Ball State University
Michigan
Women's Volleyball Set To Battle Michigan in NCAA Tournament
December 01, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
Match 33: Ball State (29-3)Â vs. Michigan (18-11)
   Friday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m. ET - L&N Federal Credit Union Arena
   Live Stats  |  ESPN+
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Match 34: Ball State (29-3) vs. Louisville (28-0) or UIC (20-11)
  Saturday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. ET - L&N Federal Credit Union Arena
   Live Stats  |  Live Video TBA
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball program opens play in the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship with a 4 p.m. ET first serve versus Michigan on Friday, Dec. 3 at Louisville's L&N Federal Credit Union Arena ... The winner advances to play either top-seeded Louisville or UIC at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 4.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:Â
• Ball State earned the program's 10th all-time berth into the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship by claiming the 2021 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship title ... Winners of 19-straight matches, the Cardinals earned MAC Tournament victories over fourth-seeded Western Michigan (3-1) in the semifinals and second-seeded Bowling Green (3-2) in the championship match.
• Ball State enters Friday's match versus Michigan ranked 19th nationally with a .272 attack percentage ... The Cardinals have hit .200-or-better in 31 of its 32 matches this season, including above .300 in nine matches ... The team's 1,680 total kills are third in the country, while its 1,570 total assists are second, trailing only UC Santa Barbara's total of 1,620.Â
• On defense, Ball State is 19th nationally with 1,926 digs and is holding opponents to a .204 attack percentage.Â
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SCOUTING MICHIGAN:Â
• Michigan earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship by finishing the regular season with an 18-11 overall record, including an 11-9 record in Big Ten play ... The Wolverines finished eighth in the Big Ten regular season race.
• The Michigan roster features one player who might be familiar to Ball State fans, junior defensive specialist Amber Beals is the daughter of Greg Beals who was BSU's head baseball coach from 2003-10 and guided the program to a 243-202 record and an NCAA regional appearance in 2006 ... Greg Beals coached BSU head coach Kelli Miller Phillips' brother Brad Miller (2003-06) during his Ball State baseball career ... Brad Miller is the program's career hits (304), home runs (50), and RBI (228) leader.
• Michigan enters Friday's match ranked 38th in the country with a .254 attack percentage, while its 13.18 kills-per-set average is 93rd ... The Wolverines are also one of the top serving teams in the Big Ten, ranking second in the league with a 1.53 aces-per-set average.
• On defense, Michigan is holding opponents to a .199 attack percentage which ranks 133rd nationally ... UofM also ranks 92nd nationally in blocks per set (2.26) and 162 in digs per set (14.80).
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SCOUTING LOUISVILLE:Â
• Louisville earned the Atlantic Coast Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship as the league's regular season champion with an 18-0 conference mark ... The Cardinals are also the top seed in the Championship as the only undefeated team in the nation, at 28-0, and as the top team in the NCAA RPI rankings.
• Louisville enters the tournament as one of the nation's top attacking teams, ranking fourth in the country with a .303 attack percentage ... The Cardinals average 13.67 kills per set, to rank 42nd nationally, and paced the ACC with a 1.73 aces-per-set average.
• On defense, UofL ranks eighth nationally with a .143 opponent hitting percentage, led by a block which ranks fourth nationally at 2.93 blocks per set ... Led by the strength of its block, Louisville's backcourt is only averaging 12.71 digs per set which is 307th among the 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs.
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SCOUTING UIC:Â
• UIC earned the Horizon League's automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship as the conference's tournament champion ... The fourth-seeded Flames topped No. 5 Green Bay (3-2), No. 1 Milwaukee (3-2) and No. 2 Northern Kentucky (3-2) on its way to the title.
• UIC enters its match versus top-seeded Louisville ranked 49th nationally with a 13.63 kills-per-set average, while its .227 attack percentage is 93rd ... The Flames are also one of the nation's top serving teams, ranking 53rd at 1.66 aces per set.
• On defense, UIC ranks 189th nationally with a 14.37 digs-per-set average, while it's 1.89 blocks-per-set average is 227th among the 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs ... The Flames also allow opponents to connect for a .217 hitting percentage.
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ALL-TIME SERIES:Â
• Michigan holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series versus Ball State, including a 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-14) victory in the latest meeting, played Sept. 10, 2017 at the Colorado State Tournament.
All-Time vs. Michigan
| Date | Winner | Score | Site |
| 9/19/1981 | Michigan | 15-7, 6-15, 15-11 | N |
| 11/14/1981 | Michigan | 15-10, 15-9 | N |
| 9/10/2017 | Michigan | 17-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-18 | N |
Series: Michigan leads 3-0 (H: 0-0 / A: 0-0 / N: 0-3)
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• Louisville holds a 10-6 advantage in the all-time series versus Ball State, including a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-20) victory in the latest meeting, played Dec. 2, 2011 in West Lafayette, Ind., in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament ... The teams have met twice in the NCAA Tournament, with UofL also sweeping the 2002 match up.
All-Time vs. Louisville
| Date | Winner | Score | Site |
| 9/20/1980 | Ball State | 15-13, 15-11, 11-15, 15-0 | H |
| 11/2/1982 | Ball State | 15-10, 13-15, 17-15 | N |
| 11/5/1982 | Ball State | 6-15, 15-9, 15-10 | N |
| 11/8/1988 | Ball State | 15-11, 15-13, 15-9 | N |
| 9/12/1989 | Louisville | 15-11, 15-12, 8-15, 15-8 | N |
| 10/24/1990 | Louisville | 15-10, 15-9, 15-13 | A |
| 9/10/1991 | Louisville | 6-15, 15-8, 15-5, 15-10 | H |
| 9/9/1992 | Louisville | 15-3, 15-5, 15-12 | A |
| 10/20/1993 | Ball State | 15-4, 15-13, 15-8 | H |
| 9/28/1994 | Louisville | 15-10, 15-5, 16-18, 15-8 | A |
| 11/25/1995 | Louisville | 15-12, 15-12, 11-15, 15-13 | H |
| 11/29/1996 | Louisville | 15-10, 15-11, 15-4 | A |
| 12/6/2002 | Louisville | 30-24, 30-24, 30-25 | N (NCAA) |
| 11/29/2003 | Ball State | 23-30, 29-31, 30-21, 30-26, 18-16 | A |
| 9/5/2009 | Louisville | 25-16, 25-13, 23-25, 25-16 | H |
| 12/2/2011 | Louisville | 25-22, 25-15, 25-20 | N (NCAA) |
Series: Â Louisville leads the series 10-6 (H: 2-3 / A: 1-4 / N: 3-3)
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• While UIC holds a 9-3 advantage in the all-time series, the Cardinals have won the last three meetings ... The last was a 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-14) sweep to close play in the at the Iowa Tournament on Sept. 14, 2013 ... It is the only meeting between the two programs in the rally scoring era.Â
All-Time vs. UIC
| Date | Winner | Score | Site |
| 11/24/1974 | UIC | 15-6, 15-4 | N |
| 10/11/1975 | UIC | 15-7, 15-10 | N |
| 11/21/1975 | UIC | 14-16, 15-4, 15-13 | N |
| 11/19/1976 | UIC | 15-4, 15-10 | A |
| 9/17/1977 | UIC | 15-10, 15-5 | N |
| 10/7/1978 | UIC | 15-10, 15-3 | N |
| 10/7/1978 | UIC | 15-12, 16-14 | N |
| 9/29/1979 | UIC | 9-15, 15-9, 15-13, 16-14 | H |
| 10/25/1980 | UIC | 15-3, 6-15, 15-13 | N |
| 10/23/1982 | Ball State | 15-12, 11-15, 15-3, 6-15, 15-7 | N |
| 9/19/1998 | Ball State | 15-4, 15-5, 15-3 | N |
| 9/14/2013 | Ball State | 25-14, 25-11, 25-14 | N |
Series: Â UIC leads the series 9-3 (H: 0-1 / A: 0-1 / N: 3-7)
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BALL STATE IN THE NCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP:Â
• Ball State will be making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and its second under current head coach Kelli Miller Phillips.
• The Cardinals are 2-9 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, advancing to the second round in both 1994 and 1995 ... Ball State is 2-7 in first round matches and 0-2 in second round play.
• Eight players on the current Ball State roster will be making their second appearance at the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship for BSU, with six of the eight playing in the opening-round match at fifth-seeded Nebraska on Dec. 6, 2019 ... Seeing action were Esther Grussing, Allison Hamaker, Maggie Huber, Natalie Mitchem, Marie Plitt, and Natalie Risi ... Mitchem had five kills and hit .308 (5-1-13) in the match, while Plitt and Risi has five digs apiece ... Huber and Grussing each added a service ace ... Also on the 2019 squad were Cailyn Bolser and Cathryn Starck.
• In 1994, the Cardinals earned a thrilling 3-2 (15-12, 8-15, 15-7, 8-15, 16-14) victory at Illinois ... Ball State out-hit the Fighting Illini .297 to .286 in the win, while also out-blocking Illinois by a 16 to 11 margin ... Individually, Carin Zielinski and Cassy Herode tied for team-high honors with 18 kills apiece in the win, while five players registered double-figure kills ... Liz Cothren dominated at the net, racking up 12 total blocks (1 solo and 11 assists).
• In 1995, the Cardinals hosted an NCAA Tournament match for the first time in program history and went on to score a 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-8) sweep of Loyola Chicago ... In the win, Ball State held a decisive .231 to .173 attacking advantage, while earning a six to two edge in service aces ... Individually, Jennifer Schilling smashed a match-high 18 kills in the win, while Lindsay Follin was not far behind with 15 ... Setter Wendy Carter handed out 46 assists in the match, and also led the Ball State defense with 14 digs.
Ball State All-Time NCAA Tournament Appearances
| Date | Opponent | Round | Scores |
| 12/4/1992 | at UCLA | 1st | L, 0-3 (1-15, 4-15, 0-15) |
| 12/1/1993 | at Minnesota | 1st | L, 0-3 (6-15, 11-15, 9-15) |
| 11/30/1994 | at Illinois | 1st | W, 3-2 (15-12, 8-15, 15-7, 8-15, 16-14) |
| 12/3/1994 | at Penn State | 2nd | L, 0-3 (8-15, 5-15, 16-18) |
| 11/29/1995 | Loyola Chicago | 1st | W, 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-8) |
| 12/2/1995 | at UCLA | 2nd | L, 0-3 (4-15, 4-15, 7-15) |
| 12/2/1999 | vs. Northern Iowa | 1st | L, 2-3 (15-12, 9-15, 15-10, 2-15, 12-15) |
| 12/1/2000 | at Ohio State | 1st | L, 1-3 (14-16, 3-15, 16-14, 10-15) |
| 12/6/2002 | vs. Louisville | 1st | L, 0-3 (24-30, 24-30, 25-30) |
| 12/2/2011 | vs. Louisville | 1st | L, 0-3 (22-25, 15-25, 20-25) |
| 12/6/2019 | at Nebraska | 1st | L, 0-3 (13-25, 18-25, 10-25) |
• Ball State boasts a 970-623-2 (.608) all-time record in women's volleyball over 50 seasons of play ... The Cardinals have captured 11 MAC West Division Championships, nine MAC Regular Season Championships and eight MAC Tournament Championships ... Ball State will be making its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament Friday and has also earned one bid into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
• Ball State enters the 2021 NCAA Volleyball Championship on a 19-match winning streak ... The streak currently ties as the fourth-longest active winning streak in the nation and is one shy of the program record.
NCAA DI ACTIVE WINNING STREAKS
| # | Team | Record | Streak |
| 1. | Louisville | 28-0 | W28 |
| 2. | BYU | 28-1 | W21 |
| 3. | Western Kentucky | 27-1 | W20 |
| 4. | Ball State | 29-3 | W19 |
| Dayton | 25-5 | W19 |
LONGEST WINNING STREAKS IN BALL STATE PROGRAM HISTORY
| 1. | 9/30/1994 - 11/30/1994 | 20 |
| 2. | 9/25/2021 - Present | 19 |
| 3. | 10/8/1993 - 11/27/1993 | 17 |
| 4. | 10/18/1982 - 11/2/1982 | 15 |
| 10/26/1974 - 11/16/1974 | 15 |
• Ball State's 29 wins currently rank second among all NCAA Division I programs, trailing only Creighton's 30 ... BYU and Louisville are tied for third at 28, while Western Kentucky is fourth at 27 ... Seven teams have 26 wins so far this season.
• In addition to having one of the highest win totals in the country, Ball State's .906 (29-3) winning percentage is sixth nationally ... Regardless of how far the Cardinals advance in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships, the team's final winning percentage of the 2021 season will be a program record.
NCAA DI WINNING PERCENTAGE LEADERS
| # | Team | Record | Pct. |
| 1. | Louisville | 28-0 | 1.000 |
| 2. | BYU | 28-1 | .966 |
| 3. | Western Kentucky | 27-1 | .964 |
| 4. | Texas | 24-1 | .960 |
| 5. | Creighton | 30-3 | .909 |
| 6. | Ball State | 29-3 | .906 |
TOP WINNING PERCENTAGES IN PROGRAM HISTORY
| 1. | 2021 | 29-3 | .906 |
| 2 | 1993 | 26-5 | .839 |
| 3. | 1974 | 35-7 | .833 |
| 4. | 2010 | 24-5 | .828 |
| 5. | 1994 | 25-6 | .806 |
• The Cardinals are also one win shy of the fourth 30-win season in program history ... It would be BSU's first of the rally scoring era (2001-present) ... Ball State reached 35 wins in both 1974 and 1977, while accumulating 32 wins in 1982.
• The Cardinals also climbed to 31st in the latest NCAA RPI rankings released with the NCAA tournament selections ... It is the program's highest ranking since it was 30th in the Oct. 23, 2011 release ... The 30 RPI in 2011 is 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 have climbed up the rankings by boasting one of the nation's most effective offenses, ranking 19th nationally with a .272 hitting percentage ... The mark is on pace to shatter the current program record for hitting percentage in a season which is .262 set by the 1998 squad ... Overall, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 31 of its 32 matches this season, including above .300 marks nine times.
• Ball State has successfully been able to spread out its offense and keep opponents guessing on every swing ... Seven different Cardinals enter the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship averaging at least 1.50 kills per set ... Outside Jaclyn Bulmahn leads the club with a 3.04 kills-per-set average, while opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far behind at 2.86 ... Rounding out Ball State's top attackers are middle Marie Plitt (2.42), outside Emily Hollowell (2.41), middle Lauren Gilliland (1.98), outside Cait Snyder (1.75), and outside Natalie Risi (1.51).
• Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been setter Megan Wielonski who is second nationally with 1,316 assists ... She is also 22nd nationally with a 10.88 assists-per-set average ... Wielonski has set Ball State to a .300-or-better attack percentage in nine matches this season, including a .476 mark in the sweep of St. Thomas (Aug. 27), which ranks as the third-best single match team performance in program history ... In addition, BSU's .412 hitting mark versus Miami (Oct. 30) is 16th on the same list.
• 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 the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship with a 107-63 (.629) 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.Â
• In addition to leading the MAC and ranking 19th nationally with a .272 team attack percentage, Ball State features three of the top eight attackers in the league based on attack percentage … Middle Lauren Gilliland ranks first in the conference and is 48th nationally at .368 … Middle Marie Plitt is second in the MAC and 61st nationally at .359, while opposite Natalie Mitchem is eighth in the MAC at .313.
• The Cardinals have put up tremendous hitting numbers all season, including some of the best single-match marks in program history ... In all, Ball State players have hit .500-or-better, with a minimum of 10 attempts, a total of 23 times this season ... Middle Lauren Gilliland's career-best .818 (9-0-11) rate of success versus Western Michigan (Oct. 23) ties as the fourth-best effort in a match (10-14 attempts) in program history ... Opposite Natalie Mitchem's .714 (15-0-21) mark ties as the ninth-best effort in a match (15-or-more attempts) in the BSU record books.
TOP ATTACK PERCENTAGES OF 2021
| # | Player (Date) | Pct. |
| 1. | Lauren Gilliland vs. WMU (10/23) | .818 (9-0-11) |
| 2. | Natalie Mitchem vs. Miami (10/30) | .714 (15-0-21) |
| 3. | Marie Plitt vs. CMU (11/5) | .706 (13-1-17) |
| 4. | Marie Plitt vs. NDSU (8/28) | .667 (12-0-18) |
| 5. | Lauren Gilliland vs. Ohio (10/1) | .647 (11-0-17) |
| 6. | Lauren Gilliland at Iowa (9/10) | .643 (10-1-14) |
| 7. | Jaclyn Bulmahn at Kent St. (9/25) | .600 (19-1-30) |
| Lauren Gilliland vs. St. Thomas (8.27) | .600 (9-0-15) | |
| 9. | Marie Plitt at Kent St. (9/24) | .593 (16-0-27) |
| 10. | Lauren Gilliland vs. Ohio (9/30) | .591 (13-0-22) |
| 11. | Lauren Gilliland vs. Miami (10/30) | .588 (10-0-17) |
| 12. | Lauren Gilliland vs. BGSU (10/29) | .583 (7-0-12) |
| 13. | Marie Plitt vs. NKU (9/17) | .563 (10-1-16) |
| 14. | Marie Plitt vs. Miami (10/30) | .545 (7-1-11) |
| Marie Plitt vs. Syracuse (9/11) | .545 (7-1-11) | |
| 16. | Jaclyn Bulmahn vs. St. Thomas (8/27) | .538 (7-0-13) |
| 17. | Marie Plitt vs. Ohio (10/1) | .533 (8-0-15) |
| Lauren Gilliland at WMU (10/22) | .533 (10-2-15) | |
| 19. | Marie Plitt vs. NIU (10/15) | .529 (10-1-17) |
| Natalie Mitchem vs. St. Thomas (8/27) | .529 (11-2-17) | |
| 21. | Lauren Gilliland at Wright St. (9/3) | .522 (12-0-23) |
| 22. | Marie Plitt at WMU (10/22) | .500 (7-0-14) |
| Emily Hollowell at Kent St. (9/25) | .500 (12-1-22) |
• Setter Megan Wielonski is just the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career assists, with her 1,316 assists on the year currently ranking 13th on BSU's all-time list … In addition, she is just the third player in program history to record over 1,000 assists as a freshman, joining Brittany McGinnis (1,245 in 2008) and Emily Sallee (1,387 in 1997).
• 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 54 service aces, including a career-high seven vs. Ohio (Sept. 30), are first in the league and ninth among all NCAA Division I players … The total currently ties as the 10th-most in a single season in program history, with the record being 70 by Barbara Harrison in 1988 … In addition, they are a single-season record for a BSU setter, with the previous mark being 51 set by Amber Seaman in 2018.
• With her third of 17 kills in Wednesday's MAC Volleyball Championship Match outside Jaclyn Bulmahn reached the 1,000 career kills mark ... A First Team All-Conference selection in each of the past two seasons, earning All-Missouri Valley Conference honors at Valpo last season and All-MAC honors this year, Bulmahn enters the NCAA Championships with 1,014 career kills ... She has blasted 355 so far in her first and only season with the Cardinals, in addition to 679 in her four-year career with the Beacons.
• 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 14 matches … Huber has done a solid job in the role, securing double figure digs in each contest and averaging 5.31 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 2.84 digs-per-set average … Natalie Risi took over the role for the next eight matches, and is second on the squad with 335 total digs … Risi averages 2.77 digs per set.
• The Ball State women's volleyball program was heavily rewarded for its run to the MAC regular season championship with four First Team All-MAC award winners: Megan Wielonski, Natalie Mitchem, Marie Plitt, and Jaclyn Bulmahn ... With the four award winners, Ball State continues to rank second in MAC history in both total All-MAC selections (106) and total First Team All-MAC honorees (55).
• Megan Wielonski became the fourth player in program history to earn MAC Freshman of the Year honors this season, joining Natalie Risi (2019), Sarah Obras (2002), and Emily Sallee (1997).
• Head coach Kelli Miller Phillips also picked up some hardware for her work this season, becoming the third coach in program history to earn MAC Coach of the Year honors ... She joins five-time selection Randy Litchfield (1991, 1993, 1994, 1999 and 2002) and Steve Shondell (2010).
