Volleyball Set For Big Road Weekend, Visiting Akron & Buffalo

Match 17: Ball State (13-3; 3-1 MAC) at Akron (8-8; 2-2 MAC)
   Friday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET - Rhodes Arena
   Live Stats | ESPN+

Match 18: Ball State (13-3; 3-1 MAC) at Buffalo (9-7; 2-2 MAC)
   Saturday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. ET - Alumni Arena
   Live Stats | Live Video

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road for a pair of matches this weekend starting with a Friday (7 p.m.) contest at Akron. From there, the team travels to Buffalo for a Saturday (4 p.m.) showdown.

The Cardinals enter the week with a 3-1 Mid-American Conference record and are tied for second in the MAC West Division, trailing only Western Michigan's 5-0 league mark. BSU has won three straight matches, which ties as the third-longest active winning streak in the league behind WMU at six matches and Bowling Green at five matches.

Last weekend, Ball State opened the home portion of its league schedule with a two-match sweep of MAC East Division rival Ohio. Trailing 2-1 in Thursday's opener, the Cardinals rallied to win the final two sets, including rallying from down 14-12 in the fifth.

In Friday's rematch, Ball State turned in a dominating performance by sweeping the Bobcats behind the strength of a .388 team attack percentage.

Highlighting the Cardinals' efforts in the series was sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland who led the BSU offense with 3.00 kills per set and a .615 (24-0-39) attack percentage, while pacing the defense with a 1.13 blocks-per-set average. Gilliland finished both matches without a single hitting error and moved back to the top of the MAC rankings with a .375 (117-21-256) attack percentage for the year.

Overall, the Cardinals own the best record in the MAC so far this season at 13-3 (.813). Western Michigan and Toledo are not far behind, at 12-4 (.750) each, while Bowling Green has the best overall record in the MAC East Division at 8-6 (.571).

One of the keys to the Cardinals' strong start to the season has been the team's ability to spread out its offense and keep opponents guessing on every swing. Four different Ball State players enter the weekend averaging at least 2.26 kills per set, while six are smashing at least 1.57 kills per set.

Graduate transfer outside Jaclyn Bulmahn leads the club with a 2.92 kills-per-set average, while junior opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far behind at 2.60. Third on the squad, graduate transfer outside Emily Hollowell at 2.34.

The BSU's offense is also connecting at a league-best .257 clip this season, ahead of Western Michigan which is hitting .243 as a squad. In fact, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 15 of its 16 matches this season, including finishing last weekend's two-match series versus Ohio with a .324 rate of success.

Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been freshman setter Megan Wielonski who is fourth in the MAC with a 10.13 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.

Sophomore defensive specialist Kate Vinson leads the Ball State defense with a 3.45 dig-per-set average. Junior Natalie Risi, who has started at libero for BSU over the last six matches, is second on the team at 2.90 digs per set.

At the net, Gilliland leads the squad and is ninth in the league at 0.95 blocks per set, while junior middle Marie Plitt is not far behind at 0.68.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .213 attack percentage and rank fifth in the MAC at 1.98 blocks per set and eighth in the league at 14.56 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

In addition to leading the MAC and ranking 32nd nationally with a .257 team attack percentage, Ball State features the top two attackers in the league based on attack percentage … Sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland leads the conference and is 52nd nationally at .375, while junior middle Marie Plitt is second in the MAC and 77th nationally at .358.
Freshman setter Megan Wielonski enters the weekend ranked 13th nationally with her 628 total assists, while her 10.13 assists-per-set average is 60th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with nine assist/dig double-doubles in the last 12 matches … In fact, her 163 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are third on the squad as is her 2.63 digs-per-set average.
In addition to being one of the top setters in the MAC, freshman Megan Wielonski has also proven to be its top server ranking first at 0.48 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 30 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.
Graduate transfer 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 11 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 Akron with 837 career kills, including 178 so far in her first season at Ball State … Her season-high 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.
Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, ranking second on the team with a 2.60 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in nine of BSU's 16 matches, including a season-high 16 in the win over Wright State (Sept. 3) … She's also turned in a strong effort at the net, averaging 0.66 blocks per set, with at least one block in 15 matches.
After serving as the team's libero for the first three weeks of the season, sophomore defensive specialist Kate Vinson anchors the Ball State defense and ranks ninth in the MAC with a 214 total digs … She has collected double-digit digs in 11 of the 16 matches, including a career-high 29 versus Marshall (Sept. 4) … The 29 digs tie as the third-most in a match in the MAC so far this season.
Junior Natalie Risi transitioned from the outside back to the libero position for the past six, and is now second on the team with a 2.90 digs-per-set average … Since moving to libero for the Northern Kentucky series, Risi is averaging 4.08 digs per set, including a season-high 25 in the Sept. 24 match at Kent State.
Ball State enters Friday's match with a 954-623-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play … In addition, the Cardinals own a 404-212 (.656) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 411-206 (.666) mark ... Akron is ninth all-time based on winning percentage at 188-303 (.383), while Buffalo is 12th at 90-298 (.232).
Ball State holds a commanding 37-5 lead in the all-time series versus Akron, including a pair of wins in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 spring season … The Cardinals and Zips opened the spring slate with a pair of matches in Muncie, with BSU sweeping the first match 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-12) on Jan. 22 and winning 3-1 (21-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-19) the following evening … Akron's last win in the series was the last match played at Rhodes Arena, with the Zips rallying from down two sets to win the match 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 18-16) … Overall, the Cardinals are 16-4 in matches played in Akron.
Ball State holds an even better record versus Buffalo, entering Saturday's showdown with a 26-1 all-time mark against the Bulls … The Cardinals have won the last 12 meetings between the two clubs, including a pair of sweeps in the 2020-21 spring season … BSU scored a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-16) win on Jan. 28 and followed with another 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-15) victory Jan. 29 … Buffalo's lone win in the series came on its home court Oct. 9, 2010 by a score of 3-2 (28-26, 20-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-13) … Ball State is 11-1 all-time in matches played in Buffalo.

Volleyball Set For Big Road Weekend, Visiting Akron & Buffalo

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Players Mentioned

Jaclyn Bulmahn

Lauren Gilliland

Emily Hollowell

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski