Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
South Alabama
Women's Volleyball Opens Season Friday at USF Invite
August 25, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (0-0; 0-0 MAC) at USF Opening Weekend Invite | |
| Match 1 vs. South Alabama (0-0) | Friday, Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. Live Stats |
| Match 2 at USF (0-0) | Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Live Stats | Watch on ESPN+ |
| Match 3 vs. William & Mary (0-0) | Saturday, Aug. 27 at 11 a.m. Live Stats |
| Tickets Info | USF Ticket Link |
| Notes | Ball State | South Alabama | USF | William & Mary |
| Social Media | Twitter | Instagram |
VOLLEYBALL IS BACK: The Ball State women's volleyball team begins its 51st season of play Friday when it battles both South Alabama (10 a.m.) and USF (7 p.m.) on the first day of the USF Opening Weekend Invite ... The Cardinals close out the tournament Saturday against William & Mary (11 a.m.).
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live stats will be available of all three matches this weekend, while Friday night's contest versus USF will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... Live updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's Twitter feed: @BallStateWVB.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: Ball State holds a 4-3 edge all-time versus this weekend's opponents, including a 1-1 record versus South Alabama and a 3-2 mark versus USF ... The Cardinals will by playing William & Mary for the first time in women's volleyball ... BSU last played South Alabama in its 2018 season-opener, scoring a hard-fought 3-2 victory at the Dayton Invitational ... The Cardinals hosted USF as part of the 2019 Ball State Tournament, suffering a 3-2 setback in its second match of the year.
BALL STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• Ball State boasts a 971-624-2 (.609) all-time record in women's volleyball over 50 seasons of play ... 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 received 18 votes in the 2022 AVCA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll ... The Cardinals, who have never been ranked, earned three points in the 2021 AVCA Final Poll thanks in part to its 30-4 overall record and NCAA Tournament first round victory over Michigan.
• Prior to the 2021 AVCA Final Poll, the Cardinals had not received votes in an AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll since earning eight votes on Oct. 31, 2011.
• Speaking of polls, the Ball State women's volleyball program was the unanimous pick to win the Mid-American Conference West Division in the league's annual preseason poll ... The Cardinals earned all 12 first-place votes to win the division and picked up four of the 12 votes to repeat as the MAC Tournament Champion.
2022 MAC West Division Predictions
1. Ball State (12) - 72 points
2. Western Michigan - 55 points
3. Toledo - 49 points
4. Northern Illinois - 32 points
5. Central Michigan - 29 points
6. Eastern Michigan - 15 points
Predicted Tournament Champion: Bowling Green (7), Ball State (4), Western Michigan (1)
• In addition to the team being picked to win the MAC West Division, the Cardinals placed three members on the Preseason All-MAC West Division Team: sophomore setter Megan Wielonski, senior middle Marie Plitt, and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem.
• A 2021 First Team All-MAC selection and the 2021 MAC Freshman of the Year, Megan Wielonski led the Cardinals to a program record .265 hitting percentage last season and ranked second nationally in total assists (1,394) and service aces (58).
• A 2021 First Team All-MAC selection, Marie Plitt ranked second in the MAC and 55th nationally with a .360 hitting percentage last year ... She smashed double-digit kills in 15 matches, including a career-high 20 in BSU's NCAA Tournament victory over Michigan (Dec. 3).
• A 2021 First Team All-MAC selection, Natalie Mitchem ranked second on the squad with 360 total kills last season, including 22 matches in double figures ... Along with tying her career high with 21 kills in a win at Toledo (Oct. 29), she scored 12 kills in BSU's MAC Tournament semifinal win over Western Michigan (Nov. 22) and 11 in the championship match victory over Bowling Green (Nov. 24).
• Overall, the 2021 season was one for the record books, with the Cardinals finishing the year with a 30-4 overall record ... Part of the run included Ball State tying the longest winning streak in program history by earning its 20th straight victory of the year against Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
• Ball State's 30 wins in 2021 tied as the fourth-most among all NCAA Division I programs ... Only Louisville (32), Creighton (31), and eventual national champion Wisconsin (31) finished the year with more wins.
• Based on the strength of its 30-4 record, the Cardinals finished the year with the best winning percentage in program history at .882.
• The Cardinals finished the 2021 season ranked 29th in the final NCAA RPI rankings ... It was the program's highest ranking under current head coach Kelli Miller Phillips and its best since the program was 22nd in the final 2002 NCAA RPI.
• The Cardinals finished the 2021 season with a program record .265 hitting percentage ... It was the 23rd-best mark among the 332 NCAA Division I programs last season ... Overall, the Cardinals hit .200-or-above in 32 of its 34 matches last season, including nine matches above .300.
• In addition to leading the MAC and ranking 23rd nationally with a .265 team attack percentage, Ball State featured three of the top nine attackers in the league based on attack percentage … Middle Lauren Gilliland ranked first in the conference and 49th nationally at .366 … Middle Marie Plitt was second in the MAC and 55th nationally at .360, while opposite Natalie Mitchem was ninth in the MAC at .307.
• Ball State's offensive success was helped by its ability to spread out its offense and keep opponents guessing on every swing ... Seven different Cardinals finished the year averaging at least 1.50 kills per set ... Outside Jaclyn Bulmahn led the club with a 2.99 kills-per-set average, while opposite Natalie Mitchem was not far behind at 2.79 ... Rounding out Ball State's top attackers were middle Marie Plitt (2.48), outside Emily Hollowell (2.33), middle Lauren Gilliland (1.98), outside Cait Snyder (1.68), and outside Natalie Risi (1.49) ... Of the group, five return for the 2022 campaign.
• Playing a large role in guiding the offense was setter Megan Wielonski who ranked second nationally with 1,394 assists ... She also finished the year 21st nationally with a 10.81 assists-per-set average ... Wielonski set Ball State to a .300-or-better attack percentage in nine matches last season, including a .476 mark in the sweep of St. Thomas (Aug. 27), which ranks as the third-best single match team performance in program history ... In addition, BSU's .412 hitting mark versus Miami (Oct. 30) is 16th on the same list.
• Setter Megan Wielonski became just the 16th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career assists last season with her 1,394 assists currently ranking 13th 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 top setters in the MAC, Megan Wielonski proved to be the league's top server, ranking first at 0.45 aces per set … In fact, Wielonski's 58 service aces, including a career-high seven vs. Ohio (Sept. 30), ranked first in the league and eighth among all NCAA Division I players … The total ties as the sixth-most in a single season in program history, with the program record being 70 set by Barbara Harrison in 1988 … In addition, they were a single season record for a BSU setter, with the previous mark being 51 set by Amber Seaman in 2018.
• Head coach Kelli Miller Phillips also picked up some hardware for her work last season, becoming the first coach in program history to earn AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year ... She also became the third coach in program history to earn MAC Coach of the Year honors.
