WVB Welcomes Northern Kentucky for Pair of Weekend Matches

Match 11: Ball State (8-2) hosts Northern Kentucky (4-3)
Friday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. ET - Worthen Arena - Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN3

Match 12: Ball State (8-2) hosts Northern Kentucky (4-3)
Saturday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. ET - Worthen Arena - Tickets | Live Stats | ESPN3

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After playing its first three weekends on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena for the first time during the 2021 regular season for a pair of weekend matches versus Northern Kentucky.

The Cardinals (8-2) and Norse (4-3) will battle at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday, with both matches being broadcast live on ESPN3.

Ball State Sports Link's Ryan Klimcak and Lexi Eblen will team up for Friday's coverage, while Rob Connett and Katie Tomasic will handle the Ball State Athletics call for the broadcast on Saturday.

Following Saturday's match, the Cardinals will host a FREE 1-HOUR KIDS CLINIC for fans in 8th grade or younger. For more information or to register CLICK HERE.

Ball State enters the weekend with an 8-2 overall record, coming off a tough challenge at the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament hosted by Iowa, where the team went 1-2. The big win … a 3-2 (29-27, 25-15, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12) victory over the host Hawkeyes.

Prior to last weekend, the Cardinals went undefeated at both the GBD Invite (4-0) hosted by Green Bay and the TRU By Hilton Dayton Beavercreek Invitational (3-0) host by Wright State.

Overall, Ball State's 8-2 record is tied with Toledo as the best in the Mid-American Conference entering the final weekend of non-conference play.

One of the keys to the Cardinals' strong start to the season has been the team's ability to spread out its offense and keep opponents guessing on every swing. Four different Ball State players enter the NKU series averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, while seven are smashing at least 1.21 kills per set.

Junior opposite Natale Mitchem leads the offense at 2.82 kills per set, while graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn is a close second at 2.68.

BSU's offense is also connected at a .234 clip this season, which is the second-best attack percentage in the MAC, trailing only Toledo's .235 mark. In fact, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in nine of its 10 matches this season, including finishing last weekend's Cy-Hawk Series Tournament with a combined .251 rate of success.

Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been freshman setter Megan Wielonski who is fourth in the MAC with a 9.97 assist-per-set average. In fact, Wielonski set Ball State to a .476 attack percentage in the sweep of St. Thomas (Aug. 27), which ranks as the third-best single match team performance in program history.

Sophomore libero Kate Vinson leads the Ball State defense with a 4.29 dig-per-set average, which also ranks fifth in the MAC so far this season. At the net, junior middle Marie Plitt has a team-best 0.84 blocks-per-set average, while sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland is not far behind at 0.78.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .206 attack percentage and rank fourth in the MAC at 2.04 blocks per set and seventh in the league at 14.71 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

In addition to ranking second in the MAC with a .234 team attack percentage, Ball State features three players ranked in the top 10 in the league in individual attack percentage … Sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland paces all league players, and is 60th nationally, with her .385 rate of success, while junior middle Marie Plitt is ninth (.313) and junior opposite Natalie Mitchem is 10th (.311).
In addition to being one of the top setters in the MAC, ranking fourth in the league at 9.97 assists per set, freshman Megan Wielonski has proven to be one of its top servers ranking fifth at 0.39 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 15 service aces are second in the league and rank 58th among all NCAA Division I players nationwide.
As a setter, freshman Megan Wielonski ranks 13th nationally with her 379 total assists, while her 9.97 assists-per-set average is 66th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with five assist/dig double-doubles in the last six matches … In fact, her 95 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are second on the squad as is her 2.50 digs-per-set average.
Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, leading the Cardinals with a 2.82 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in six of BSU's 10 matches, including a season-high 16 in the win over Wright State (Sept. 3) … She's also turned in a strong effort at the net, averaging 0.61 blocks per set, with at least one block in nine matches.
Graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn has also made her presence felt, ranking second on the team with a 2.68 kills-per-set average … She has reached double digits in six matches, including a season-high 15 at Wright State (Sept. 3).
Sophomore libero Kate Vinson anchors the Ball State defense, ranking fifth in the MAC with a 4.29 digs-per-set average … She has collected double-digit digs in nine of the 10 matches, including a career-high 29 versus Marshall (Sept. 4) … The 29 digs tie as the third-most in a match in the MAC so far this season.
Ball State enters the two-match set versus Northern Kentucky with a 949-622-2 (.605) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play.
The all-time series between Ball State and Northern Kentucky is currently tied at 3-3 … The teams last met Sept. 13, 2019, with the Cardinals rallying from two sets down to win the match 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-9) … Ball State junior outside Natalie Risi tied for team-high honors in that win with 14 kills, while junior opposite Allison Hamaker added 11 … Key returners for NKU from the 2019 matchup include senior outside Anna Brinkmann who tied for match-high honors with 16 kills and senior setter Miranda Wucherer who dished out a team-high 27 assists in a 6-2 rotation.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHERN KENTUCKY (3-3)
10/29/1977 - W, 2-1 (15-6, 5-15, 15-1) - Neutral Site
11/7/1980 - L, 1-2 (14-16, 15-5, 15-13) - Neutral Site
10/6/1981 - L, 2-3 (15-10, 4-15, 1-15, 15-9, 9-15) - Home
10/20/1981 - W, 2-1 (8-15, 15-9, 15-10) - Neutral Site
9/9/2016 - L, 1-3 (23-25, 25-10, 18-25, 15-25) - Neutral Site
9/13/2019 - W, 3-2 (18-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-9) - Away

WVB Welcomes Northern Kentucky for Pair of Weekend Matches

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Players Mentioned

Jaclyn Bulmahn

Lauren Gilliland

Allison Hamaker

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski