Ball State University
Bowling Green
WVB MAC Division Leaders Clash in Worthen Thursday & Friday
February 10, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (5-1, 5-1 MAC) hosts Bowling Green (6-0, 6-0 MAC) | |
| Match 1 | Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. ET |
| Match 2 | Friday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. ET |
| Location | Worthen Arena - Muncie, Ind. |
| ESPN+ / ESPN3 Broadcasts | Thursday ESPN3 Link |  Friday ESPN+ Link |  TALENT: Ryan Klimcak (PBP) / Lexi Eblen (Analyst) / Madison Surface (Sideline) |
| Sports Link Digital Radio | Thursday SL Digital Link  |  Friday SL Digital Link  |  TALENT: Andrew Willett (PBP) / Eliza Vandewalle (Analyst) |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State  | Bowling Green |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
THE WEEK AHEAD: It will be a battle of league leaders in Worthen Arena this week, as the Mid-American Conference West Division leading Ball State women's volleyball team welcomes MAC East Division leader Bowling Green for a two-match series ... The teams battle at 7 p.m. Thursday and again at 5 p.m. Friday.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting county health department guidance, general public attendance at Ball State women's volleyball matches is currently prohibited ... Fans can watch Thursday's match live on ESPN3, while Friday's contest will be carried live on ESPN+ ... Ball State Sports Link Digital will also provide live audio coverage of each match ... Links for all options to follow can be found above or on the women's volleyball schedule page.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
• The last two teams standing in the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship square off again this week in a potential battle for the top spot in the 2020-21 league standings ... BGSU enters with a perfect 6-0 record to sit atop the MAC East Division, while Ball State leads the MAC West Division at 5-1 ... In last season's MAC Tournament championship match, BSU pulled out a thrilling 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 15-5) victory over the Falcons at BGSU's Stroh Center.
• They say defense wins championships, and Ball State's defense has been on full display so far this season with the Cardinals holding opponents to a league-low .128 attack percentage ... Ball State ranks first in the league in digs per set (18.35) and is fourth in blocks per set (2.09) ... Bowling Green is second in the league, holding foes to a .145 rate of success.
• After missing the first three series while on maternity leave for the birth of her daughter Marlee Mae, Ball State head coach Kelli Miller Phillips returns to the sidelines for this week's matches versus Bowling Green ... In his three weeks as acting head coach, Fritz Rosenberg guided the team to a 5-1 record.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters the BGSU series as the league's top defensive team, limiting opponents to a league-low .128 attack percentage and pacing all MAC programs with an 18.35 digs-per-set average ... With an impressive 7.00 digs-per-set average last week at Toledo, sophomore libero Maggie Huber leads the league and ranks fourth nationally with a 6.26 digs-per-set average ... Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland is first in the MAC and ranks 63rd nationally with her 1.26 blocks-per-set average ... Ball State is almost as strong on offense, ranking third in the MAC with a .235 attack percentage ... The Cardinals have found offensive success spreading the ball, with five different players averaging at least 1.70 kills per set ... Kia Holder leads the charge at 3.13, while sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem is second at 2.43 ... The Cardinals currently use a 6-2 rotation, with freshman Kate Vinson and redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing dishing out 6.61 and 4.53 assist per set, respectively.
SCOUTING BOWLING GREEN:
• The Falcons enter the week with a 6-0 overall record, most recently securing a pair of home wins over Miami ... BGSU is second in the MAC in both hitting percentage (.236) and opponent hitting percentage (.145) ... Junior outside hitter Katelyn Meyer leads the BGSU attack and is 27th nationally with a 4.41 kills-per-set average, while sophomore outside hitter Petra Indrova is second at 3.68 and leads the squad's attackers with a .308 hitting percentage ... Sophomore setter Hanna Laube is handing out 11.23 assists per set ... At the net, BGSU's block is just a fraction ahead of Ball State's at 2.09 blocks per set, led by Katie Kidwell's 21 total blocks ... Junior libero Julia Walz leads the Falcons defense with a 3.82 digs-per-set average, while the team is seventh in the league averaging 15.95 digs per set.
MORE MAC WEST HONORS:
• For the third straight week, a member of the Ball State women's volleyball program has earned MAC weekly honors ... This time, it was sophomore libero Maggie Huber who picked up MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week accolades after averaging 7.00 digs per set at Toledo last week ... The awards started with freshman setter Kate Vinson earning MAC West Division Setter of the Week following opening weekend ... After the second week of the season, senior outside hitter Kia Holder was named MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week, while Ball State's 6-2 setter tandem of redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing and Vinson claimed MAC West Division Setter of the Week.
MAC PRESEASON POLL:
• 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, 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. BOWLING GREEN:
• Ball State holds a 43-18-1 lead in the all-time series versus Bowling Green, including last season's win in the championship match of the MAC Tournament ... While the Cardinals have won nine of the last 11 meetings in the series, BGSU's two wins have come at Worthen Arena ... That includes a 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-20, 15-13) victory in the regular season meeting last season played Oct. 26, 2019.
IN THE MAC:
• With a 5-1 record in MAC play so far this season, Ball State enters the week with a league-best 397-200 (.665) all-time record in MAC play ...Western Michigan is four matches back in second at 393-204 (.658) ... Bowling Green is fifth on the list based on wins (331) and sixth based on winning percentage (.554).
HOME SWEET HOME:
• The Cardinals improved to 203-51 (.799) all-time versus MAC opponents in Worthen Arena after the 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.
STILL HOLDING STRONG:
• Kia Holder has continued right where she left off in 2019, turning in several dominating offensive performances so far this season ... She has collected double-digit kills in five of BSU's six matches, including a season-high 17 in last Friday's win at Toledo ... In fact, going back to the last 10 matches last year, Holder has smashed double-digit kills in 13 of her last 16 outings ... Prior to the run, Holder only had four double-digit kill performances in her first 50 career matches.
HOLD ON, THERE'S MORE:
• Over the last 16 matches, Kia Holder is averaging 3.08 kills per set and is hitting .241, which is .075 better then her career attack percentage of .166 ... In addition, she has made tremendous strides at the net, including a career-high six total blocks at Buffalo (Jan. 29) ... She registered her first two solo blocks of the season in the series at Buffalo, and has 18 total blocks this year after logging just 20 last year.
BIG IMPACT AT THE NET:
• Lauren Gilliland enters the week ranked first in the MAC with a 1.26 blocks-per-set average ... In her collegiate debut, Gilliland collected nine total blocks versus Akron (Jan. 22) and followed with seven more against the Zips the next night (Jan. 23) ... She has registered at least two blocks in all six matches so far, including six in the first match at Toledo (Feb. 4), giving her three matches with six-or-more.
NEARLY NO STOPPING HER:
• Marie Plitt continues to pace the squad with a .360 (39-7-89) attack percentage this season, which ranks fifth in the MAC and 95th nationally ... She hit a season-best .480 (14-2-25) in the Jan. 23 win over Akron, and has hit at least .400 in three of BSU's six matches this season ... As a freshman last season, Plitt finished the year with a .295 attack percentage ... BSU's single season attack percentage record is currently .391 set by Julie Zylka in 2000.
HUBER DIGGING LIBERO:
• Sophomore Maggie Huber has jumped right into the role of Ball State's starting libero, ranking first in the MAC and fourth nationally with a 6.26 digs-per-set average ... She has registered double-digit digs in all six matches, including a career-high 35 digs in each of last week's matches at Toledo ... Huber played a significant part in Ball State's backcourt as a freshman last season, collecting double-digit digs in 24 matches and even saw some time as the team's libero ... She finished the year ranked second on the team with a 3.02 digs-per-set average.
DYK LIBERO FACT:
• The last Ball State libero to finish a season with a digs-per-set average above 5.0 was Catie Fredrich in 2012 at 5.02 ... Kate Avila, BSU's libero the last four years, was the next closest with a 4.94 average in 2017.
SERVING IT UP:
• Sophomore defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach enters the week as one of four players in the MAC with double-digit service aces at 10 ... In fact, her 0.43 aces-per-set average is fourth in the league ... She has served up at least one ace in five matches, including a season-high three in the second match at Buffalo (Jan. 29) ... Maggie Huber is not far behind, ranking ninth in the MAC at 0.30 aces per set after scoring a career-high four in last Friday's win at Toledo (Feb. 5)
