Ball State University
Akron
Women's Volleyball Welcomes Akron & Buffalo This Weekend
October 05, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (10-6; 2-2 MAC) hosts Akron (4-12; 1-4 MAC) & Buffalo (10-7; 2-3 MAC) | |
| Match 17 hosts Akron | Friday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch on ESPN+ |  SL Digital Radio  |  Tickets PROMOTIONS: Glazed Aces - If the Cardinals serve up 3-or-more aces, fans will be served FREE DONUT HOLES at Jack's Donuts in Muncie the next day. |
| Match 18 hosts Buffalo | Saturday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m. Live Stats |  Watch on ESPN+ |  SL Digital Radio  |  Tickets PROMOTIONS: Dig Pink Glazed Aces - If the Cardinals serve up 3-or-more aces, fans will be served FREE DONUT HOLES at Jack's Donuts in Muncie the next day. |
| Notes | Ball State  |  Akron  |  Buffalo |
| Social Media | Twitter  |  Instagram |
UP THIS WEEK:Â The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its four-match home stand this weekend with a Friday contest versus Akron and a Saturday showdown against Buffalo ... Both contests start at 6 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION:Â Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... In addition, live stats will be available courtesy of the host Cardinals ... Live updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's Twitter feed: @BallStateWVB.Â
THE ALL-TIME SERIES:Â The Cardinals hold a 38-5 lead in the all-time series versus Akron, including three straight wins and a 19-1 record in matches played in Worthen Arena ... Ball State is 27-1 all-time against Buffalo, including 13 straight wins and a 14-0 edge in matches played in Worthen Arena.
BALL STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• In its 51st season of play, Ball State boasts a 981-630-2 (.609) 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 Friday's match versus Akron as the winningest program in league play with a 420-214 (.662) all-time Mid-American Conference record ... Western Michigan is second on the list, a half-game behind the Cardinals at 420-215 (.661) ... Akron is ninth all-time based on winning percentage at 191-319 (.375), while Buffalo is 12th at 96-311 (.236).
• The Cardinals own an even better record when playing at home, boasting a 299-94 (.761) mark inside Worthen Arena ... Factor in opponents from just the Mid-American Conference and Ball State is 218-57 (.793) 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.
• The Cardinals snapped a five-match losing streak last Friday with a 3-1 victory over Eastern Michigan ... BSU followed Saturday with a sweep of the Eagles to improve to 10-6 on the season ... Key in Ball State's two wins over EMU was its offense, which connected for a league-best .250 attack percentage last weekend ... Senior middle Marie Plitt led the way with a .390 (19-3-41) mark in the series, while senior Natalie Risi hit .339 (24-5-56) from the outside.
• For her solid play last week, Natalie Risi was named the MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career ... Risi led Ball State with 24 kills and a 3.43 kills-per-set average versus the Eagles ... She scored 12 kills in each match, while adding a .476 (12-2-21) attack percentage Saturday ... Risi also averaged 2.71 digs per set and  collected her seventh double-double of the season Friday with 14 digs to go along with her 12 kills.
• Ball State's backcourt enters the week as one of the nation's best, ranking second in the MAC and 10th nationally with a 16.86 digs-per-set average ... In addition, the Cardinals' 1079 total digs are 12th nationally.
• Ball State has three student-athletes ranked in the top 250 nationally in total digs, with senior libero Maggie Huber leading the way at 223 ... Sophomore setter Megan Wielonski is right behind at 202, while senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates is at 191 ... Overall, Ball State has five regulars averaging at least 2.48 digs per set, led by Huber at 3.48.
•  In addition to leading the team with a 3.48 digs-per-set average this season, Maggie Huber has started 11 of BSU's 16 matches at libero ... She has collected double-digit digs in 13 matches, including a season-high 22 at South Florida (Aug. 26) and in last Friday's win over Eastern Michigan (Sept. 30) ... Huber also leads Ball State's primary passers with a .957 reception percentage, with just 12 reception errors in 282 total attempts.
•  Havyn Gates served as BSU's starting libero in the other five matches and own's BSU's three 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 1,631 career digs including 507 at BSU and 1,124 at IWU.
• On offensive, senior middle Marie Plitt enters the weekend ranked fourth in the MAC and 51st nationally with a .372 (161-27-360) 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 12 of BSU's 16 matches, including a .467 (8-1-15) effort at No. 10 Purdue (Sept. 17) ... Plitt also enters the weekend as the team leader with a 2.52 kills-per-set average, including double-digit kills in eight matches.
• Megan Wielonski is picking up right where she left off last season, dishing out 665 total assists so far this season ... The total currently stands as the eighth-most in the nation ... She also ranks 36th nationally with a 10.39 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 as a team in 12 of her 50 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 2,059 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 weekend ranked 28th nationally with 29 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) ... 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 87 career aces are 12 shy of breaking into the top 20 in program history.
• Lauren Gilliland enters the weekend ranked seventh in the MAC with a .316 (131-26-332) attack percentage ... She has hit .350-or-better six times in 2022, including a .533 (17-1-30) 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 24th nationally with 851 total kills ... Four different Cardinals have over 100 kills so far this season, led by 161 from Marie Plitt ... In addition, seven different players are averaging at least 2.00 kill per set, while the team ranks 77th nationally with a .238 attack percentage.
