WVB Travels To Marquette To Open NCAA Tournament Play

Ball State (24-8; 15-3 MAC) at No. 16 Marquette (27-3; 17-1 Big East)
Match 33 - vs. No. 16 Marquette	Thursday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Match 34 - NCAA Second Round	Friday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT Live Stats \| ESPN+ \| Tickets
Notes	Ball State \| Marquette \| Georgia Tech \| Wright State
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

UP THIS WEEK: The Ball State women's volleyball team is heading back to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship for the third time in the last four seasons ... The Cardinals earned an at-large bid into the event and will play at No. 4 seed and 16th-ranked Marquette in the opening round Thursday at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT ... The winner will face either No. 5 seed and 13th-ranked Georgia Tech or Wright State in second round action at the Al McGuire Center Friday at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT.

SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The 2022 Mid-American Conference regular season champion and tournament runner-up, Ball State earned an at-large bid into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship with a 24-8 overall record and an RPI of 51.
• The Cardinals are an overall well-balanced team, ranking fifth nationally with a 17.60 digs-per-set average and 39th nationally with a 13.76 kills-per-set average ... Ball State also ranks 46th among the 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs with a .251 team attack percentage.
• Junior outside Cait Snyder leads the Ball State attack with a 3.27 kills-per-set average, while senior middle Marie Plitt is 14th nationally with a .407 attack percentage ... Overall, Ball State has five regulars averaging at least 2.02 kills per set.
• On the defensive side, senior libero Maggie Huber leads the Ball State backcourt with a 4.61 digs-per-set average, while sophomore setter Megan Wielonski is not far behind at 3.10 ... Like the offensive stats, BSU has five regulars with at least 2.20 digs per set this season.

SCOUTING NO. 16 MARQUETTE:
• The 2022 Big East regular season co-champion and tournament runner-up, Marquette earned an at-large bid into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship with a 27-3 overall record and an RPI of 14 ... The Golden Eagles also earned the No. 4 seed in the top left bracket of the tournament.
• The Golden Eagles boast one of the nation's top offenses, ranking sixth nationally with a .293 attack percentage and seventh at 14.52 kills per set ... Marquette is also one of the nation's top serving teams, ranking 36th with a 1.76 aces-per-set average.
• Aubrey Hamilton leads the Marquette attack with a 3.48 kills-per-set average, while three Golden Eagles rank in the top 150 nationally in attack percentage ... Carsen Murray paces the trio and is third nationally at .442, while ranking third on the squad at 2.30 kills per set.
• On the defensive side, Murray leads Marquette with a 1.10 blocks-per-set average, while the squad as a whole is 52nd nationally with a 15.85 digs-per-set average ... Carly Skrabak paces MU with a 4.52 digs-per-set average and is 21 digs shy of 500 for the season.

SCOUTING NO. 13 GEORGIA TECH:
• Georgia Tech earned an at-large bid into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship after a third-place finish in the ACC with a 20-7 overall record and an RPI of 20 ... The Yellow Jackets also earned the No. 5 seed in the top left bracket of the tournament.
• The Yellow Jackets feature a strong offense, ranking 31st nationally at 13.84 kills per set and 38th with a .257 team attack percentage ... Georgia Tech is also limiting opponents to a .176 attack percentage, to rank 44th nationally.
• Georgia Tech features a pair of the nations' top attackers with Julia Bergmann ranking third nationally with a 5.31 kills-per-set average, while Breland Morrissette is seventh in the country with a .434 hitting percentage ... Morrissette averages 1.81 kills per set.
• On the defensive side, the Yellow Jackets have a solid block, ranking 75th nationally at 2.32 blocks per set ... In the backcourt, Georgia Tech is 158th in the country with a 14.47 digs-per-set average, with Paola Pimental averaging 3.67 and Bianca Bertolino at 3.46.

SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE:
• Wright State earned the Horizon League's automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship as the conference regular season and tournament champion ... The Raiders own a 28-3 overall record and have the nation's second-longest active winning streak at 23 matches.
• The Raiders are another well-balanced squad, ranking sixth nationally at 17.48 digs per set and 55th with 13.53 kills per set ... The Raiders are also limiting opponents to a .155 attack percentage, the 10th-best mark in the country.
• Wright State has four attackers with at least 2.53 kills per set, led by Sam Ott at 2.85 ... Taylor Bransfield is right behind at 2.81 ... Aaliyah Byers, who averages 1.70 kills per set, is 142nd among NCAA Division I players with a .320 attack percentage.
• On the defensive side, Jenna Story is 12th nationally with a 5.36 digs-per-set average, while her 622 total digs are ninth in the country ... Callie Martin is second on the squad at 3.64 digs per set, while five regulars average at least 2.24 digs per set.

ALL-TIME VS. THE MILWAUKEE FIELD:
• Ball State is 15-8 all-time versus teams in this week's field, with all but one of the matches being played versus Wright State ... BSU is 1-0 all-time versus Marquette and 14-8 all-time against the Raiders, while having never played Georgia Tech in women's volleyball.

BALL STATE IN THE NCAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP:
• Ball State will be making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and its third under current head coach Kelli Miller Phillips.
• The Cardinals are 3-10 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, advancing to the second round in 1994, 1995, and 2021 ... Ball State is 3-7 in first round matches and 0-3 in second round play.
• Ball State will be sending a seasoned group to this year's event, with 10 of the team's 19 student-athletes having tournament playing experience ... In fact, Maggie Huber, Natalie Mitchem, Marie Plitt, and Natalie Risi played in all three previous NCAA Tournament matches in their BSU careers, having all seen court time in the 2019 and 2021 events ... Allison Hamaker also played in the 2019 tournament, while Havyn Gates, Lauren Gilliland, Cait Snyder, Kate Vinson, and Megan Wielonski each played in both 2021 matches.
• In 1994, the Cardinals earned a thrilling 3-2 (15-12, 8-15, 15-7, 8-15, 16-14) victory at Illinois ... Ball State out-hit the Fighting Illini .297 to .286 in the win, while also out-blocking Illinois by a 16 to 11 margin ... Individually, Carin Zielinski and Cassy Herode tied for team-high honors with 18 kills apiece in the win, while five players registered double-figure kills ... Liz Cothren dominated at the net, racking up 12 total blocks (1 solo and 11 assists).
• In 1995, the Cardinals hosted an NCAA Tournament match for the first time in program history and went on to score a 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-8) sweep of Loyola Chicago ... In the win, Ball State held a decisive .231 to .173 attacking advantage, while earning a six-to-two edge in service aces ... Individually, Jennifer Schilling smashed a match-high 18 kills in the win, while Lindsay Follin was not far behind with 15 ... Setter Wendy Carter handed out 46 assists in the match, and also led the Ball State defense with 14 digs.
• In 2021, the Cardinals picked up the program's third NCAA Tournament victory by topping Michigan 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-8) ... Marie Plitt led the offense in the victory by smashing the second-most kills in a NCAA Tournament match in program history at 20 ... Plitt also hit .515 (20-3-33), an NCAA Tournament program record ... On defensive, Havyn Gates chipped in a BSU NCAA Tournament record 20 digs, while the team limited the nation's 38th-ranked offense to a .158 hitting mark ... The Cardinals hit .237 as a squad in the win.

Ball State All-Time NCAA Tournament Appearances

Date	Opponent	Round	Scores
12/4/1992	at No. 1 UCLA	1st	L, 0-3 (1-15, 4-15, 0-15)
12/1/1993	at Minnesota	1st	L, 0-3 (6-15, 11-15, 9-15)
*11/30/1994*	*at Illinois*	*1st*	*W, 3-2 (15-12, 8-15, 15-7, 8-15, 16-14)*
12/3/1994	at No. 5 Penn State	2nd	L, 0-3 (8-15, 5-15, 16-18)
*11/29/1995*	*Loyola Chicago*	*1st*	*W, 3-0 (15-13, 15-11, 15-8)*
12/2/1995	at No. 17 UCLA	2nd	L, 0-3 (4-15, 4-15, 7-15)
12/2/1999	vs. No. 17 Northern Iowa	1st	L, 2-3 (15-12, 9-15, 15-10, 2-15, 12-15)
12/1/2000	at No. 16 Ohio State	1st	L, 1-3 (14-16, 3-15, 16-14, 10-15)
12/6/2002	vs. Louisville	1st	L, 0-3 (24-30, 24-30, 25-30)
12/2/2011	vs. Louisville	1st	L, 0-3 (22-25, 15-25, 20-25)
12/6/2019	at No. 5 Nebraska	1st	L, 0-3 (13-25, 18-25, 10-25)
12/3/2021	vs. Michigan	1st	W, 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 15-8)
12/4/2021	at No. 1 Louisville	2nd	L, 0-3 (27-29, 11-25. 19-25)

BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• In its 51st season of play, Ball State boasts a 995-632-2 (.611) all-time record in women's volleyball ... The Cardinals have captured 12 MAC West Division Championships, 10 MAC Regular Season Championships, and eight MAC Volleyball Championship titles ... Ball State will be making its 11th overall appearance, and second straight, in the NCAA Tournament Thursday at Marquette ... Last season, the Cardinals earned a first-round victory over Michigan for the third NCAA Tournament win in program history, before falling to top-seeded Louisville in the second round ... BSU has also earned one bid into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

• Ball State concluded the 2022 regular season as the winningest program in league play with a 433-215 (.668) all-time Mid-American Conference record ... Western Michigan is second on the list, seven matches behind the Cardinals at 426-222 (.657).

• The Cardinals own an even better record when playing at home, boasting a 307-95 (.764) mark inside Worthen Arena ... Factor in opponents from just the Mid-American Conference and Ball State is 226-58 (.796) when battling in "The Nest" ... Looking at just MAC Volleyball Championship matches, the Cardinals are an astounding 20-2 (.909) on its current home court after this season ... Overall, 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.

• After going 1-1 in the 2022 MAC Volleyball Championship, the Cardinals are 37-25 (.597) all-time in the event ... Ball State earned a 3-1 semifinal win over Central Michigan (Nov. 21), before falling to Bowling Green (Nov. 22) in a five-set thriller in the championship match ... Overall, the Cardinals own a 5-2 (.714) record in first round matches, an 12-9 (.650) mark in quarterfinal play, a 12-10 (.545) ledger in semifinal action, and an 8-4 (.667) record in the championship match.

• For their play in the tournament, Marie Plitt and Maggie Huber were named to the 2022 MAC Championship All-Tournament Team ... Plitt finished the tournament with 29 kills and a .419 (29-3-62) attack percentage, while Huber tallied 65 total digs for a 7.22 digs-per-set average.

• Ball State was heavily rewarded for its second consecutive MAC regular season title, claiming four All-MAC honors, MAC Setter of the Year, and MAC Coach of the Year ... Megan Wielonski became just the second player in program history to earn MAC Setter of the Year, joining 2018 selection Amber Seaman, and earned her second straight nod on the All-MAC First Team ... Marie Plitt was also named to the All-MAC First Team for the second consecutive season, while Cait Snyder picked up All-MAC First Team honors for the first time in her career ... Senior opposite Natalie Mitchem also earned All-MAC honors for a second straight season, being named second team after earning first team in 2021 ... Rounding out Ball State's award winners was Kelli Miller Phillips who claimed her second consecutive MAC Coach of the Year honor.

• Looking at the entire 2022 season, Ball State is one of the most balanced teams in the nation, ranking fifth nationally in total digs (2,165), total kills (1,692), and digs-per-set average (17.60); ranking ninth in total assists (1,564); ranking 39th in kills per set (13.76); and ranking 46th among all NCAA Division I programs with a .251 attack percentage.

• Senior Maggie Huber leads the Cardinals in the backcourt and ranks 50th nationally with a 4.61 digs-per-set average ... Ball State's starting libero in 27 of the team's 32 matches so far this season, she also ranks 22nd in the country with 567 total digs ... Huber has collected double-digit digs in 29 matches, including a season-high 35 in the championship match of the MAC Tournament versus Bowling Green (Nov. 22) ... She also recorded 30 digs in a win at NIU (Oct. 14) and versus Central Michigan (Nov. 21) in the semifinals of the MAC Volleyball Championship ... Huber also owns a team-best .954 reception percentage, with just 27 reception errors in 581 total attempts.

• Senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates served as BSU's starting libero in the other five matches and owns three of BSU's ten largest single-match dig totals 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 42 digs in a match as a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan in 2019, has 1,740 career digs including 616 at BSU and 1,124 at IWU.

• On offensive, Marie Plitt enters the NCAA Championship ranked first in the MAC and 14th nationally with a .407 (327-44-695) attack percentage ... The mark includes a program record .833 (15-0-18) effort in the sweep of Arkansas State (Sept. 9) ... So far this season, Plitt has hit .300-or-better in 25 of BSU's 32 matches, including a .467 (8-1-15) mark at No. 10 Purdue (Sept. 17) ... Plitt also enters the week ranked second on the squad with a 2.66 kills-per-set average, including double-digit kills in 17 matches.

• Over her career, Marie Plitt is a .353 career attacker, which is third on BSU's all-time list ... She has steadily improved each season, hitting .295 as a freshman, .316 as a sophomore, .360 as a junior, and currently .407 as a senior ... If she finished the season hitting above .400, she will be the first player to do so in program history, with the current record being .391 by Julie Zylka in 2000.

• With her 29 kills in last week's MAC Tournament, Marie Plitt enters Thursday's match at No. 16 Marquette with 999 career kills ... She is one kill shy of becoming the 13th player overall, and second this season, to reach 1,000 career kills at Ball State.

• Speaking of 1,000 career kills, senior opposite Natalie Mitchem became the 12th player in program history to eclipse the mark with her third of a team-high 12 kills in the Nov. 3 sweep of Kent State ... She enters the NCAA Championship ranked 12th in program history with 1,049 career kills, including double-digit kills in 13 matches this season and 51 over her career.

• Senior outside 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 ninth in program history with 1,289 digs ... Risi also ranks 18th in program history with 912 career kills and needs 88 more to become only the sixth player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.

• Megan Wielonski continues to be one of the nation's elite setters, entering Thursday's match at No. 16 Marquette ranked fifth nationally with 1,331 total assists ... She is also 21st nationally with her 10.82 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 18 of her 66 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 2,725 career assists currently rank eighth 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 50th nationally with 46 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, Wielonski is 16th in program history with 104 career service aces.

• With double-digit kills in 15 of the last 18 matches, including a career-high 21 in the MAC Championship semifinal win over Central Michigan (Nov. 21), Cait Snyder enters the NCAA Championship with a team-leading 3.27 kills-per-set average ... In MAC play, Snyder averaged 3.49 kills-per-set which was third among all league players ... Snyder has led the Ball State offense in kills in 12 of the last 18 matches, and a team-high 14 times so far this season.

• With her career-high 21 kills versus Central Michigan (Nov. 21), Cait Snyder became the first Ball State player to break the 20-kill mark this season ... The last Cardinal to reach 20 kills was Marie Plitt in Ball State's 2021 NCAA Championship opening-round victory over Michigan (Dec. 3).

• The Cardinals have hit .300-or-better in nine matches this season, while breaking the .400 mark on two occasions ... Overall, Ball State is 16-1 in matches where it has hit at least .250 and is a perfect 23-0 when out-hitting opponents.

• Ball State is also an impressive 16-0 when it out-blocks opponents, with 12 of those matches coming in league play.

WVB Travels To Marquette To Open NCAA Tournament Play

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Havyn Gates

Lauren Gilliland

Allison Hamaker

Maggie Huber

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Cait Snyder

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski

WVB Travels To Marquette To Open NCAA Tournament Play

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Havyn Gates

Lauren Gilliland

Allison Hamaker

Maggie Huber

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Cait Snyder

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski

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