Women's Volleyball Visits Ohio & Kent State This Weekend

Ball State (10-8; 3-4 MAC) at Ohio / Kent State
Match 19 at Ohio (7-10; 3-3 MAC)	Friday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+
Match 20 at Kent State (1-15; 0-6 MAC)	Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. Live Stats \| ESPN+
Notes	Ball State \| Ohio \| Kent State
Social Media	X (Twitter) \| Instagram

THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: The Ball State women's volleyball team opens a four-match road swing Friday when it visits Ohio for a 6 p.m. first serve ... From there, the Cardinals travel to Kent State for a 4 p.m. match up Saturday.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both matches this weekend will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... In addition, live stats will be provided courtesy of the host institutions ... 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 at Ohio with a 1022-656-2 (.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 3-4 start to league play this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 449-224 (.667) all-time Mid-American Conference mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, one-and-a-half matches behind the Cardinals at 447-225 (.665) ... Ohio is currently sixth all-time based on winning percentage at 385-285 (.575), while Kent State is 10th all-time at 242-430 (.360).

THE WORTHEN FACTOR: The Cardinals boast a 320-99 (.764) all-time mark inside Worthen Arena ... Looking at just opponents from the MAC, Ball State is 236-61 (.795) 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 ... Ball State's next home opponent will be Eastern Michigan (Nov. 1-2) who is 5-28 (.152) all-time in matches played in Worthen Arena.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES VS. OHIO: Ball State holds a 43-21 lead in the all-time series versus Ohio, including two straight wins ... Last season, the Cardinals earned a 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18) victory in Worthen Arena on Oct. 28 ... Ball State played a two-match set in Athens during the 2022 season, suffering a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-15, 25-17) on Nov. 11, before rebounding for a 3-1 (25-21, 14-25, 25-18, 25-21) win the following day (Nov. 12) ... Overall, Ball State is 20-9 in matches played on Ohio's home court.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES VS. KENT STATE: Ball State holds a 45-18 lead in the all-time series versus Kent State, including four straight wins ... The last three matches have been played in Muncie, while the Cardinals earning a 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-15) victory in the latest match on Oct. 27, 2023 ... The last time BSU traveled to Kent, the team's split a two-match series with Kent State earning a 3-2 (19-25, 13-25, 28-26, 25-19, 17-15) win Sept. 24, 2021, while Ball State claimed a 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-10) win the following day (Sept. 25) ... Ball State is 17-9 all-time on Kent State's home court.

SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• Ball State enters Friday's match at Ohio with a 10-8 (3-4 MAC) record after splitting a pair of matches last weekend ... BSU used the sixth-highest attack percentage in program history to sweep Akron Friday, before falling to Buffalo in four sets Saturday.
• The Cardinals continue to be one of the nation's most dangerous offenses, ranking first in the Mid-American Conference and 43rd nationally with a .249 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 four matches this year, including a season-high .446 rate of success versus Akron (Oct. 11).
• Along with its solid attack percentage, the Cardinals rank 54th nationally with a 2.51 blocks-per-set average ... Graduate middle Aayinde Smith leads the Cardinals at the net, ranking fourth in the MAC and 88th nationally with a 1.19 blocks-per-set average ... Sophomore middle Gwen Crull is right behind, boasting a 1.17 average.

SCOUTING OHIO:
• The Bobcats enter Friday's match with a 7-10 (3-3 MAC) record after splitting a pair of matches last weekend ... OU suffered a 3-0 loss at Western Michigan Thursday, before rebounding with a 3-0 victory at Northern Illinois Saturday.
• Ohio enters the week ranked 78th nationally with a 13.12 kills-per-set average ... Kam Hunt plays a large role in the effort, leading the MAC and ranking 55th nationally at 3.91 kills-per-set, while Anna Kharchynska is fourth in the MAC and 144th nationally at 3.49.
• In the backcourt, Ohio's Kendall Hickey enters the weekend ranked fourth in the MAC and 64th nationally at 4.42 digs per set.

SCOUTING KENT STATE:
• The Golden Flashes enter a Friday match versus Miami with a 1-15 (0-6 MAC) record ... KSU's lone win is a 3-0 victory over NJIT on Sept. 6 ... Last weekend, Kent State was swept at both Northern Illinois and Western Michigan.
• Kent State is one of the top digging teams in the MAC, ranking fourth in the league and 127th nationally with a 14.74 digs-per-set average ... Greta Bolognini leads the squad and is ninth in the MAC with a 3.78 average.
• On offense, Mackenzie McGuire is the lone Golden Flash player to average more than 2.00 kills per set, leading the squad at 2.64 ... Logan Henderson is second on the squad at 1.86.
• Alexandria Connatser leads KSU at the net with 39 total blocks for a 0.76 blocks-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 4,651 career assists which is currently third among active NCAA Division I players ... Western Michigan's Logan Case is first at 5,740 (with the benefit of an extra COVID season), while Colorado State's Emery Herman is second at 4,826 ... 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 169 career aces ... The total, which includes a team-high 25 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 179 total digs so far this season, raising her career total to 1,200 which is 13th in program history ... Overall, she has accumulated double-digit digs in 62 career matches which is ninth in program history and gives her 62 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 35 career matches, including nine 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 204 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.

• A six-rotation player for the Cardinals, Carson Tyler is also third on the team with 107 digs for a 1.67 digs-per-set average ... She also leads Ball State's primary passers with a .953 reception percentage, successfully passing 363 of the 381 serves she has faced.

• Freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter has shined in her first season of collegiate action, leading the squad and ranking 10th in the MAC with a with a 3.58 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 .934 reception percentage, including perfect marks in nine of BSU's 18 matches.

• Graduate middle Aayinde Smith has been a big addition for the Ball State front line, ranking fourth on the squad with 1.93 kills per set, while leading the team with a 1.19 blocks-per-set average ... She has at least one block in all 18 of BSU's matches, including tying her career-high with 10 (two solo and eight assists) last time out versus Buffalo (Oct. 12)... A two-time All-CAA Second Team selection in her four years at Towson, Smith also owns a .296 attack percentage which ranks 10th among MAC players.

• Sophomore middle Gwen Crull has also made her presence known at the net, collecting 49 blocks over 42 sets for a 1.17 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 13 of the 17 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 seven of the last 11 matches ... Last time out, she produced a season-high 14 kills versus Buffalo (Oct. 12), while she started the run with 13 kills versus Southern Indiana (Sept. 14) ... Overall, Buckley has registered double digit kills in eight matches this season and 21 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 first time this season, Ball State ran a 6-2 offense in last Friday's win over Akron ... That led to the sixth-best single match attack percentage in program history, as Megan Wielonski and sophomore Lindsey Green helped BSU connect for a .446 (48-7-92) rate of success ... Leading the way was Aayinde Smith who connected for a program-record .917 (11-0-12) attack percentage ... The previous mark for a player with 10-14 attempts in a match was .900 (9-0-10) on two occasions ... The mark for a player with at least 15 attempts is .833 (15-0-18) set by Marie Plitt in 2022 vs. Arkansas State.

Women's Volleyball Visits Ohio & Kent State This Weekend

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Players Mentioned

Madison Buckley

Gwen Crull

Lindsey Green

Aniya Kennedy

Sophie Ledbetter

Marie Plitt

Aayinde Smith

Carson Tyler

Megan Wielonski