Volleyball Returns To Worthen Arena To Battle Ohio

Match 15: Ball State (11-3; 1-1 MAC) hosts Ohio (1-12; 1-1 MAC)
   Thursday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. ET - Worthen Arena
   Live Stats  |  ESPN+  |  SL Digital Radio | Tickets

Match 16: Ball State (11-3; 1-1 MAC) hosts Ohio (1-12; 1-1 MAC)
   Friday, Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. ET - Worthen Arena
   Live Stats  |  ESPN+  |  SL Digital Radio | Tickets

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After opening Mid-American Conference play on the road last weekend, the Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena Thursday for the first of two matches versus Ohio.

The Cardinals (11-3; 1-1 MAC) and Bobcats (1-12; 1-1 MAC) will also battle again Friday, with both contests starting at 6:30 p.m. and being broadcast live on ESPN+. Joel Godett will call the play-by-play action both nights, while former four-year letterwinner Amber Seaman (2016-19) will serve as analyst.

Ball State opened league play at Kent State last weekend, splitting a pair of matches with the Golden Flashes. KSU won the opener in five last Friday, fending off three BSU match points in the third set and another in the fifth to complete the come-from-behind victory. The Cardinals responded with a decisive sweep in Saturday's rematch, keeping Kent State under 15 points in all three frames.

Overall, the Cardinals own the best record in the MAC so far this season at 11-3 (.786). Western Michigan and Toledo are not far behind, at 10-4 (.714) each, with the Broncos leading the MAC with a perfect 3-0 league ledger to this point.

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 Ohio series averaging at least 2.22 kills per set, while six are smashing at least 1.57 kills per set.

After leading the Ball State offense at Kent State last weekend, including 19 kills in Saturday's sweep, graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn leads the club with a 3.02 kills-per-set average. Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem is not far behind at 2.72.

The BSU's offense is also connecting at a league-best .248 clip this season, slightly ahead of Western Michigan which is hitting .243 as a squad. In fact, the Cardinals have hit .200-or-above in 13 of its 14 matches this season, including finishing last weekend's two-match series at Kent State with a .306 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 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 3.67 dig-per-set average. Junior Natalie Risi, who has started at libero for BSU over the last two weekends, is second on the team at 2.72 digs per set.

At the net, sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland leads the squad and is seventh in the league at 0.92 blocks per set, while junior middle Marie Plitt is not far behind at 0.72.

As a team, the Cardinals are limiting opponents to a .208 attack percentage and rank fourth in the MAC at 2.03 blocks per set and sixth in the league at 14.57 digs per set.

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:

In addition to leading the MAC with a .248 team attack percentage, Ball State features a pair of players ranked in the top five in the league in individual attack percentage … Junior middle Marie Plitt is second in the MAC and 83rd nationally with her .358 hitting mark, while sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland is fifth in the league and 138th nationally at .332.
Freshman setter Megan Wielonski enters the weekend ranked 12th nationally with her 551 total assists, while her 10.20 assists-per-set average is 54th … Wielonski is also putting up big numbers in the backcourt with eight assist/dig double-doubles in the last 10 matches … In fact, her 143 total digs, including a career-high 21 at Wright State (Sept 3), are third on the squad as is her 2.65 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 third at 0.43 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 23 service aces, including a career-high five vs. UNI (Aug. 28), are first in the league and rank 31st among all NCAA Division I players nationwide.
Graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn has made her presence felt in the Ball State lineup, leading the squad with a 3.02 kills-per-set average … A First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection at Valparaiso last season, Bulmahn has reached double digits in 10 matches so far this season, including a season-high 19 kills in last Saturday's sweep at Kent State … The 19 kills tie as the most in a three-set match in the MAC this season and are four shy of her career-high 23 set versus Southern Illinois (Feb. 14, 2021) during her 2021 spring season at Valpo.
Jaclyn Bulmahn enters Thursday's match at Ohio with 819 career kills, including 160 so far in her first season at Ball State … Her season-high for kills in a season is 277 set her junior year at Valpo, while she averaged a career-best 3.05 kills per set for the Beacons last season.
Junior opposite Natalie Mitchem has gotten off to a strong start in 2021, ranking second on the team with a 2.72 kills-per-set average … She has smashed double-digit kills in nine of BSU's 14 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 0.65 blocks per set, with at least one block in 13 matches.
After serving as the team's libero for the first three weeks of the season, sophomore defensive specialist Kate Vinson anchors the Ball State defense and ranks eighth in the MAC with a 198 total digs … She has collected double-digit digs in 11 of the 14 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.
Junior Natalie Risi transitioned from the outside back to the libero position for the past two weekends, and is now second on the team with a 2.72 digs-per-set average … Since moving to libero for the Northern Kentucky series, Risi is averaging 4.07 digs per set, including a season-high 25 in last Friday's match at Kent State (Sept. 24).
Ball State enters Thursday's match with a 952-623-2 (.604) all-time record in women's volleyball in its 50th season of play … In addition, the Cardinals own a 402-212 (.655) all-time record in Mid-American Conference play ... The only program with a better all-time league mark is Western Michigan at 409-206 (.665) mark ... Ohio is fifth all-time based on winning percentage at 346-266 (.565).
Ball State holds a 39-20 edge in the all-time series versus Ohio after the teams split a pair of matches in Athens during the 2020-21 spring season … Ball State rallied from down two sets to win the opener by a score of 3-2 (25-27, 21-25, 25-13, 28-26, 15-11) on March 4, while the Bobcats swept the second match 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 26-24) the following afternoon … The Cardinals also hold a 17-8 lead in matches played in Worthen Arena, including a 3-1 (25-20, 28-26, 20-25, 25-18) victory in the most recent meeting on BSU's home court Oct. 12, 2018.

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Players Mentioned

Jaclyn Bulmahn

Lauren Gilliland

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski