WVB Travels To Purdue For Stacey Clark Classic

Ball State (8-2; 0-0 MAC) at Stacey Clark Classic
Match 11 vs. Northern Kentucky (1-8)	Friday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. Live Stats \| Watch on B1G+
Match 12 at No. 10 Purdue (7-1)	Saturday, Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. Live Stats \| Watch on B1G+
Tickets Info	Purdue Ticket Info - Saturday's Match vs. Purdue is SOLD OUT
Notes	Ball State \| Northern Kentucky \| No. 10 Purdue
Social Media	Twitter \| Instagram

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After a successful homestand which saw the Ball State women's volleyball team post a 3-1 record, the Cardinals return to the road this weekend for the Stacey Clark Classic hosted by Purdue ... The three-day event which starts tonight, sees Ball State battle Northern Kentucky Friday and the host Boilermakers Saturday ... First serve for both matches is set for 4 p.m. at Holloway Gymnasium.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both of this weekend's matches at the Stacey Clark Classic will be broadcast live on B1G+ ... In addition, live stats will be available courtesy of the host Boilermakers ... Live updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's Twitter feed: @BallStateWVB.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Cardinals hold a 5-3 edge in the all-time series versus Northern Kentucky after topping the Norse in a pair of matches played in Worthen Arena last season ... Purdue maintains a 26-9 edge in the all-time series versus the Cardinals, including 18 straight wins ... Ball State's last victory over the Boilermakers came by a score of 2-1 (15-8, 10-15, 15-8) on Nov. 11, 1977.

BALL STATE WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• In its 51st season of play, Ball State boasts a 979-626-2 (.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).

• Despite not receiving votes in the last two AVCA Top 25 Coaches Polls, the Cardinals put together a string of three straight polls receiving votes, including the first two of the 2022 season ... Ball State received three votes in the 2021 final poll, 18 in the 2022 preseason poll and seven in the Aug. 29, 2022, poll ... 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 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.

• The Cardinals enter the Stacey Clark Classic with an 8-2 overall record ... BSU's two losses have come to a pair of NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago in first-round participant Mississippi State and second-round qualifier Dayton ... The Bulldogs are currently 7-1 on the year and receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, while the Flyers are 6-4 with two of its losses coming to top 25 programs and another coming to a team receiving votes in the top 25.

• Ball State closed a four-match homestand Tuesday with a 3-2 loss to Dayton ... That followed the squad winning its own Ball State Tournament with victories over Arkansas State (3-0), Alabama (3-1), and Green Bay (3-2) ... With the 3-1 mark at home so far this season, the Cardinals improved to 297-94 (.760) all-time in Worthen Arena ... BSU is even more dominant at home versus MAC foes, with a 261-57 (.791) mark.

• For their play at the Ball State Tournament, senior middle Marie Plitt was named the event's MVP while junior outside Cait Snyder and sophomore setter Megan Wielonski were named to the All-Tournament Team.

• Marie Plitt led all players in the Ball State Tournament with a .484 (34-4-62) attack percentage, while also pacing the Cardinals with 34 total kills ... Her best performance came in the tournament opener versus Arkansas State (Sept. 9) when she blasted 15 kills and turned in a program record .833 (15-0-18) attack percentage for a player with more than 15 swings in a match ... The previous record was .813 (13-0-16) set by Sharon Strayer vs. Indiana State in 1986 ... The effort also helped Plitt earn MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week and MAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Week accolades.

• In addition to Marie Plitt's mark versus Arkansas State, the team combined for the third-best single match attack percentage in program history at .478 (49-6-90).

• Ball State enters the weekend as one of the nation's winningest programs, with the team's eight wins tied for ninth nationally ... As of matches played through Sept. 14, Ball State is also tied for 43rd nationally with its .800 winning percentage ... Last season, the Cardinals tied for fourth nationally with 30 overall wins, while its program record .882 winning percentage ranked eighth.

• Ball State's offense continues to pace the MAC and ranks 44th nationally, with a .262 team attack percentage ... The Cardinals have hit .250-or-better in six of its 10 matches this season, including three marks above .300 ... BSU hit a season-best .478 versus Arkansas State (Sept. 9), .344 against Lipscomb (Sept. 2), and .320 versus William & Mary (Aug. 27) ... Ball State finished the 2021 season with a program record .265 team attack percentage, which ranked 23rd among the 321 NCAA Division I women's volleyball programs.

• Megan Wielonski is picking up right where she left off last season, dishing out 411 total assists so far this season ... The total currently stands as the third-most in the nation ... She also ranks 38th nationally with a 10.28 assists-per-set average ... Last season, Wielonski finished the year ranked second nationally with 1,394 total assists ... Overall, she has helped the Cardinals hit .300-or-better in 12 of her 44 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 1,805 career assists currently ranking 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 17th nationally with 19 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 last season tied as the sixth-most in a single season in program history and were a single season record for a BSU setter, topping the 51 served up by Amber Seaman in 2018.

• Senior middle Marie Plitt enters the weekend ranked third in the MAC and 51st nationally with a .385 attack percentage ... The effort includes her program record .833 (15-0-18) mark versus Arkansas State (Sept. 9) ... Plitt also leads the squad with 98 total kills and is second with a 2.45 kills-per-set average ... Last season, Plitt ranked second in the MAC and 55th nationally with a .360 attack percentage.

• Junior middle Lauren Gilliland enters the Stacey Clark Classic ranked second on the squad and fifth in the MAC with a .346 attack percentage ... She has hit .350-or-better in five matches, including a season-best .533 (17-1-30) versus Oklahoma (Sept. 2) ... The 17 kills versus the Sooners were a career-high ... She is also tied with Marie Plitt as the top blocker on the team with a 0.78 blocks-per-set average ... Last season, Gilliland ranked first in the MAC and 49th nationally with a .366 hitting mark.

• On defensive, the Cardinals enter the Stacey Clark Classic pacing the MAC with a 16.53 digs-per-set average ... Senior defensive specialist Maggie Huber leads the way and is seventh in the MAC with a 3.90 mark ... Megan Wielonski is second on the squad at 3.13, while senior outside hitter Natalie Risi is third at 2.70.

• Redshirt junior middle Cailyn Bolser has a breakout match versus Dayton (Sept. 13), smashing a career-high 11 kills and hitting .500 (11-1-20) ... Prior to Tuesday, she only had 27 career kills, with her previous career-high being five versus NIU (Feb. 19, 2021).

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Players Mentioned

Cailyn Bolser

Lauren Gilliland

Maggie Huber

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Natalie Risi

Cait Snyder

Megan Wielonski