Ball State University
Gonzaga
MAC West Preseason Favorite Volleyball Opens Season Friday
August 24, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (0-0; 0-0 MAC) hosts Ball State Invitational | |
| Match 1 - Gonzaga (0-0; 0-0 WCC) | Friday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+Â | SL Digital |Â Tickets |
| Match 2Â - Oklahoma (0-0; 0-0 Big 12) | Saturday, Aug. 26 at 1 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+Â | SL Digital |Â Tickets |
| Match 3 - Purdue Fort Wayne (0-0; 0-0 Horizon) | Saturday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+Â | SL Digital |Â Tickets |
| Notes | Ball State | Gonzaga | Oklahoma | Purdue Fort Wayne |
| Social Media | X (Twitter)Â | Instagram |
VOLLEYBALL IS BACK: The Ball State women's volleyball team begins its 52nd season of play Friday when it hosts Gonzaga in its first of three matches in the Ball State Invitational ... Saturday, the Cardinals host both Oklahoma (1 p.m.) and in-state rival Purdue Fort Wayne (7 p.m.).
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Fans unable to make their way to Worthen Arena this weekend will have several ways to follow the action from home ... All three Ball State matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with the Mick Tidrow, the play-by-play voice of Ball State, calling the action ... In addition, a live video feed will be provided for all three non-Ball State matches on BallStateSports.com/Watch ... SL Digital will be on hand for the internet radio call of all three Cardinals contests, while live stats will also be available at BallStateSports.com/WVBStats ... Live updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's X feed: @BallStateWVB.
MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATION: For the second straight season, the Ball State women's volleyball program was selected to repeat at the Mid-American Conference West Division champions in the league's annual preseason poll ... The Cardinals received 61 points and 11 of the 12 first-place votes to win the division ... Western Michigan was second with one first place vote and 43 points ... In addition, the Cardinals received five votes to win the MAC Tournament which will be hosted by the league's top seed ... Bowling Green was selected to win the MAC East Division and earned six votes to win the tournament.
PRESEASON HONORS: In addition to the team being picked to win the MAC West Division, fifth-year middle Marie Plitt and junior setter Megan Wielonski have been named to the preseason All-MAC team ... Both were first team all-conference selections in each of the past two seasons, with Wielonski earning 2021 MAC Freshman of the Year honors and 2022 MAC Setter of the Year accolades.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: The Cardinals hold a 15-6 edge all-time versus teams in this weekend's Ball State Invitational field.
- Ball State is 0-1 all-time versus Gonzaga, with the Bulldogs winning the only previous meeting 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-21) on its home court Sept. 7, 2019, as part of the Gonzaga Tournament.
- The Cardinals own a 1-0 edge in the all-time series versus Oklahoma courtesy of a 3-1 (25-17, 29-27, 20-25, 25-16) victory on Sept. 2, 2022, in the opening match of the Lipscomb Tournament.
- Ball State holds a 14-5 advantage in the all-time series versus Purdue Fort Wayne after earning a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) victory in the last regular season meeting played Sept. 2, 2017, in Worthen Arena.
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 and finished the season with a 24-9 overall record and an RPI of 52.
• Ball State was a well-balanced team last season, ranking fifth nationally with a 17.51 digs-per-set average and 41st nationally with a 13.69 kills-per-set average ... The Cardinals also ranked 43rd among the 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs with a .250 team attack percentage.
• The Cardinals return three All-MAC First Team players from last season's roster in fifth-year middle Marie Plitt, senior outside Cait Snyder and junior setter Megan Wielonski ... Wielonski is also the reigning MAC Setter of the Year.
SCOUTING GONZAGA:
• Gonzaga finished the 2022 season with a 6-23 overall record, including a 2-16 mark in West Coast Conference play.
• Led by second-year head coach Katie Wilson, the Bulldogs return one of three All-WCC honorable mentions from last season in fifth-year outside hitter Zoe Thiros.
• Last season, Gonzaga was one of the nation's top serving teams, ranking 61st nationally at 1.67 aces per set.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA:
• Oklahoma finished the 2022 season with a 15-13 overall record, including a 5-12 mark in the Big 12
• Led by first-year head coach Aaron Mansfield, the Sooners return one of three Big 12 post season award winners from last season in All-Rookie honoree Alexis Shelton
• Oklahoma was not far behind the Cardinals in attack efficiency last season, ranking 49th nationally with a .249 team hitting percentage ... The Sooners also ranked 51st nationally at 2.43 blocks per set.
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE:
• Purdue Fort Wayne finished the 2022 season with a 9-20 overall record, including a 5-13 mark in Horizon League play.
• Under the direction of 10th-year head coach Steve Florio, the Mastodons return its lone conference award winner from last season in Horizon League All-Freshman selection Iris Riegel.Â
• The Mastodons were one of the nation's top backcourt teams last season, ranking 63rd nationally with a 15.64 digs-per-set average.
BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL QUICK HITS:
• Entering its 52nd season of play, Ball State boasts a 995-633-2 (.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 has made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including three of the last four seasons ... 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 ... Looking at just opponents from the MAC, Ball State is 226-58 (.796) when battling in "The Nest" ... 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.
• Ball State was heavily rewarded for its second consecutive MAC regular season title in 2022, 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 ... Kelli Miller Phillips also claimed her second consecutive MAC Coach of the Year honor.Â
• Ball State finished the 2022 season as one of the most balanced teams in the nation, ranking fifth nationally in both total digs (2,206) and digs-per-set average (17.51), 13th in both total kills (1,725) and total assists (1,595), 41st in kills-per-set average (13.69) and 43rd among all NCAA Division I programs with a .249 attack percentage.
• Marie Plitt enters her fifth season as one of the top attackers in program history, ranking third on Ball State's all-time list with a .353 career hitting percentage ... The mark includes a program record .833 (15-0-18) effort in the sweep of Arkansas State last season (Sept. 9, 2022) ... Plitt has steadily improved each year, hitting .295 as a freshman, .316 as a sophomore, .360 as a junior, and a Ball State single season record .404 as a senior ... She is the first player in program history to hit .400-or-above in a single season.
• In addition, Plitt became just the 13th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills with her first of 10 markers in last season's NCAA Tournament opening round match at then-No. 16 Marquette ... Plitt needs 126 more kills to break into the top 10 in program history, with Mindy Stanley (1993-96) currently ranking 10th at 1,135.
• Fifth-year defensive specialist Havyn Gates served as BSU's starting libero in five matches last season and looks poised to take over the role in 2023 ... In fact, Gates tallied three of the Cardinals' ten largest single-match dig totals in 2022, led by a Ball State career-high 33 digs in the five-set thriller at Central Michigan (Sept. 24) ... She also 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 1,745 career digs including 621 at BSU and 1,124 at IWU.
• Megan Wielonski continues to be one of the nation's elite setters, finishing the 2022 season ranked fourth nationally with 1,358 total assists ... She was also 19th nationally with her 10.79 assists-per-set average ... As a freshman in 2021, 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 67 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 as a freshman in 2021, while her 2,753 career assists currently rank eighth on BSU's all-time list.Â
• In addition to being one of the nation's top setters, Megan Wielonski finished the 2022 season ranked 55th nationally with 46 service aces ... As a freshman, 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.
• Cait Snyder finished her junior year on fire in 2022, smashing double-digit kills in 16 of BSU's last 19 matches, including a career-high 21 in the 2022 MAC Championship semifinal win over Central Michigan (Nov. 21) ... Snyder also led the Ball State offense in kills in 13 of the last 19 matches last season and a team-high 15 times on the year.
