Ball State University
Eastern Michigan
WVB Looks to End Season on High Note at EMU
March 25, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (8-11, 8-11 MAC) at Eastern Michigan (7-11, 7-11 MAC) | |
| Match 1 | Friday, March 26 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+Â |Â Live Stats |
| Match 2 | Saturday, March 27 at 4 p.m. ET ESPN3Â |Â Live Stats |
| Tickets | NONE AVAILABLE |
| Game Notes | Ball State  |  Eastern Michigan |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
THE WEEK AHEAD: The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the 2020-21 spring season this weekend with a pair of matches at Eastern Michigan ... The Cardinals and the Eagles will battle at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday inside the EMU Convocation Center.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and resulting health department guidance, there will be no general public attendance at this weekend's matches ... Friday's contest will be carried live on ESPN+, while Saturday match will be broadcast on ESPN3 ... Live stats will also be available for both matches ... Links for all options to follow can be found above or on the women's volleyball schedule page.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK:
• With its 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11) loss at Miami Tuesday, the Ball State women's volleyball team has officially been eliminated from contention for the four-team Mid-American Conference Tournament which starts next week.
• Ball State has been dominating teams at the net over the last six matches, registering double-digit team blocks in each of the last six matches ... The Cardinals have averaged 3.15 blocks per set during the span, including a season-high 18.0 versus Central Michigan (March 20).
• In addition to the strong team numbers, four players are averaging at least 1.00 blocks per set over the last six matches; sophomore middle Marie Plitt (1.58), freshman middle Lauren Gilliland (1.19), redshirt freshman opposite Cailyn Bolser (1.11) and senior outside Kia Holder (1.08) ... Sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far off the mark either, at 0.83.
• Ball State enters Friday's match at Eastern Michigan with a perfect 8-0 record when it out-hits the competition ... On the flip side, the Cardinals are 0-11 when they are out-hit by their opponents in a match ... Ball State is connecting for a blistering .273 rate of success in its eight wins, while hitting just .163 in the 11 losses.
• Another key factor in Ball State's eight wins, the Cardinals are serving up 1.29 aces per set, compared to a 0.71 average in its losses.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters Friday's match at Eastern Michigan ranked sixth in the MAC with a .207 attack percentage, while its .200 opponent attack percentage is fourth ... Sophomore middle Marie Plitt is ranked fifth in the MAC with her .332 attack percentage, while senior outside Kia Holder has a team-best 3.29 kills-per-set average ... Ball State has switched between a 5-1 and 6-2 offense through the season, with redshirt sophomore setter Esther Grussing ranking 10th in the league with 7.32 assists per set ... Freshman Kate Vinson is BSU's other setter, and has also seen time as a defensive specialist, averaging 3.19 assists per set ... Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland continues to lead the Cardinals at the net, ranking third in the MAC with her 1.15 blocks-per-set average ... In the backcourt, sophomore defensive specialist Maggie Huber has a team-leading 4.20 digs-per-set average, while sophomore Natalie Risi has served as the team's libero for the last five matches and is averaging 3.05 digs per set ... As a team, Ball State is second in the league in blocking (2.47) and seventh in digging (16.53).
SCOUTING EASTERN MICHIGAN:
• The Eagles enter the week ranked 10th in the MAC in attack percentage (.187) and eighth in opponent attack percentage (.212) ... EMU has lost five of its last six matches, with the lone win coming at Central Michigan (March 16) ... Franki Strefling leads the squad and is second in the MAC with a 4.12 kills-per-set average ... Strefling also leads EMU's primary attackers with a .243 hitting percentage ... Setter Jayden Otto runs the offense, averaging 10.26 assists per set to rank fifth in the MAC ... Raeven Chase is the league's top blocker at the moment with her 1.38 blocks-per-set average, while Bella Hommes is fifth in the MAC with her team-best 5.03 digs-per-set average ... As a team, Eastern Michigan is leads the Mid-American Conference with an 18.61 digs-per-set average and is seventh at 2.04 blocks per set.MAC WEST HONORS:Â
• So far this season, the Ball State women's volleyball program has earned MAC weekly honors a total of five times ... The latest was sophomore middle Marie Plitt who earned MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week honors after averaging 2.08 blocks per set last week ... Sophomore libero Maggie Huber who earned 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.
THE SERIES VS. EASTERN MICHIGAN:
• Ball State holds a 57-27 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in seven of the last eight meetings ... The Cardinals swept the 2019 season series with a 3-2 win in Ypsilanti (Oct. 12) and a 3-1 victory in Muncie (Nov. 15) ... BSU is 21-17 all-time in matches played on Eastern Michigan's home court ... However, EMU's last win in the series was a 3-2 victory at the Convocation Center on Nov. 3, 2018.
IN THE MAC:
• Ball State enters Friday's match at Eastern Michigan with a 400-210 (.656) all-time record in league play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 404-206 (.662) mark ... EMU is eighth all-time based on winning percentage at 268-341 (.440).
STILL HOLDING STRONG:Â
• Senior outside 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 13 of BSU's 19 matches, including a season-high 19 versus Kent State (March 11) and again Tuesday at Miami ... In fact, going back to the last 10 matches last year, Holder has smashed double-digit kills in 21 of her last 29 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 29 matches, senior outside Kia Holder is averaging 3.20 kills per set and is hitting .207, which has raised her career average to .168 ... She entered the year hitting just .152 over her first three years ... In addition, she has made tremendous strides at the net, including a career-high six total blocks three times this season ... Holder has a team-best 11 solo blocks this season and has 59 total blocks this year after logging just 41 over her first three seasons ... She also served up her first career service ace versus Kent State (March 12).
BIG IMPACT AT THE NET:
• Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland (pictured to the right) enters the weekend ranked third in the MAC and 76th nationally with her 1.15 blocks-per-set average ... In addition, her 83 total blocks (9 solo and 74 assists) are the third-most among MAC players and rank 17th nationally ... In her collegiate debut, Gilliland collected nine total blocks versus Akron (Jan. 22) and tied the mark versus Kent State (March 12) ... She has registered at least two blocks in 18 of BSU's 19 matches, including six-or-more blocks on five occasions.
SPEAKING OF BLOCKS:
• Sophomore middle Marie Plitt was credited with a career-high 11 total blocks (1 solo and 10 assists) in last Saturday's match versus Central Michigan ... It is the most blocks in a match in the MAC so far this season and marks the first time a Ball State player has registered double-digit blocks in a match since Meg Starling collected 10 versus Idaho State on Sept. 8. 2017.
NEARLY NO STOPPING HER:
• On offense, sophomore middle Marie Plitt continues to pace the squad with a .332 (138-27-334) attack percentage, which ranks fourth in the MAC ... She hit a season-best .600 (6-0-10) at Ohio (March 5), and has hit at least .300 in 12 of BSU's 19 matches this year ... Plitt finished her freshman year with 106 kills and a .295 attack percentage to earn MAC All-Freshman Team honors ... BSU's single season attack percentage record is currently .391 set by Julie Zylka in 2000.
RISI AS LIBERO:
• Looking to continue to make an impact while battling injury this season, sophomore Natalie Risi transitioned into the libero position over the last five matches ... She played libero in the final set versus Kent State (March 12) and started at libero in each of BSU's last four matches ... It is not a bad spot for Risi, as she leads Ball State's primary passers with a .964 (294-for-305) reception percentage ... She has a perfect passer rating in 12 matches, and above a .950 mark in 14 contests ... She also ranks second on the team in digs (201) and digs-per-set average (3.05) ... Risi has eight matches with double-figure digs this year, including a career high 26 digs last Saturday versus Central Michigan (March 20).
DISHING THE ROCK:
• With 44 assists in Tuesday's match at Miami, redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing became just the 15th player in program history to hand out 1,000 career assists ... She entered the match with 972 and finished the contest with 1,016 ... She needs just four more assists to pass Lauren Gilbert (2000-2002) for 14th in program history ... Grussing also smashed a career-high six kills and hit a career-best .714 (6-1-7) against the RedHawks.
MAC PRESEASON POLL:
• In the annual MAC Preseason Poll released Thursday, Jan. 21, the defending MAC West Division champion Cardinals were selected to finish second in the division 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.
