WVB Battles For MAC West Lead Wednesday at Toledo

Ball State (14-6; 6-2 MAC) at Toledo (13-6; 6-2 MAC) / hosts Western Michigan (13-8; 5-4 MAC)
Match 21 at Toledo	Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 22 hosts Western Michigan	Friday, Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 23 hosts Western Michigan	Saturday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. Live Stats \| Ball State All-Access (FREE) \| Tickets
Notes	Ball State \| Toledo \| Western Michigan
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

UP THIS WEEK: First up in a three-match week for the Ball State women's volleyball team is a battle for the top spot in the Mid-American Conference West Division, when the Cardinals travel to Toledo for a 6 p.m. first serve Wednesday at Savage Arena ... Ball State returns home Friday and Saturday for a battle of the league's all-time winningest programs when Western Michigan visits Worthen Arena for a pair of 6 p.m. first serves.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both Wednesday's match at Toledo and Friday's contest versus Western Michigan will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... Live video for Saturday's match versus the Broncos will consist of a single-camera feed with nat sound ... In addition, live stats will be available courtesy of the host institutions ... Live updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's Twitter feed: @BallStateWVB.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Ball State women's volleyball team holds a 71-11 lead in the all-time series versus Toledo, including a 31-6 edge in matches played at Toledo ... BSU has won each of the last three meetings, including a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-22) sweep in the latest match played Nov. 17, 2021, at Savage Arena ... The Cardinals are 53-48 all-time versus Western Michigan, including three straight wins ... BSU holds a 28-15 advantage in matches played in Muncie, including a 23-7 mark inside Worthen Arena ... The last time the teams met was Nov. 22, 2021, with Ball State earning a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-11) victory at home in the semifinals of the 2021 MAC Tournament.

BALL STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• In its 51st season of play, Ball State boasts a 985-630-2 (.610) all-time record in women's volleyball ... The Cardinals have captured 11 MAC West Division Championships, nine MAC Regular Season Championships, and eight MAC Tournament Championships ... Ball State made its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season, earning a first-round victory over Michigan for the third NCAA Tournament win in program history ... BSU has also earned one bid into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

• Ball State enters Wednesday's match at Toledo as the winningest program in league play with a 424-214 (.665) all-time Mid-American Conference record ... Western Michigan is second on the list, two-and-a-half matches behind the Cardinals at 422-217 (.660) ... Toledo is 11th all-time based on winning percentage at 199-438 (.312).

• The Cardinals own an even better record when playing at home, boasting a 301-94 (.762) mark inside Worthen Arena ... Factor in opponents from just the Mid-American Conference and Ball State is 220-57 (.794) when battling in "The Nest" ... No MAC opponent owns a winning record inside Worthen Arena, as the Cardinals have at least a .632 winning percentage against all league schools on its current home floor.

• Ball State enters Wednesday's match at Toledo with the longest active winning streak in the MAC at six matches ... After opening league play with a pair of road losses at Central Michigan (Sept. 23-24), the Cardinals swept a home series versus Eastern Michigan (Sept. 30 and Oct. 1), topped both Akron (Oct. 7) and Buffalo (Oct. 8), and swept a two-match set at then-league-leading Northern Illinois (Oct. 14 and Oct. 15).

• The Cardinals defense played a large role in the pair of wins at NIU, holding the league's top attacking team to its two lowest single-match hitting marks of the season ... In Friday's 3-1 win, Ball State limited the Huskies to a .166 rate of success ... In Saturday's sweep, BSU held Northern Illinois to a .084 effort ... Overall, the Huskies hit just .134 over the two matches after entering the series hitting a league-best .263.

• For her backcourt play at NIU, Ball State senior libero Maggie Huber was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and the third time in her career ... Huber led all MAC players with a 7.29 digs-per-set average last week ... She collected a season-best 30 digs in Friday's win, while adding 21 more in Saturday's sweep ... She also finished the two-match set with a perfect 1.000 reception percentage in 35 attempts.

• Overall, Ball State's backcourt enters the week as one of the nation's best, ranking first in the MAC and third nationally with a 17.61 digs-per-set average ... In addition, the Cardinals' 1,391 total digs are fifth nationally.

• Three Ball State student-athletes rank in the top 300 nationally in total digs, led by Maggie Huber in 88th at 313 ... Sophomore setter Megan Wielonski is close behind in 185th at 261, while senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates is 292nd at 220 ... Overall, Ball State has five regulars averaging at least 2.49 digs per set, led by Huber at 3.96.

• In addition to leading the team with a 3.96 digs-per-set average this season, Maggie Huber has started 15 of BSU's 20 matches at libero ... She has collected double-digit digs in 17 matches, including a season-high 30 in last Friday's win at NIU ... Huber also leads Ball State's primary passers with a .956 reception percentage, with just 15 reception errors in 339 total attempts.

• Havyn Gates served as BSU's starting libero in the other five matches and owns three of BSU's five largest single-match dig totals so far this season ... She collected a Ball State career-high 33 digs in the five-set thriller at Central Michigan (Sept. 24) and scored 24 digs in five-set matches versus Dayton (Sept. 13) and Northern Kentucky (Sept. 16) ... Gates, who registered a career-high 42 digs as a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan in 2019, has 1,660 career digs including 536 at BSU and 1,124 at IWU.

• On offensive, senior middle Marie Plitt enters the week ranked first in the MAC and 30th nationally with a .389 (199-31-432) attack percentage ... That mark includes a program record .833 (15-0-18) rate of success in Ball State's sweep of Arkansas State (Sept. 9) ... So far this season, Plitt has hit .300-or-better in 15 of BSU's 20 matches, including a .467 (8-1-15) effort at No. 10 Purdue (Sept. 17) ... Plitt also enters the week as the team leader with a 2.52 kills-per-set average, including double-digit kills in nine matches.

• Senior outside Natalie Risi is not far behind, ranking second on the squad with a 2.43 kills-per-set average ... Risi has smashed double-digit kills in a team-high 11 matches this season, including five of the last six outings ... Risi has also collected nine kill/dig double-doubles on the year and ranks fourth on the squad with 218 total digs.

• Natalie Risi became just the 18th player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs with her third of 10 digs in the Sept. 3 match versus Mississippi State ... She currently ranks 11th in program history with 1,158 digs ... Risi, who is 19th in program history with 833 career kills, could become just the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs if she can average 16.7 kills-per-match over the final 10 matches of the regular season.

• Speaking of ranking among the program elite in kills, senior opposite Natalie Mitchem enters Wednesday's match at Toledo ranked 12th in program history with 935 career kills ... Marie Plitt also ranks in the top 20, with her 871 career kills placing 18th ... Only 11 players in program history have reached 1,000 career kills while playing for Ball State.

• Megan Wielonski, who earned MAC West Division Setter of the Week honors for the second time this season and sixth time in her career this past week, is picking up right where she left off last season by dishing out 836 total assists so far in 2022 ... The total currently stands as the seventh-most in the nation ... She also ranks 28th nationally with a 10.58 assists-per-set average ... Last season, Wielonski finished the year ranked second nationally with 1,394 total assists ... Over her career, Wielonski has helped the Cardinals hit .300-or-better in 13 of her 54 matches as the program's starting setter, included two of the top four single-match performances in program history.

• Megan Wielonski became just the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career assists last season, while her 2,230 career assists currently rank 12th on BSU's all-time list … In addition, she became just the third player in program history to record over 1,000 assists as a freshman, joining Brittany McGinnis (1,245 in 2008) and Emily Sallee (1,387 in 1997).

• In addition to being one of the nation's top setters, Megan Wielonski enters the week ranked 29th nationally with 34 service aces ... Last season, she ranked eighth among all NCAA Division I players with 58 aces, including a career-high seven vs. Ohio (Sept. 30, 2021) ... Her 58 aces in 2021 tied as the sixth-most in a single season in Ball State history and were a single season record for a BSU setter, topping Amber Seaman's total of 51 in 2018 ... Overall, her 92 career aces are seven shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history.

• Lauren Gilliland enters the week ranked eighth in the MAC with a .308 (161-33-415) attack percentage ... She has hit .350-or-better seven times in 2022, including a .533 (17-1-30) mark versus Oklahoma (Sept. 2) ... Gilliland's 17 kills versus the Sooners were a career-high, and one of six times she has blasted double figure kills so far this season ... Last season, Gilliland ranked first in the MAC and 49th nationally with a .366 hitting mark.

• Ball State continues to be one of the nation's top offenses, ranking 17th nationally with 1,071 total kills ... Five Cardinals have over 100 kills so far this season, led by 199 from Marie Plitt ... In addition, six players are averaging at least 2.00 kills per set, while the team ranks 62nd nationally with a .246 attack percentage.

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Players Mentioned

Havyn Gates

Lauren Gilliland

Maggie Huber

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Megan Wielonski