Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Akron
Volleyball Hosts Akron & Buffalo This Weekend
October 10, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (9-7; 2-3 MAC) hosts Akron / Buffalo | |
| Match 17 vs. Akron (7-10; 3-2 MAC) | Friday, Oct. 11 at 6 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+ Promotions: Cancer Awareness Night - Free Stress Balls to First 200 Fans |
| Match 18 vs. Buffalo (8-10; 4-1 MAC) | Saturday, Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. Live Stats | ESPN+ Promotions: Community Day & Autograph Day |
| Notes | Ball State | Akron | Buffalo |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram |
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this weekend for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches ... Up first, a Friday showdown versus Akron at 6 p.m. ... The Cardinals then host Buffalo Saturday at 4 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: Friday's match will serve as Cancer Awareness Night for the Ball State women's volleyball program with the first 200 games receiving a cancer awareness stress ball ... Saturday's match will be Muncie Community Day and free post-match autographs.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both matches this weekend will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... In addition, live stats will be provided courtesy of Ball State Athletics ... Updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: The Ball State enters Friday's match versus Akron with a 1021-655-2 (.609) all-time record in women's volleyball ... Ball State became just the 44th program in NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball history to reach 1,000 wins with a sweep of Central Michigan on Sept. 22, 2023 ... All-time, 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 five seasons ... BSU has also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: Despite an 2-3 start to league play this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 448-223 (.668) all-time Mid-American Conference mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, two-and-a-half matches behind the Cardinals at 445-225 (.664) ... Akron is currently ninth all-time at 204-342 (.374), while Buffalo is 12th at 121-322 (.273).
THE WORTHEN FACTOR: The Cardinals boast a 319-98 (.765) all-time mark inside Worthen Arena ... Looking at just opponents from the MAC, Ball State is 235-60 (.797) when battling in Worthen Arena ... Overall, no MAC opponent owns a winning record inside Worthen Arena, as the Cardinals have at least a .630 winning percentage against all league schools on its current home floor ... Akron is 1-22 (.043) all-time in Worthen Arena, while Buffalo is 0-15 (.000).
THE ALL-TIME SERIES VS. AKRON: Ball State holds a 41-5 lead in the all-time series versus Akron, including six straight wins ... Last season, the Cardinals earned a pair of homecourt wins over the Zips with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 26-24) victory Oct. 12 and a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21) win Oct. 13 ... Akron's last win in the series was a 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-22, 18-16) win on its home floor Sept. 28, 2019, while its lone win in Worthen Arena was a 3-2 (25-21, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13) victory Nov. 9, 2008.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES VS. BUFFALO: Ball State holds a 28-3 lead in the all-time series versus Buffalo, despite suffering a pair of five-set road losses last season ... The Bulls won the first meeting 3-2 (25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 25-27, 15-9) on Oct. 20 and followed with a 3-2 (33-35, 25-19, 17-25, 25-22, 15-9) victory on Oct. 21 ... Prior to that, Ball State had won the last 14 meetings between the two programs ... In addition, Buffalo has never won a match played in Muncie.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters Friday's match versus Akron with a 9-7 (2-3 MAC) record after splitting a pair of five-set thrillers at Central Michigan last weekend, before earning a 3-1 win at Miami Tuesday.
• The Cardinals continue to be one of the nation's most dangerous offenses, ranking first in the Mid-American Conference and 60th nationally with a .243 attack percentage ... The mark includes a .271 rate of success against then-No. 7 Penn State, which is the second-best hitting mark against the Nittany Lions so far this season ... Ball State has hit .300-or-better in three matches this year, including a season-high .341 rate of success at Butler (Sept. 19).
• Along with its solid attack percentage, the Cardinals rank 63rd nationally with a 2.45 blocks-per-set average ... Sophomore middle Gwen Crull has help bolster the average as of late, owning a league-best 1.56 average in MAC play ... Graduate middle Aayinde Smith has also been solid, ranking sixth in the MAC and 159th nationally with a 1.08 average.
SCOUTING AKRON:
• The Zips enter Friday's match with a 7-10 (3-2 MAC) record after suffering a 3-1 loss to Buffalo Tuesday ... Last weekend, the Zips earned a pair of 3-2 wins at Northern Illinois.
• Akron is one of the nation's top terminating teams by volume, ranking fourth nationally with 893 total kills ... However, the Zips are 150th nationally with a 12.58 kills-per-set average ... Lauren Baker leads the way, ranking seventh in the league and 191st nationally with a 3.34 average, while her 237 total kills are 38th nationally.
• Akron is also dangerous from the service line, ranking 64th nationally with a 1.75 aces-per-set average ... The Zips 124 total aces are 13th nationally, with Baker leading the way with 24 to rank 81st among all NCAA Division I players.
SCOUTING BUFFALO:
• The Bulls enter a Friday match up at Miami with an 8-10 (4-1 MAC) record ... The effort includes a 3-1 win at Akron Tuesday, following a pair of sweeps over Kent State last weekend.
• Buffalo is another dangerous team from the service line, ranking second in the MAC and 39th nationally with a 1.84 aces-per-set average ... Kartin Trebichavska leads the way, ranking first in the MAC and seventh nationally with a 0.67 average, with her 30 total aces ranking 20th nationally.
• The Bulls offense features one of the nation's top attackers by percentage, with Abby Leigh ranking second in the MAC and 28th nationally with a .404 hitting percentage ... In addition, Trebichavska is second in the league and 91st nationally with a 3.67 kills-per-set average.
BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• With her 34 assists in the five-set win at Central Michigan (Oct. 4), Megan Wielonski climbed one spot into second on Ball State's career assists list ... She enters the weekend with 4,614 career assists which is currently third among active NCAA Division I players ... Western Michigan's Logan Case is first at 5,669 (with the benefit of an extra COVID season), while Colorado State's Emery Herman is second at 4,777 ... Wielonski has ranked in the top 15 nationally in assists in each of her first three seasons: second (1,394) in 2021, fourth (1,359) in 2022 and 13th (1,269) in 2023.
• In addition to being one of the nation's top setters, Megan Wielonski is one of the country's top servers with 167 career aces ... The total, which includes a team-high 23 aces so far this season, currently ranks 12th among active NCAA Division I players and is the most for any active student-athlete from the Mid-American Conference ... 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 also 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 ... In 2022, she ranked 55th nationally with 46 service aces, while she had a team-leading 40 aces last season ... The program record for career aces is 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).
• Megan Wielonski has also shined in the backcourt over her Ball State career, becoming just the 21st player in program history to register over 1,000 career digs in BSU's NIVC victory at Middle Tennessee (Nov. 30, 2023) ... She has 160 total digs so far this season, raising her career total to 1,181 which is 13th in program history ... Overall, she has accumulated double-digit digs in 61 career matches which is tied for ninth in program history and gives her 61 career assist/dig double-doubles.
• Aniya Kennedy has continued to shine on offense for the Cardinals, ranking second on the squad with a 3.18 kills-per-set average so far this season ... Last season, she finished the year ranked 32nd nationally with a 4.12 kills-per-set average ... Kennedy has smashed double-digit kills in 34 career matches, including eight so far this season, and led the team in kills in 28 career outings.
• Including her season-high 20 kills at Florida Atlantic (Aug. 31) and at Central Michigan (Oct. 5), Aniya Kennedy has smashed 20-or-more kills in 10 career matches ... The total ranks eighth in program history ... Last season, she registered a career-high 25 kills in two matches - versus Akron (Oct. 13, 2023) and at WMU (Nov. 3, 2023) - which were the most kills for a BSU player in a match since Kia Holder (2017-20) logged 27 at Eastern Michigan on March 27, 2021 ... In addition, Kennedy was the first Cardinal to register multiple 20+ kill matches in the same season since Natalie Risi (2019-22) had two as a freshman in 2019.
• Freshman outside Carson Tyler has smashed a team-leading 184 kills so far this season, including 20-or-more kills in five matches ... Her best effort was a career-high 25-kill effort to help lead Ball State to a 3-2 victory over Wright State (Sept. 20) ... Tyler is now one of just 14 players in program history to register 20-or-more kills in at least five career matches ... She is also just the 10th different player in program history to have five-or-more such matches in a single season.
• Typically a six-rotation player for the Cardinals, Carson Tyler is also third on the team with 93 digs for a 1.63 digs-per-set average ... She also leads Ball State's primary passers with a .955 reception percentage, successfully passing 318 of the 333 serves she has faced.
• Freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter has shined in her first six weeks of collegiate action, leading the squad and ranking 10th in the MAC with a with a 3.63 digs-per-set average ... The effort includes a career-high 27 digs in the win over James Madison (Sept. 6), 21 digs in the sweep of Southern Indiana (Sept. 14) and 20 digs in the sweep of Bryant (Aug. 30) ... Ledbetter also boasts a .940 reception percentage, including perfect marks in nine of BSU's 16 matches.
• Graduate middle Aayinde Smith has been a big addition for the Ball State front line, ranking fourth among BSU's every match players with 1.83 kills per set, while ranking second on the squad with a 1.08 blocks-per-set average ... A two-time All-CAA Second Team selection in her four years at Towson, Smith also owns a .289 attack percentage which ranks seventh among MAC players.
• Sophomore middle Gwen Crull has also made her presence known at the net, collecting 44 blocks over 35 sets for a 1.26 blocks-per-set average ... The total includes a career-high 10 total blocks at Central Michigan (Oct. 5) ... Overall, she has been credited with at least one block in 11 of the 15 matches she has played, including four-or-more on six occasions.
• Junior Madison Buckley has played a big role in the Ball State offense as of late, smashing double-digit kills in six of the last nine matches ... It started with a season-high 13 kills versus Southern Indiana (Sept. 14) and included 12 kills in one match, 11 kills in two matches and 10 kills in two matches ... Throw in 10 kills in the four-set win over James Madison (Sept. 6) and Buckley has registered double digit kills in seven matches this season and 20 times over her collegiate career.
• Ball State turned in one of the best defensive efforts in program history versus Bryant (Aug. 30), limiting the Bulldogs to a -.020 (24-26-99) attack percentage ... It was the lowest attacking mark for a Ball State opponent since the 2018 campaign when the Cardinals held Grambling to a -.061 (18-23-82) rate of success on Aug. 31 ... That same season, the Ball State defense limited North Dakota State to a -.018 (23-25-114) hitting mark on Sept. 7.
• For the team's solid work in the classroom, Ball State was one of a record number of more than 1,400 collegiate and high school volleyball teams to earn the 2023-24 AVCA Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT ... The Cardinals, who claimed the honor for the eighth straight season and the 14th time overall, finished the 2023-24 academic year with a 3.63 team GPA ... Of Ball State's 18 countable student-athletes, 17 maintained at least a 3.07 GPA during the academic year.
