MAC West Leaders Collide as Volleyball Heads to Western Michigan

Match 22: Ball State (18-3; 8-1 MAC) at Western Michigan (14-6; 7-2 MAC)
   Friday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. ET - University Arena
   Live Stats | ESPN+

Match 23: Ball State (18-3; 8-1 MAC) at Western Michigan (14-6; 7-2 MAC)
   Saturday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. ET - University Arena
   Live Stats | Broncos All-Access (FREE)

MUNCIE, Ind. - - It will be a battle of the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference West Division this weekend when the Ball State women's volleyball team travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to take on Western Michigan for a pair of matches.

The Cardinals (18-3; 8-1 MAC) and Broncos (14-6; 7-2 MAC) will square off at 6 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday at WMU's University Arena.

Ball State opened a pivotal four-match stretch on a strong note Tuesday, taking down Toledo by a score of 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-20). The Rockets entered the contest a match behind the Cardinals, and half a match behind the Broncos, in the league standings.

Following this weekend's matches at WMU, Ball State returns home to take on the defending MAC regular season and tournament champions Bowling Green. The Falcons enter the weekend with a 13-6 overall record, including an unblemished 9-0 league ledger.

BSU and BGSU will face off at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in Worthen Arena in what could be the de facto MAC regular season championship match.

This past Tuesday's battle pitted the top offense in the league in Ball State, versus the top defense in the MAC in Toledo. After a slow start in the opening set, it was the Cardinals' offense which came out on top as BSU found its rhythm over the final three sets to earn the 3-1 victory.

Ball State hit .206 in the win, marking the 20th time in 21 matches this season the Cardinals have hit at least .200.

That has been a big key to the Cardinals' success this season, as BSU has successfully been able to spread out its offense and keep opponents guessing on every swing. Four different Ball State players enter the weekend averaging at least 2.28 kills per set, while six are smashing at least 1.75 kills per set.

Outside Jaclyn Bulmahn leads the club with a 2.92 kills-per-set average, while opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far behind at 2.78. Rounding out the top four attackers are outside Emily Hollowell (2.41) and middle Marie Plitt (2.28).

The BSU's offense is also connecting at a league-best .262 clip this season, well ahead of Bowling Green in second which is hitting .250 as a squad. In fact, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 20 of its 21 matches this season, including above .300 marks five times.

Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been setter Megan Wielonski who is fourth in the MAC with a 10.29 assist-per-set average. In fact, Wielonski set Ball State to a .476 attack percentage in the sweep of St. Thomas (Aug. 27), which ranks as the third-best single match team performance in program history.

Defensive specialist Kate Vinson leads the Ball State defense with a 3.20 dig-per-set average. Outside hitter Natalie Risi is second on the team at 3.00 digs per set, while Maggie Huber, who has served as the team's libero in each of the last three matches, is third at 2.63.

At the net, Gilliland leads the squad and is ninth in the league at 0.96 blocks per set, while middle Marie Plitt and Mitchem are not far behind at 0.75 and 0.74, respectively.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .205 attack percentage, which ranks as the fourth-best defense in the MAC. BSU also ranks fifth in the MAC at 2.08 blocks per set and eighth in the league at 14.96 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

In addition to leading the MAC and ranking 31st nationally with a .262 team hitting percentage, Ball State features two of the top three attackers in the league based on attack percentage … Middle Lauren Gilliland ranks second in the conference and is 74th nationally at .357, while middle Marie Plitt is third in the MAC and 92nd nationally at .346.
Setter Megan Wielonski enters the weekend ranked seventh nationally with her 823 total assists, while her 10.29 assists-per-set average is 44th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with 11 assist/dig double-doubles this season … In fact, her 208 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are third on the squad.
In addition to being one of the top setters in the MAC, Megan Wielonski has also proven to be the league's top server ranking first at 0.46 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 37 service aces, including a career-high seven vs. Ohio (Sept. 30), are first in the league and rank ninth among all NCAA Division I players nationwide.
Outside Jaclyn Bulmahn has made her presence felt in the Ball State lineup, leading the squad with a 2.92 kills-per-set average … A First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Valparaiso last season, Bulmahn has reached double digits in 15 matches so far this season, including a season-high 19 kills in the Sept. 25 sweep at Kent State … The 19 kills tie as the most in a three-set match in the MAC this season and are four shy of her career-high 23 set versus Southern Illinois (Feb. 14, 2021) during her 2021 spring season at Valpo.
Jaclyn Bulmahn enters Friday's match at Western Michigan with 890 career kills, including 231 so far in her first season at Ball State … Her career-best for kills in a season is 277 set her junior year at Valpo, while she averaged a career-best 3.05 kills per set for the Beacons last season.
Opposite Natalie Mitchem has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, ranking second on the team with a 2.78 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in 12 of BSU's 20 matches, including tying her career high with 21 in Tuesday's win over Toledo (Oct. 19) … She's also turned in a strong effort at the net, averaging 0.74 blocks per set with at least one block in 20 matches, including tying her career high with seven blocks last Friday vs. Northern Illinois (Oct. 15).
So far this season, the Cardinals have turned to three different liberos, most recently having Maggie Huber suit up in the off-colored jersey for the last three matches … Huber has done a solid job in the role, averaging 4.60 digs per set … Defensive specialist Kate Vinson was BSU's libero for the first 10 matches of the season, and currently ranks 13th in the MAC with 224 total digs … Natalie Risi took over the role for the next eight matches, and is 11th in the league with 240 total digs … Vinson averages a team-best 3.20 digs per set for the year, while Risi is second on the squad at 3.00.
Natalie Risi move back to the left side for this weekend's series versus Northern Illinois and did not disappoint … She set the tone for the Ball State block in last Friday's win over the Huskies, registering solo blocks on two of the first five points in the contest … She tallied three total solo blocks in the match, and added another late in last Saturday's third set, helping the Cardinals stomp out an NIU rally attempt … Risi entered the weekend with just five solo blocks in her first 70 career matches … She tallied four last weekend, to go along with 15 kills, 16 digs and a pair of block assists.
Ball State enters Friday's match with a 959-623-2 (.606) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play … In addition, the Cardinals own a 409-212 (.659) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 413-208 (.665).
With a 7-0 record at home so far this season, the Cardinals own a 288-93 (.756) all-time record in Worthen Arena … BSU is even more dominate in Worthen Arena in MAC play, with a 210-57 (.787) mark.
Ball State holds a slim 50-48 lead in the all-time series with Western Michigan after the Broncos earned a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) victory in the lone meeting during the 2020-21 spring season played March 7 in Kalamazoo … Prior to the loss, the Cardinals had won the four previous meetings … While BSU leads the series, WMU does have a 24-19 edge in matches played on its home court.

MAC West Leaders Collide as Volleyball Heads to Western Michigan

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Players Mentioned

Jaclyn Bulmahn

Lauren Gilliland

Emily Hollowell

Maggie Huber

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski