Volleyball Opens MAC Championship Play Friday

Kelli Miller Phillips talking to the team

November 21, 2019 | Women's Volleyball

Match Notes: MAC Volleyball Championship

Match 29 - MAC Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals
No. 4 Ball State (17-11; 11-5 MAC) vs. No. 5 Ohio (17-12; 9-7 MAC)
Friday, Nov. 22 - 4:30 p.m. (Bowling Green, Ohio / Stroh Center)
ESPN+  |  Live Stats  | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)  | Championship Central

Match 30 - MAC Volleyball Championship Semifinals
No. 4 Ball State (17-11; 11-5 MAC) vs. No. 1 Miami (17-10; 12-4 MAC)
Saturday, Nov. 23 - 4:30 p.m. (Bowling Green, Ohio / Stroh Center)
ESPN+  |  Live Stats  | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)  | Championship Central

Match 31 - MAC Volleyball Championship Match
No. 4 Ball State (17-11; 11-5 MAC) vs. TBA
Sunday, Nov. 24 - 4:30 p.m. (Bowling Green, Ohio / Stroh Center)
ESPN+  |  Live Stats  | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)  | Championship Central

• THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball program opens play in the 2019 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship as the No. 4 seed in Friday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal match versus fifth-seeded Ohio at Bowling Green's Stroh Center.

• WIN & ADVANCE: The winner of Friday's quarterfinal match advances to Saturday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal contest against top-seeded Miami ... The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

• ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT: The 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship features the league's top eight teams battling it out at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, for an automatic berth into the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship ... As the top two seeds in the event, No. 1 Miami (12-4 MAC) and No. 2 Central Michigan (11-5 MAC) each received a double bye straight to Saturday's semifinals ... No. 3 Bowling Green (11-5 MAC) and No. 4 Ball State (11-5 MAC) each earned a single bye to Friday's quarterfinals ... No. 5 Ohio (9-7 MAC) and No. 8 Kent State (7-9 MAC), as well as No. 6 Akron (9-7 MAC) and No. 7 Buffalo (8-8 MAC), will battle it out in first round action Thursday.

• FOLLOW THE ACTION: Ball State fans unable to make it to Bowling Green, Ohio, for the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship can still watch all of the action, as all seven tournament matches will be carried live on ESPN+ ... Live stats will also be available courtesy of Bowling Green ... Links to follow the action can be found above.

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

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS
• BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State boasts a 929-607-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 48th season of play ... The Cardinals have won 10 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 IN THE TOURNAMENT: Ball State will be making its 29th consecutive appearance in the MAC Tournament this season, and its 31th overall trip to the league's premier event ... Ball State is 31-24 (.564) all-time in tournament play, including a 5-2 (.714) record in first round matches, an 11-9 (.550) mark in quarterfinal matches, a 9-10 (.474) ledger in semifinal matches and a 6-3 (.667) record in championship matches ... Ball State's six MAC Tournament titles are third among league schools, trailing only Ohio (9) and Miami (7).

• ALL-TIME VERSUS 2019 MAC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD: Ball State holds a 270-130-1 record versus the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship field, including a 3-5 record in matches this season ... In MAC Championship play, the Cardinals are 19-13 versus this season's field, including a 5-1 mark in championship matches ... A complete series history for all possible tournament opponents can be found on pages 5-6 of this release.

ALL-TIME VERSUS THE 2019 MAC VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Team                                                     Overall               Tournament           Championship          Streak
No. 1 Miami                                          43-38                         5-4                              2-0                       L5
No. 2 Central Michigan                      48-34                         0-1                              0-0                       W1
No. 3 Bowling Green                         42-18-1                       6-1                              2-0                       L1
No. 5 Ohio                                             37-19                         1-5                              0-1                       W3
No. 6 Akron                                           35-5                          4-0                              1-0                       L1
No. 7 Buffalo                                          24-1                          2-0                              0-0                     W10
No. 8 Kent State                                   41-15                         1-2                              0-0                       L1
Totals                                                  270-130-1                   19-13                            5-1

• VERSUS OHIO IN 2019: Led by senior setter Amber Seaman, the Cardinals used a very balanced offensive effort to take down Ohio by a score of 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 26-24) on Oct. 18 in Athens ... Seaman, who handed out 40 assists and collected 12 digs for her third double-double of the season, also served up four aces and had 22 of the team's 77 service attempts in the victory ... Leading the Ball State attack was the freshman outside duo of Natalie Mitchem and Natalie Risi ... Mitchem tied for match-high honors with 12 kills, while Risi was right behind with 11 ... Freshman middle Marie Plitt was the Cardinals top attack based on percentage, hitting .400 (9-1-20), while freshman opposite Allison Hamaker added eight kills in the win ... In the backcourt, freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber led the Cardinals with 13 digs, while senior libero Kate Avila collected 12 ... Overall, the Cardinals out-hit the Bobcats .197 (47-20-137)-to-.165 (42-20-133) and held a 62-to-53 advantage in team digs ... Ball State also held a six-to-two edge in aces.

• VERSUS MIAMI IN 2019: Ball State suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 26-24) setback to Miami in the lone meeting this regular season played Oct. 25 in Worthen Arena ... Sophomore opposite Reece Kral played a large role in the Cardinals third-set rally attempt, smashing six of her team-high 10 kills in the final frame ... She also finished the night hitting a career-best .562 (10-1-16), including a .714 (6-1-7) effort in the third ... Unfortunately, the Miami defense limited the Ball State offense as a whole to a .137 (38-20-131) rate of success, while connecting at a .282 (47-14-117) clip itself ... Aside from Kral's offensive performance, Marie Plitt and Natalie Mitchem added eight kills apiece ... Maggie Huber led the Cardinals with 12 digs, while Kate Avila was credited with 11.

• ALL-TIME ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTIONS: Since the 1991 season, the Ball State women's volleyball program has had 18 players earn a total of 26 MAC All-Tournament Team honors ... The last Cardinal to earn all-tournament honors was then-redshirt senior Meg Starling (2015-18) who was named to the team last season after averaging 2.70 kills and 1.40 blocks per set over BSU's two matches in the event ... Ball State's 26 all-time all-tournament selections rank third in MAC history, while the Cardinals' six tournament MVP honorees are second.

• The last time Ball State played a MAC Volleyball Championship match in Bowling Green was in 2004 at BGSU's former home, Anderson Arena ... As the second seed, the Cardinals opened the tournament with a hard-fought 3-2 (30-25, 29-31, 34-36, 30-28, 15-13) victory over seventh-seeded Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals played Nov. 19 ... Ball State looked poised to head to the championship match, leading third-seeded Marshall 2-0 and 28-27 in the third set of the semifinals on Nov. 20 ... Unfortunately, the Herd thundered back to hand the Cardinals a heartbreaking 3-2 (20-30, 22-30, 30-28, 30-26, 15-10) setback.

• Ball State closed the 2019 regular season with a league-best 392-199 (.663) all-time record in MAC play ... Western Michigan, who did not make this season's MAC Volleyball Championship, is three matches back in second at 289-202 (.658) ... Of the Cardinals' possible quarterfinal opponents, Ohio is fifth based on winning percentage at 333-258 (.563), while Kent State is 10th at 217-374 (.367) ... Miami, who Ball State would play in the semifinals, is third at 375-216 (.635).

• Ball State was heavily rewarded for its run to a third consecutive MAC West Division Championship with four student-athlete being recognized in the league's postseason awards ... Highlighting the list was Natalie Risi who became just the third player in program history to be named MAC Freshman of the Year ... Risi also earned First Team All-MAC honors and was a member of the MAC All-Freshman Team ... Amber Seaman picked up honors for the third straight season, being named to the All-MAC Honorable Mention squad ... Seaman was also an honorable mention in 2017 and earned first team honors, along with MAC Setter of the Year accolades, in 2018 ... In addition, Allison Hamaker and Marie Plitt joined Risi on the MAC All-Freshman squad.

• With two more All-MAC (first team or honorable mention) award winners, Ball State continues to rank second in MAC history in both total All-MAC selections (101) and total First Team All-MAC honorees (50).

• Aside from Natalie Risi, the only other players in program history to be named MAC Freshman of the Year are Emily Sallee (1997-2000) in 1997 and Sarah Obras (2002-05) in 2002 ... Both went on to shatter both Ball State and MAC records, with Sallee still ranking first in league history with 6,408 career assists and Obras ranking second in MAC annals with 1,975 career kills.

• After running the league's longest active winning streak to six matches and claiming a third consecutive MAC West Division Championship, Ball State women's volleyball program swept the final MAC West Division weekly awards for the 2019 season ... Junior outside Kia Holder was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career ... Kate Avila earned her sixth career MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honor ... Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman Esther Grussing combined to earn their second straight MAC West Division Setter of the Week honor, with both also earning the award once individually this season.

• Ball State's student-athletes earned a total of 12 MAC weekly awards this season ... Esther Grussing and Amber Seaman led the way earning three MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors apiece ... Natalie Risi and Allison Hamaker both earned a pair of MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week honors ... Kia Holder earned offensive player honors in the final week of the season, while Kate Avila did the same with MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week.

• 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 as Natalie Mitchem blasted a career-high 21 kills versus USF (Aug. 30) to become the fourth Cardinal in the rally scoring era (2001-present) to register 20-or-more kills in a match as a freshman, with Risi becoming the fifth ... Prior to the Mitchem, the last freshman 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, 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 six matches, Holder ranks second on the team with 80 kills and a 3.33 kills-per-set average ... She has smashed double-digit kills in five of the six 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 110 sets for the Cardinals this season, Natalie Risi leads the Ball State offense with 325 kills and is third on the team with 309 digs ... She has smashed double-figure kills in a team-high 16 matches, including 12 of the last 17 ... She has also been credited with double-digit digs in 14 matches, including a career-high 22 at Northern Kentucky (Sept. 13), and has recorded a team-high eight kill/dig double-doubles ... Risi's 325 kills are also the most for a Ball State freshman since the 2010 season when Whitney Heeres (2010-11) scored 340.

• The other player to see action in all 110 sets for the Cardinals this season is Kate Avila who has played all 474 sets over her collegiate career, including 468 as Ball State's libero ... After last Saturday's final set versus Central Michigan, no other player has played in more sets for the Cardinals than Avila ... The previous program record was 473 by Tiffany Stevens (1992-95).

• Kate Avila enters the MAC Volleyball Championships ranked second in program history with 2,170 career digs ... She still has a chance to become the program's all-time career digs leader by the end of the season, needing just 104 more digs to pass the current record of 2,273 ... Averaging 4.54 digs per set this season, Avila would need to play in 23 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 collected 10-or-more digs in a program-record 113 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 46 career matches, which is second in program history, trailing only Alyssa Rio's (2007-2010) total of 49.

• Amber Seaman has established herself as one of the top setters in program history, becoming just the fifth Ball State player to record over 4,000 career assists in the win at Northern Illinois (Nov. 9) ... She currently ranks fifth on BSU's career charts with 4,060 assists and seventh with a 9.98 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 ... Natalie Risi led the way with a career-high 17 kills, while Allison Hamaker was right behind with 16 ... Natalie Mitchem collected 14 kills, while 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 71.2 percent of the team's kills (1069 of 1502), 58.2 percent of the team's aces (82 of 141), 57.3 percent of the team's digs (1090 of 1901), 53.4 percent of the team's total blocks (163 of 305) and 39.7 percent of the team's assists (551 of 1388) 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 in its final road weekend of the regular season, 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 finish the regular season ranked first in MAC-only matches with 18.97 digs-per-set.