Volleyball Set To Host Ball State Tournament Friday

2019 Ball State Tournament Schedule
Match 1 - Ball State vs. UAB
Friday, Aug. 30 - 10 a.m. (Worthen Arena)
Live Stats | Live Audio (Muncie Sports Station 102.9 FM / WXFN 1340 AM) | Live Video | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

Match 2 - USF vs. UAB
Friday, Aug. 30 - 2:30 p.m. (Worthen Arena)
Live Stats

Match 3 - Ball State vs. USF
Friday, Aug. 30 - 7 p.m. (Worthen Arena)
*PROMOTIONS: Autograph Poster Night
Live Stats | ESPN+ Broadcast | Social Media (@BallStateWVB)

• THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball program opens its 48th season of competition Friday when it hosts UAB (10 a.m.) and USF (7 p.m.) in the Ball State Tournament ... The third match of the tournament will feature the Blazers vs. the Bulls at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

• LISTEN LIVE WITH WOOF BOOM: Ball State Sports Link and Woof Boom Radio will team up this season to cover several Ball State women's volleyball home matches ... The first, Friday's season opener versus UAB ... The match will be carried LIVE on Muncie's Sports Station 102.9 FM and WXFN 1340 AM and also be broadcast live online at WXFN.com ... The stations are also slated to cover the Sept. 21 match versus Wright State (Noon) and the Oct. 31 match versus Toledo (7 p.m.).

• WATCH ESPN: Friday's nightcap versus USF will be Ball State's first of seven home matches covered live on the ESPN family of networks ... The Cardinals will have five home matches carried on ESPN+ starting with Friday's contest versus the Bulls ... BSU will also have a pair of home matches carried live on ESPN3.

• MORE WAYS TO FOLLOW: Live stats will be available for all three matches in the Ball State Tournament courtesy of Ball State Athletics ... 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.

• AGAINST THE BALL STATE TOURNAMENT FIELD: Ball State holds a 4-1 advantage versus teams in Friday's tournament field ... The Cardinals won the only previous meeting with UAB by a score of 2-0 (15-6, 15-2) on Oct. 29, 1982 ... Ball State is 3-1 all-time versus USF despite suffering a 2-3 (26-28, 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 16-18) setback in the latest meeting hosted by the Bulls on Aug. 31, 2013 ... Ball State won the only previous meeting played in Muncie by a score of 3-0 (15-7, 15-13, 15-12) on Sept. 11, 1993.

• ALL-TIME: Ball State boasts a 912-596-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball entering 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 VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS
• A LOOK AT UAB: The Blazers return 10 players, including four starters, who helped guide the program to a 13-15 (5-9 C-USA) record last season ... Included on the list of returning players are UAB's top two attackers from a season ago in Abby Carlile (286 kills) and Emma Mitchell (231 kills) ... The Blazers were picked to finish ninth among the 13 teams in the annual Conference USA preseason poll.

• A LOOK AT USF: The Bulls return seven letterwinners, including three starters and the team's libero, from last season's squad which posted a 20-12 (9-9 American) record ... Leading the charge is 2018 All-American Athletic Conference First Team selection Jaccara Walker who blasted a team-high 394 kills last season ... The Bulls roster also features a local connection in redshirt junior Nyemba Musemuna who hails from Avon, Indiana ... USF was picked to finish sixth among the 12 teams in the annual American Athletic Conference preseason poll.

• Ball State enters Friday's morning match versus UAB with a 24-23 all-time record in season-opening matches ... Last season, the Cardinals pulled out a thrilling 3-2 (25-22. 19-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11) win over South Alabama in its first match of the season played Aug. 24 at the Dayton Invitational.

• Over Kelli Miller Phillip's nine seasons with the program, the last three as head coach following a six-year stint as an assistant coach, the Cardinals are 18-8 in season-opening tournaments ... Last season, Ball State finished runner-up at the Dayton Invitational, beating both South Alabama (3-2) and Marshall (3-0), while losing to host and eventual champion Dayton (3-1).

• The 2019 Ball State roster features four seniors and eight returning letterwinners, including four starters and the libero, from last season's squad which won the MAC West Division and earned the program's first-ever berth into the NIVC ... The Cardinals finished the year with a 22-10 (12-4 MAC) record, marking the 26th season Ball State has registered at least 20 wins.

• The two-time defending MAC West Division champions, Ball State received 10 of the 12 first-place votes and 68 total points to three-peat as the divisional champions in the league's annual preseason poll ... Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan each received one first place vote and were selected second (57) and third (43), respectively ... Central Michigan (39), Northern Illinois (24) and Toledo (21) round out the division.

• For the second consecutive season, Ball State placed a pair of student-athletes on the Preseason All-MAC West Division Team ... Representing the Cardinals on the six-player list are senior setter Amber Seaman and senior middle blocker Sydnee VanBeek.

• Thanks in large part to Amber Seaman's guidance at setter, the Ball State offense finished the 2018 season ranked first in the MAC with a .235 attack percentage, which was the 12th-best single season mark in program history ... For her effort, Seaman was named the MAC Setter of the Year and was also recognized on the All-MAC First Team ... Statistically, she led the league with a 10.28 assists-per-set average and was a five-time MAC West Division Setter of the Week award winner.

• Amber Seaman enters her senior season as one of the top setters in program history ... Her 3,306 career assists currently rank sixth in program history, while her 10.11 career assists-per-set average is fifth on Ball State's career charts ... Seaman, who handed out 1,223 assists last season which is the 12th-best single season total in program history, is currently on pace to become only the fifth Cardinal to hand out over 4,000 career assists.

• Amber Seaman has also gotten things done from behind the service line over her career, ranking 11th in program history with 114 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.

• Sydnee VanBeek played a large role in helping the Cardinals finish the 2018 season as the league's top blocking team, ranking fifth in the MAC with a 1.03 blocks-per-set average ... She was credited with at least one block in all 31 matches she played, including a career-high of seven total blocks at Northern Illinois (Sept. 22) and over Ohio (Oct. 12) ... Overall, she finished the year with 116 total blocks, including 23 solo blocks and 93 block assists.

• In addition to her solid play at the net, Sydnee VanBeek was one of Ball State's main offensive weapons last season, ranking second on the team with 306 kills and a 2.71 kills-per-set average ... The MAC's eighth-most efficient attacker a year ago, with a .317 attack percentage, VanBeek registered at least two kills in all 31 matches she played, with double figure kills 17 times.

• A two-time MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week last season, senior Kate Avila has played all 364 sets over her collegiate career, including the last 360 as Ball State's libero ... She enters the 2019 season with 1,671 career digs to rank fourth in program history ... In addition, Avila's 4.59 career digs-per-set average is fourth on BSU's all-time list, while her 90 matches (including 61 straight) with double-figure digs are tied for fourth.

• With her 1,671 career digs, Kate Avila enters the 2019 season with a chance at becoming the program's all-time career digs leader by the end of the season ... She needs just 603 more digs to pass the current record of 2,273 ... 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.

• While the Cardinals lost seven seniors to graduation last season, the program hopes to not skip a beat thanks to the strength of its nine-member freshman class which was recognized by classes according to PrepVolleyball.com... The incoming class was listed as one of 25 programs earning "Highest Honorable Mention" accolades which is the highest ranking outside the top 30 ... No other school from the Mid-American Conference had a team ranked in the top 55.

• The last Ball State recruiting class to earn the "Highest Honorable Mention" honor from PrepVolleyball.comwas the 2015 incoming class which included 2018 seniors Carly Cappello, Ellie Dunn, Emily Holland and Lauren Schreiner ... The four capped their playing careers by helping lead the Cardinals to back-to-back MAC West Division titles and a berth into the 2018 National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

• We already know Ball State lead the MAC with a .235 attack percentage last season, but did you know the Cardinals did so by hitting .250-or-better in 12 matches and producing an 11-1 record in those contests ... Ball State hit above .300 seven times last season, which was the most for the program since the 2013 squad accomplished the feat eight times.

• The Cardinals also had one of the stingiest defenses in the nation, limiting opponents to a .185 attack percentage on the year, including holding opponents to .149-or-lower marks eight times.

Volleyball Set To Host Ball State Tournament Friday

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Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Carly Cappello

Ellie Dunn

Emily Holland

Lauren Schreiner

Amber Seaman

Sydnee VanBeek