Volleyball Opens #MACtion Friday at Kent State

Match 13: Ball State (10-2; 0-0 MAC) at Kent State (5-7; 0-0 MAC)
Friday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. ET - Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center
Live Stats | Live Video

Match 14: Ball State (10-2; 0-0 MAC) at Kent State (5-7; 0-0 MAC)
Saturday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. ET - Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center
Live Stats | Live Video

MUNCIE, Ind. - - With the start of fall comes the beginning of Mid-American Conference play for the Ball State women's volleyball team, which travels to Kent State for a pair of weekend matches.

The Cardinals (10-2; 0-0- MAC) and Golden Flashes (5-7; 0-0 MAC) will square off at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Both matches will be broadcast live by GFTV on BoxCast, with Tyler Henry calling the play-by-play action.

Ball State concluded the non-conference portion of the 2021 regular season with the best record in the MAC at 10-2. Toledo was a close second, at 9-3, while Kent State produced a 5-7 mark in its run to league 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 start of MAC play averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, while seven are smashing at least 1.00 kills per set.

Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem leads the offense at 2.80 kills per set, while graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn is a close second at 2.78.

The BSU's offense is also connected at a .238 clip this season, which is the second-best attack percentage in the MAC, trailing only Western Michigan's .245 mark. In fact, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 11 of its 12 matches this season, including finishing last weekend's two-match set versus Northern Kentucky with a .254 rate of success.

Playing a large role in guiding the offense has been freshman setter Megan Wielonski who is third in the MAC with a 10.20 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 defensive specialist Kate Vinson leads the Ball State defense with a 4.02 dig-per-set average, which ranks eighth in the MAC so far this season. At the net, sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland leads the squad and is ninth in the league at 0.82 blocks per set, while junior middle Marie Plitt is not far behind at 0.80.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .209 attack percentage and rank fourth in the MAC at 2.03 blocks per set and sixth in the league at 14.52 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

In addition to ranking second in the MAC with a .238 team attack percentage, Ball State features a pair of players ranked in the top 10 in the league in individual attack percentage … Sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland paces all league players and is 48th nationally with her .386 rate of success … Junior middle Marie Plitt is not far behind, ranking eighth in the league at .329
Freshman setter Megan Wielonski enters the weekend ranked 11th nationally with her 469 total assists, while her 10.20 assists-per-set average is 58th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with six assist/dig double-doubles in the last eight matches … In fact, her 120 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are second on the squad as is her 2.61 digs-per-set average.
In addition to being one of the top setters in the MAC, freshman Megan Wielonski has also proven to be one of its top servers ranking second at 0.41 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 19 service aces, including a career-high five vs. UNI (Aug. 28), are second in the league and rank 43rd among all NCAA Division I players nationwide.
Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, leading the Cardinals with a 2.80 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in eight of BSU's 12 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 0.59 blocks per set, with at least one block in 11 matches.
Graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn has made her presence felt in the Ball State lineup, ranking second on the team with a 2.78 kills-per-set average … A First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Valparaiso last season, Bulmahn has reached double digits in eight matches so far this season, including a season-high 15 at Wright State (Sept. 3).
Sophomore defensive specialist Kate Vinson anchors the Ball State defense, ranking eighth in the MAC with a 4.02 digs-per-set average … She has collected double-digit digs in 11 of the 12 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 weekend with a 951-622-2 (.604) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play … In addition, the Cardinals own a 401-211 (.655) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 406-206 (.663) mark ... KSU is 10th all-time based on winning percentage at 229-3823 (.374).
While Ball State holds a 41-17 lead in the all-time series versus Kent State, the Golden Flashes have won the last three meetings, including a pair of matches played Ball State's Jo Ann Gora Student Recreation and Wellness Center during the 2020-21 spring season. KSU rallied to win the opening match played March 11 by a score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-14, 17-15), while taking the March 12 meeting by a final of 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-16).

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Players Mentioned

Jaclyn Bulmahn

Lauren Gilliland

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski