Ball State University
Toledo
WVB Opens Two-Match Set at Toledo Thursday
February 03, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (4-0, 4-0 MAC) at Toledo (1-3, 1-3 MAC) | |
| Match 1 | Thursday, Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. ET |
| Match 2 | Friday, Feb. 5 at 4:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Savage Arena - Toledo, Ohio |
| ESPN+ / ESPN3 Broadcasts | Thursday ESPN+ Link |  Friday ESPN3 Link |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State  | Toledo |
| Live Stats | Live Stats |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road this week to battle its first Mid-American Conference West Division opponent in Toledo ... The Cardinals and Rockets will square off at 6 p.m. Thursday and 4:30 p.m. Friday at Savage Arena.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting Ohio Department of Health guidelines, there will be no general public attendance at Savage Arena for this week's matches ... Fans can watch Thursday's match live on ESPN+, while Friday's match will be carried live on ESPN3 ... Live stats will also be available courtesy of Toledo Athletics ... Links for all options to follow can be found above or on the women's volleyball schedule page.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
• 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 .095 attack percentage ... Ball State limited Akron to a .096 hitting percentage opening weekend, while holding Buffalo to a .093 mark last week ... MAC East Division leader Bowling Green is second in the league, holding foes to a .147 rate of success.
• The Cardinals have been just as strong on offense, leading the league and ranking 15th among the 202 NCAA Division I programs who have played a match so far in the traditional fall or delayed winter season with a .283 team attack percentage ... Sophomore middle Marie Plitt leads the charge and ranks fourth in the MAC with a .404 (28-5-57) attack percentage ... Senior outside hitter Kia Holder is second on the team at .282 (43-12-110) and ranks 10th in the MAC with her team-leading 3.31 kills-per-set average.
• Fritz Rosenberg enters his third league series as acting head coach of the Cardinals, having guided the team to a 4-0 record ... Rosenberg will lead the program while head coach Kelli Miller Phillips remains on maternity leave following the birth of her daughter, Marlee Mae, on Jan. 6.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters the week leading the MAC in both hitting percentage (.283) and opponent hitting percentage (.095) ... That has equated to the Cardinals winning 12 of the 13 sets they have played ... In fact, opponents have failed to reach 20 points in 10 of the 12 sets Ball State has won ... 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 3.31, while sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem is a close second at 3.08 ... Sophomore libero Maggie Huber paces the backcourt at 5.69 digs per set, while freshman middle Lauren Gilliland leads the league with a 1.62 blocks-per-set average ... Last week, the Cardinals turned to a 6-2 rotation, with redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing and freshman Kate Vinson dishing out 5.83 and 4.50 assist per set, respectively.
SCOUTING TOLEDO:Â
• The Rockets enter the week with a 1-3 overall record after sweeping Northern Illinois in Friday action ... Toledo is sixth in the MAC with a .211 team attack percentage, while its defense ranks third by holding opponents to a .170 hitting mark ... Taylor Alt leads the UT attack with 3.44 kills per set, while Olivia Vance is hitting a team-best .382 (41-7-89) and has a team-high 1.19 blocks-per-set average ... Payton Morman has guided the offense, handing out 10.44 assists per set ... Ryann Jaqua leads the Toledo defense with a 4.53 digs-per-set average after serving as the team's libero at NIU last week ... Yorktown, Indiana, native Rhyen Neal is second on the squad at 3.44 digs per set after playing at libero for the Rockets' opening weekend versus WMU ... Defensively, Toledo leads the MAC with a 2.75 blocks-per-set average, while its 15.41 digs-per-set average is sixth in the league.
MORE MAC WEST HONORS:Â
• Kia Holder was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Cardinals with a 21 kills and a 3.50 kills-per-set average at Buffalo ... She also hit .349 (21-6-43) for the series ... Ball State's 6-2 setter tandem of Esther Grussing and Kate Vinson also claimed MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors after leading the team to a .331 attack percentage and combining for a 10.33 assists-per-set average ... Vinson also earned the honor after opening weekend, making her a two-time setter of the week so far this season.
MAC PRESEASON POLL:Â
• 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: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. TOLEDO:
• Ball State holds a 68-10 lead in the all-time series versus the Rockets, including five straight wins ... Last season, the Cardinals swept the two-match series including a hard-fought 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 26-28, 25-23, 23-21) victory in Worthen Arena on Halloween (Oct. 31) which sparked the current run of 13 straight victories over MAC opponents ... Ball State is 29-5 all-time in Toledo, including two straight wins.
IN THE MAC:Â
• With a 4-0 record in MAC play so far this season, Ball State enters the week with a league-best 396-199 (.6655) all-time record in MAC play ...Western Michigan is five matches back in second at 391-204 (.657) ... Toledo is 11th on the list based on both wins and winning percentage at 178-417 (.299).
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:Â
• 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 three of BSU's four matches, including a season-high 14 in last Friday's sweep at Buffalo ... In fact, going back to the last 10 matches last year, Holder has smashed double-digit kills in 11 of her last 14 matches ... 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 14 matches, Kia Holder is averaging 3.11 kills per set and is hitting .255, which is nearly .100 better then her career attack percentage of .165 ... In addition, she has made tremendous strides at the net, including a career-high six total blocks last Friday at Buffalo ... She registered her first two solo blocks of the season in the series at Buffalo, and has 14 total blocks this year after logging just 20 last year.
BIG IMPACT AT THE NET:
• Speaking of strong play at the net, Lauren Gilliland enters the week ranked first in the MAC and 18th nationally with a 1.62 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 registered solo blocks in each match at Buffalo last week, the first two of her career, and finished that series with five blocks over the six sets.
NEARLY NO STOPPING HER:Â
• Marie Plitt continues to pace the squad with a .404 (28-5-57) attack percentage this season, which ranks fourth in the MAC and 48th 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 four matches this season ... As a freshman last season, Plitt finished the year with a .295 attack percentage ... No player in program history has finished a season hitting at or above .400 ... BSU's single season record is currently .391 set by Julie Zylka in 2000.
HUBER DIGGING LIBERO:Â
• Sophomore Maggie Huber has jumped right into the role of Ball State's starting libero, ranking second in the MAC and 18th nationally with a 5.69 digs-per-set average ... She has registered double-digit digs in all four matches, including a season-high 22 in BSU's four-set win over Akron on Jan. 23 ... 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:
• Ball State enters Thursday's match up at Toledo as one of the top serving teams in the league, ranking third in the MAC at 1.62 aces per set ... Sophomore defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach leads the squad and ranks third with a 0.54 average, while junior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck is tied for fourth at 0.50 ... Rickenbach served up a BSU season-high three aces at Buffalo last Friday.
