Volleyball Heads to EMU For Pair of Weekend Matches

Friday, November 12

Ypsilanti, MI

2 p.m.

Ball State University

Eastern Michigan

Volleyball Heads to EMU For Pair of Weekend Matches

November 11, 2021 | Women's Volleyball

Match 28: Ball State (24-3; 14-1 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (9-17; 4-11 MAC)
   Friday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. ET - Convocation Center
   Live Stats | ESPN+

Match 29: Ball State (24-3; 14-1 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (9-17; 4-11 MAC)
   Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2 p.m. ET - Convocation Center
   Live Stats | ESPN3

MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opens a three-match road swing to close the 2021 regular season this weekend with a pair of contests at Eastern Michigan. The Cardinals and the Eagles will battle Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. in EMU's Convocation Center.

It is an important series for Ball State which enters the weekend with a 24-3 overall record, including a 14-1 mark in MAC play. The Cardinals currently hold the top spot in the league standings thanks to a sweep of Bowling Green (14-1 MAC) on Oct. 29. That win gives BSU the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the 2021 MAC Volleyball Championships.

Were the Cardinals to host the championships, the schedule would be as follows:
Quarterfinals: Sunday, Nov. 21 - 4:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Monday, Nov. 22 - 4:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Championship: Wednesday, Nov. 24 - 4:30 p.m.

Ball State enters Friday's contest at EMU on a 14-match winning streak which is tied with Morehead State as the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. Only Louisville (23), Western Kentucky (17), BYU (16), and Dayton (16) have longer active winning streaks as of matches played through Nov. 10.

The Cardinals also climbed to 35th in the latest NCAA RPI rankings released Monday, which is the program's highest ranking since it was 34th in the NCAA selection release of 2011. BSU climbed as high as 30th that season, in the Oct. 23 release, for the highest ranking with current head coach Kelli Miller Phillips on staff. Phillips was an assistant under then-head coach Steve Shondell at the time.

Ball State has been ranked as high as 22nd in the final 2002 NCAA RPI, while it also reached 30th in the 2000 NCAA tournament selection rankings.

The Cardinals maintained its spot atop the MAC standings with a pair of four-set wins over Central Michigan last week, which helped Ball State's student-athletes sweep the MAC West Division Weekly awards for the first time this season.

For the fourth consecutive week, Cardinals setter Megan Wielonski was named the MAC West Division Setter of the Week. In addition, libero Maggie Huber claimed defensive player of the week honors, while outside hitter Jaclyn Bulmahn earned offensive player of the week.

As a whole, the Ball State offense connected for a .289 rate of success in the CMU series with Wielonski dishing out 13.13 assists per set. Bulmahn led BSU's attack with 3.88 kills per set, while Huber paced the defense at 6.00 digs per set.

Thanks to its .289 rate of success versus CMU, Ball State raised its season attacking mark to .275 which is 17th nationally. The current program record for hitting percentage in a season is .262 set by the 1998 squad. Overall, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 26 of its 27 matches this season, including above .300 marks nine times.

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. Five different Ball State players enter the weekend averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, while six are smashing at least 1.77 kills per set.

Bulmahn leads the club with a 2.94 kills-per-set average, while opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far behind at 2.91. Rounding out Ball State's top attackers are outside Emily Hollowell (2.41), middle Marie Plitt (2.35), middle Lauren Gilliland (2.01), and outside Cait Snyder (1.77).

Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been Wielonski who is third in the MAC with a 10.73 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.

Current libero Huber leads the Ball State defense with a 3.58 digs-per-set average, while Natalie Risi has a team-best 279 digs and Wielonski is second on the squad with 271 total digs. At the net, Gilliland leads the squad at 0.89 blocks per set, while Plitt and Mitchem are not far behind at 0.80 and 0.68, respectively.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .207 attack percentage, which ranks as the fourth-best defense in the MAC. BSU also ranks fifth in the MAC at 2.06 blocks per set and sixth in the league at 15.59 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

The first MAC team to reach 20 wins this season, thanks to its 3-0 sweep at Western Michigan (Oct. 23), Ball State enters the weekend tied with Creighton and Western Kentucky for the NCAA Division I lead with 24 total victories. In addition, Ball State's .889 (24-3) winning percentage is tied for seventh with Creighton (.889 / 24-3) … The duo trail only Louisville (1.000 / 23-0), Western Kentucky (.960 / 24-1), BYU (.958 / 23-1), Texas (.974 / 18-1), Pittsburgh (.920 / 23-2) and Wisconsin (.909 / 20-2)
The Oct. 30 sweep of Miami was a special one for head coach Kelli Miller Phillips, as she earned her 100th career victory … Phillips enters this weekend's series versus Eastern Michigan with a 102-63 (.618) career record in six seasons … During the 2020-21 spring season, Phillips was credited with a 4-9 overall record after missing the early portion of the year while on maternity leave … Assistant coach Fritz Rosenberg was elevated to acting head coach for those contests and was credited with a 5-3 record.
In addition to leading the MAC and ranking 17th nationally with a .275 team hitting percentage, Ball State features three of the top seven attackers in the league based on attack percentage … Middle Lauren Gilliland ranks first in the conference and is 43rd nationally at .376 … Middle Marie Plitt is second in the MAC and 56th nationally at .361, while opposite Natalie Mitchem is seventh in the MAC and 130th nationally at .324.
Setter Megan Wielonski enters the EMU series ranked fourth nationally with her 1,073 total assists, while her 10.73 assists-per-set average is 24th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with 15 assist/dig double-doubles this season … In fact, her 271 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are second 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 0.45 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 45 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.
Already off to a strong start to open the 2021 season, opposite Natalie Mitchem has really picked up her game the last three weeks … Over the last six matches, Mitchem leads the team with a 3.45 kills-per-set average and has hit an impressive .375 (69-12-152) … In fact, she has gone errorless in three of the last six matches, including a her .714 (15-0-21) effort in the win over Miami (Oct. 30).
Overall, opposite Natalie Mitchem has smashed double-digit kills in 17 of BSU's 27 matches, including tying her career high with 21 in the win over Toledo (Oct. 19) … Percentage wise, she has hit .400-or-better nine times, including five of the last nine matches … She has also turned in a strong effort at the net this season, averaging 0.68 blocks per set with at least one block in 24 matches, including tying her career high with seven blocks versus Northern Illinois (Oct. 15).
Outside Jaclyn Bulmahn has made her presence felt in the Ball State lineup, ranking first on the squad with a 2.94 kills-per-set average … A First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Valparaiso last season, Bulmahn has reached double digits in 17 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 second-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 vs. Eastern Michigan with 941 career kills, including 282 so far in her first season at Ball State … The 282 kills top her previous season-best of 277 set her junior year at Valpo … She averaged a career-best 3.05 kills per set for the Beacons last season.
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 nine matches … Huber has done a solid job in the role, averaging 5.37 digs per set … Defensive specialist Kate Vinson was BSU's libero for the first 10 matches of the season and currently ranks second on the team with a 3.05 digs-per-set average … Natalie Risi took over the role for the next eight matches, and leads the squad with 279 total digs … Risi averages 2.79 digs per set.
Natalie Risi move back to the left side for the Northern Illinois series and did not disappointed … She set the tone for the Ball State block in the series-opening win over the Huskies (Oct. 15), registering solo blocks on two of the first five points … She tallied three total solo blocks in the match and added another late in the third set of the Oct. 16 sweep to help the Cardinals stomp out an NIU rally attempt … Risi has also been a solid attacking option for BSU over the last nine matches, ranking third on the team at 2.80 kills per set … She has logged double-digit kills in four of the last five matches, including a season-high 14 in last Friday's win over CMU.
Ball State enters Friday's match at Eastern Michigan with a 965-623-2 (.608) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play … In addition, the Cardinals are tied with Western Michigan for the all-time best record in Mid-American Conference play at 415-212 (.662) … Eastern Michigan is eighth based on winning percentage at .436 (273-353).
With an 11-0 record at home during the 2021 regular season, the Cardinals own a 292-93 (.758) all-time record in Worthen Arena … BSU is even more dominate in Worthen Arena versus MAC foes, with a 214-57 (.790) mark.
Ball State holds a 58-28 lead in the all-time series versus Eastern Michigan after the teams split a two-match series at the Convocation Center during the 2020-21 spring season … BSU won the opening match 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) on March 26, while EMU handed the Cardinals a 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13) setback in the season finale March 27 … Overall, Ball State is 22-18 in matches played in Ypsilanti, including a 6-4 record in its last 10 matches inside the Convocation Center.