters Friday's match versus Eastern Michigan ranked second in program history with 2,116 career digs ... She passed Alyssa Rio's (2007-10) career total of 2,089 for second on Ball State's all-time list in last Friday's win at Western Michigan ... Avila entered the Bowling Green (Oct. 26) match three digs shy of becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 2,000 career mark ... She got those early in the first set and never looked back, registering a career-high 38 digs to lead a solid defensive effort against the Falcons.

• Kate Avila still has a chance to become the program's all-time career digs leader by the end of the season, needing just 158 more digs to pass the current record of 2,273 ... Averaging 4.36 digs per set this season, Avila would need to play in 37 more sets to pass the total ... Interestingly enough, she has the old record holder to thank for her defensive prowess as Stephanie Keller (2001-04) was Avila's high school coach at Yorktown.

• With double-figure digs in both matches last weekend, Kate Avila has now collected 10-or-more digs in a program-record 111 career matches ... The previous record was 101 set by Stephanie Keller (2001-04) and later tied by Catie Fredrich (2010-13) ... In addition, Avila has collected 20-or-more digs in 44 career matches, which is tied for third in program history ... The program record is 49 by Alyssa Rio (2007-2010).

• Amber Seaman, the reigning MAC Setter of the Year and a seven-time career MAC Setter of the Week honoree, did something she had never done before versus Bowling Green (Oct. 26) ... She dished out a career-high 62 assists versus the Falcons, marking the first time Seaman has passed out over 57 assists in a match ... The total ties as the fourth-most assists in a match in the MAC this season ... Over her career, Seaman has recorded 30-or-more assists on 81 occasions, 40-or-more 47 times, 50-or-more in 16 matches and 60-or-more once.

• Amber Seaman has established herself as one of the top setters in program history, becoming just the fifth player in program history to record over 4,000 career assists in last Saturday's win at Northern Illinois ... She currently ranks fifth on Ball State's career charts with 4,011 assists and sixth with a 10.03 assists-per-set average.

• Amber Seaman has also gotten things done from behind the service line over her career, ranking sixth in program history with 135 aces ... Seaman, who served up 51 aces last season, joins Emily Sallee (1997-2000) and Brittany McGinnis (2008-11) as the only three players to reach 3,000 career assists and 100 career aces in a Ball State uniform.

• Recognized by PrepVolleyball.com as one of the top 55 recruiting classes in the nation, earning "Highest Honorable Mention" accolades, Ball State's 2019 freshman class did something no other class in program history has accomplished in the Sept. 6 win over Grand Canyon ... Five members of the class smashed double digit kills in the victory, marking the first time five members of the same class have accomplished the feat in program history ... Outside Natalie Risi led the way with a career-high 17 kills, while opposite Allison Hamaker was right behind with a 16 ... Outside Natalie Mitchem collected 14 kills, while middles Marie Plitt and MyKel Ivy finished the night with 11 and 10, respectively.

• Including redshirt freshman Esther Grussing, Ball State's freshmen have accounted for 72.3 percent of the team's kills (1001 of 1384), 59.6 percent of the team's aces (77 of 129), 58.6 percent of the team's digs (1003 of 1713), 54.4 percent of the team's total blocks (148 of 272) and 39.2 percent of the team's assists (501 of 1279) this season.

• Freshman defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach became the third different Ball State player to log 20-or-more digs in a match this season with her career-high 24 versus Bowling Green (Oct. 26) ... Rickenbach also turned in an impressive serving performance versus Missouri State (Sept. 21), earning a career-high six aces ... It's the highest total for a Ball State player since Amber Seaman served up six aces versus Ohio on Oct. 12, 2018 ... In the 48-year history of the program, a Cardinal has served up six-or-more aces just 35 times.

• The Cardinals added two more players to the 20-or-more dig list last weekend, with freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber collecting a career-high 26 at Western Michigan (Nov. 8) and senior defensive specialist Anna Jensen following with a career-best 20 at Northern Illinois (Nov. 9) ... It's the first time in the rally scoring era (2001-present) five different Cardinals have collected at least 20 digs in a match in the same season ... The combined defensive effort has helped the Cardinals climb to first in MAC-only matches with 18.31 digs-per-set.

• With 11 total blocks last weekend, senior Sydnee VanBeek raised her career total to 321 which ranks 13th in program history ... In addition, both her 61 career solo blocks and 260 career block assists rank 13th on Ball State's career charts.

Volleyball Enters Senior Weekend Hunting MAC West Title

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Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Esther Grussing

Allison Hamaker

Kia Holder

Maggie Huber

MyKel Ivy

Anna Jensen

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Chloe Rickenbach

Natalie Risi

Amber Seaman

Sydnee VanBeek