Ball State University
Buffalo
Women's Volleyball Back In Action Thursday at Buffalo
January 27, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (2-0, 2-0 MAC) at Buffalo (0-2, 0-2 MAC) | |
| Match 1 | Thursday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. ET |
| Match 2 | Friday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. ET |
| Location | Alumni Arena - Buffalo, N.Y. |
| YouTube Live Stream | Thursday Link |  Friday Link |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State  |  Buffalo |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this season when it travels to Buffalo for a two-match set against the Bulls ... The teams play at 6 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Friday at Alumni Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting New York Department of Health guidelines, there will be no fans at Alumni Arena for this week's matches ... Fans can watch both of this week's matches with live video streamed on YouTube courtesy of Buffalo Athletics ... Live stats will also be available ... Links for all options to follow can be found above or on the women's volleyball schedule page.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
• They say defense wins championships, and Ball State's defense was on full display last weekend, limiting a strong Akron attack to a league-low .096 hitting percentage ... No other league team held the opposition under a .160 rate of success.
• The Cardinals played big at the net opening weekend, averaging 2.57 blocks per set over the two matches ... The average currently ranks second in the MAC ... Last season, Ball State ranked 11th in the league with a 1.62 blocks-per-set average.
• Ball State's backcourt was just as dominant, averaging a league-best 20.14 digs per set ... The mark currently ranks seventh among the 161 NCAA Division I programs who have played a match so far in the traditional fall or delayed winter season.
• Fritz Rosenberg enters his second league series as acting head coach of the Cardinals, after guiding the team to a pair of wins over Akron ... Rosenberg will guide the program while head coach Kelli Miller Phillips is on maternity leave after the birth of her daughter, Marlee Mae, on Jan. 6.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:Â
• The defending Mid-American Conference Tournament Champion Cardinals opened the season strong, picking up a pair of wins over Akron last week ... Freshman setter Kate Vinson shined in her collegiate debut, guiding the offense to a .253 attack percentage with five attackers averaging at least 2.00 kills per set ... On defense, the Cardinals stymied the Zips all weekend, limiting them to a .096 attack percentage by averaging 20.14 digs and 2.57 blocks per set ... Sophomore libero Maggie Huber led the backcourt with 5.71 digs per set, while freshman middle Lauren Gilliland paced the block with a league-high 2.29 blocks per set.
SCOUTING THE BUFFALO:Â
• The Bulls had a tougher start to the season, dropping a pair of matches at MAC East Division preseason favorite Miami ... Buffalo connected for a 15.00 kills-per-set average over the two matches, with Emma Gielas averaging a team-best 3.17 kills per set and hitting a solid .471 (19-3-34) ... Abby Leigh is right behind at 3.00 kills per set ... Kyndal Bacon and Emma Puzausky split time at setter, averaging 4.67 and 4.50 assists per set, respectively ... In the backcourt, three different Bulls averaged above 2.00 digs per set, led by Jenna Sonnenberg at 2.33 ... Lexi Nordmann led the block at 1.00 blocks-per-set.
VINSON HONORED BY THE MAC:Â
• For her play opening weekend, freshman setter Kate Vinson was named the MAC West Division Setter of the Week ... Vinson started her career by dishing out 36 assists in Friday's sweep and followed with 38 in Saturday's four-set victory to average 10.57 assists per set ... She also scored 21 total digs over the two matches for a 3.00 digs-per-set average.
MAC PRESEASON POLL:Â
• In the annual MAC Preseason Poll which was released Thursday, Jan. 21, the defending MAC West Division champion Cardinals were selected to finish second in the league behind 2019 division co-champion Central Michigan ... Ball State also picked up a pair of votes to defend its 2019 MAC Tournament Championship.
2020-21 West Division Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Michigan - 67 points (7 first-place votes)
2. Ball State — 64 points (5)
3. Western Michigan — 45 points
4. Eastern Michigan — 31 points
5. Toledo — 23 points
6. Northern Illinois — 22 pointsÂ
2020-21 East Division Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Miami — 62 points (4)
2. Bowling Green — 60 points (5)
3. Ohio — 55 points (3)
4. Akron — 28 points
5. Kent State — 24 points
6. Buffalo — 23 points
Tournament Champions:Â Bowling Green (5), Ball State (2), Central Michigan (2), Kent State (1), Miami (1), Ohio (1)
PRESEASON ALL-MAC:
• After stellar freshman campaigns which saw them help Ball State women's volleyball claim the program's first Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship since 2002, sophomore middle Marie Plitt and sophomore outside hitter Natalie Risi were both named to the 2020-21 Preseason All-MAC West Division Team as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches.
THE SERIES VS. BUFFALO:
• Ball State is 24-1 all-time versus Buffalo, including 10 straight wins and a 9-1 mark inside Alumni Arena ... The Bulls' lone victory in the series came by a score of 3-2 at Alumni Arena on Oct. 9, 2010 ... Of Ball State's 24 wins in the series, 15 have been sweeps, six have come in four sets and three have went the distance, including the most recent meeting Nov. 2, 2019 in Worthen Arena.
IN THE MAC:Â
• After picking up a pair of wins over Akron last weekend, Ball State enters the week with a league-best 394-199 (.664) all-time record in MAC play ... After also picking up a pair of wins last weekend, Western Michigan remains three matches back in second at 391-202 (.659) ... Buffalo is 12th on the list based on both wins and winning percentage at 84-280 (.231).
HOME SWEET HOME:
• The Cardinals improved to 203-51 (.799) all-time versus MAC opponents in Worthen Arena after last weekend's two-match sweep of Akron ... Overall, the Cardinals are 279-87 (.762) in matches played on its current home floor ... Ball State was 6-2 in MAC matches at home last season, including a 3-1 win over Central Michigan to win a share of the MAC West Division title to close the regular season.
BIG IMPACT AT THE NET:
• Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland made an immediate impact at the net opening weekend, averaging a MAC-best 2.29 blocks per set ... In fact, her average ranks second nationally, with only Grand Canyon's Hannah Eskes better at 2.33 ... Gilliland opened her career with nine block assists in Friday's sweep and added seven more in Saturday's four-set win.
MORE FROM THE NET:
• In addition to Lauren Gilliland's effort at the net, two other Cardinals finished opening weekend averaging over 1.00 blocks per set ... Sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem is tied for second in the league with a 1.29 average, including tying her career-high with five total blocks Friday ... Senior outside hitter Kia Holder is right behind, and fifth in the MAC, with a 1.14 blocks per set average ... Holder recorded four blocks in each match, including the team's first solo block of the season Friday.
STARCK SERVING IT UP:
• Junior service specialist Cathryn Starck was one of four players around the league to serve up four aces opening weekend ... She served up two in each match last week, and ranks second in the league with a 0.57 assists-per-set average.
STILL HOLDING STRONG:Â
• Kia Holder did not miss a beat in the 13 months since her last match, blasting 22 kills for a 3.14 kills-per-set average opening weekend ... Holder, who played the best volleyball of her career over the last 10 matches last season and was named the MAC Tournament MVP, started the season with a match-best 10 kills in Friday's sweep of Akron ... She followed with 12 more Saturday ... In addition, she hit for a .239 rate of success and averaged 1.14 blocks per set ... She recorded eight total blocks over opening weekend, after logging just 20 all of last year.
NEARLY NO STOPPING HER:Â
• Sophomore middle Marie Plitt connected with the Worthen Arena hardwood floor for 21 kills last weekend and hit an astonishing .452 (21-2-42) ... She registered a .412 (7-0-17) attack percentage in Friday's season-opener against Akron and followed with an even more impressive .480 (14-2-25) mark the following night ... In addition, her 14 kills in Saturday's win tied her career high and for match-high honors ... Overall, Plitt's .452 attack percentage ranks third among league players and is 38th nationally.
DIGGING IT UP:Â
• Ball State's backcourt registered a league-leading 20.14 digs per set last week, which has the Cardinals ranked seventh nationally ... Sophomore libero Maggie Huber led the charge and is second in the MAC and 10th nationally at 5.71 digs per set ... Sophomore outside hitter Natalie Risi is not far behind, ranking seventh in the league and 61st nationally at 4.43.
