Ball State University
Northern Illinois
WVB Welcomes NIU To Worthen Arena Thursday & Friday
February 17, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (5-3, 5-3 MAC) hosts Northern Illinois (2-6, 2-6 MAC) | |
| Match 1 | Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET |
| Match 2 | Friday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET |
| Location | Worthen Arena - Muncie, Ind. |
| ESPN+ / ESPN3 Broadcasts | Thursday ESPN+ Link - TALENT: Joel Godett (PBP) / Mackenzie Kitchel (Analyst) Friday ESPN+ Link - TALENT: Joel Godett (PBP) / Amber Seaman (Analyst) |
| Sports Link Digital Radio | Thursday SL Digital Link | Friday SL Digital Link - TALENT: Lexi Eblen (PBP) / Eliza Vandewalle (Analyst) |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State | Northern Illinois |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter | Instagram |
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to get back on the winning track this week when it hosts Northern Illinois for a pair of key Mid-American Conference West Division matches ... The teams are slated to play at 7 p.m. Thursday and again at 2 p.m. Friday in Worthen Arena.
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 both matches live on ESPN+ with Joel Godett calling the play-by-play action ... Four-year Ball State letterwinner Mackenzie Kitchel (2013-16) will serve as the analyst Thursday, while four-year Ball State letterwinner Amber Seaman (2016-19) will take over analyst duties Friday ... Ball State Sports Link Digital will also provide live audio coverage of each match ... Links for all options to follow can be found by visiting the women's volleyball schedule page.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
• Ball State is coming off a tough series versus Bowling Green, which saw the MAC-leading Falcons sweep the Cardinals twice at Worthen Arena ... The last time BSU lost two straight home matches was Oct. 25, 2019 vs. Miami (0-3) and Oct. 25, 2019 vs. BGSU (2-3) ... Ball State rebounded by winning its next nine matches to earn the MAC West Division title, capture the MAC Tournament championship and advance to the 2019 NCAA Division I Championship.
• They say defense wins championships, and Ball State's defense has been on full display so far this season with the Cardinals ranking second in the MAC by holding opponents to a .159 attack percentage ... Ball State also ranks third in the league in digs per set (18.03) and is sixth in blocks per set (2.03).
• 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 was back on the sidelines for last week's series versus Bowling Green ... Fritz Rosenberg served as the program's acting head coach for the first three weeks, leading BSU to a 5-1 record.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters the NIU series ranked second in the MAC by limiting opposing teams to a .159 attack percentage ... In addition, BSU's 18.03 digs-per-set average is third in the league, while its 2.03 blocks-per-set average is sixth ... Despite missing last weekend's series versus Bowling Green, sophomore libero Maggie Huber leads the league and ranks fourth nationally with a 6.26 digs-per-set average ... Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland is third in the MAC and ranks 120th nationally with her 1.14 blocks-per-set average ... On offense, Ball State is seventh in the MAC with a .205 attack percentage ... The Cardinals have found offensive success spreading the ball, with five different players averaging at least 1.65 kills per set ... Kia Holder leads the charge at 3.10, while sophomore opposite Allison Hamaker is second at 2.23 ... The Cardinals currently use a 6-2 rotation, with freshman Kate Vinson and redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing dishing out 6.14 and 4.52 assist per set, respectively.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS:
• The Huskies enter the week with a 2-6 overall record, most recently splitting a home series versus Eastern Michigan ... NIU is 10th in the MAC in hitting percentage (.171) and 11th in opponent hitting percentage (.249) ... Sophomore outside hitter Katie Jablonski leads the Huskies attack with a 2.88 kills-per-set average, while senior middle Kennedy Wallace leads the squad's attackers with a .233 hitting percentage and is third on the team at 2.39 kill per set ... Junior setter Grace Balensiefer runs the offense, handing out 9.42 assists per set ... At the net, junior middle Angie Gromos has a team-high 1.00 blocks-per-set average, while Wallace has a team high 27 total blocks and averages 0.82 per set ... Sophomore libero Samantha Juarez paces the NIU defense with 4.76 digs per set, while the team is seventh in the league averaging 16.27 digs per set.
MAC WEST HONORS:
• So far this season, the Ball State women's volleyball program has earned MAC weekly honors a total of four times ... The latest 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 during the third week of play ... 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 points
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: 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. NORTHERN ILLINOIS:
• While Ball State has won the last three meetings, it still trails the Huskies 34-36 in the all-time series ... The last time the teams met, the Cardinals scored a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) win in DeKalb on Nov. 9, 2019 ... Ball State holds an 18-10 advantage in matches played in Muncie, including a 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 26-24) sweep last season on Oct. 4, 2019 ... BSU has won the last two matches played at Worthen Arena.
IN THE MAC:
• With a 5-3 record in MAC play so far this season, Ball State enters the week with a league-best 397-202 (.663) all-time record in MAC play ...Western Michigan is two matches back in second at 395-204 (.659) ... Northern Illinois is fourth on the list based on winning percentage (.616) and seventh based on wins (276).
HOME SWEET HOME:
• The Cardinals enter Thursday's match against NIU with a 203-53 (.793) all-time record versus MAC opponents in Worthen Arena ... Overall, the Cardinals are 279-89 (.758) 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 six of BSU's eight matches, including a season-high 17 in the five-set win at Toledo (Feb. 5) ... In fact, going back to the last 10 matches last year, Holder has smashed double-digit kills in 14 of her last 18 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 18 matches, Kia Holder is averaging 3.07 kills per set and is hitting .225, which is .063 better then her career attack percentage of .162 ... 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 21 total blocks this year after logging just 20 last year.
BIG IMPACT AT THE NET:
• Lauren Gilliland enters the week ranked third in the MAC with a 1.14 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 seven of BSU's eight matches, 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 .317 (49-10-123) attack percentage this season, which ranks eighth in the MAC ... She hit a season-best .480 (14-2-25) in the Jan. 23 win over Akron, and has hit at least .300 in five of BSU's eight 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 she has played this season, including a career-high 35 digs in each match at Toledo (Feb. 4 & Feb. 5) ... 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 six players in the MAC with double-digit service aces at 10 ... In addition, her 0.36 aces-per-set average is fifth 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 Ball State's win at Toledo (Feb. 5).
