Women's Volleyball Brings #MACtion to Muncie Thursday & Friday

Ball State (6-8; 2-0 MAC) hosts Northern Illinois / Western Michigan
Match 15 - hosts Northern Illinois (9-2; 2-0 MAC)	Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Match 16 - hosts Western Michigan (5-10; 2-0 MAC)	Friday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Notes	Ball State \| NIU \| WMU
Social Media	X (Twitter) \| Instagram

THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: Six teams went 2-0 to open Mid-American Conference play last week and three of them will be in Muncie this week, as the Ball State women's volleyball program hosts Northern Illinois Thursday and Western Michigan Friday ... Both matches start at 6 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.

THIS WEEK'S PROMOTIONS: Thursday's match will serve as Community Night for the program, with $1 hot dogs and $1 popcorn for all fans in attendance, while first responders can purchase $5 tickets ... Friday's match will be the program's Alumni Night with Ball State women's volleyball alumni in attendance honored between sets two and three.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Fans unable to attend this week's matches in person have several ways to follow the #MACtion ... Both contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... Live stats will be available courtesy of Ball State University ... Updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.

MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATION: Ball State women's volleyball team received 102 points in the league's annual coaches' poll, trailing only defending regular season champion Bowling Green (119) ... With coaches unable to vote for their own teams, BGSU earned 10 of the 12 votes to win the MAC regular season title, with the Cardinals claiming the other two ... The Falcons were also selected as the favorite to win the MAC Volleyball Championship with 10 votes, while Buffalo and Central Michigan each garnered one vote.

PRESEASON HONORS: In addition to the team rankings, the MAC announced its annual Preseason All-MAC Team ... Representing Ball State are sophomore outside Carson Tyler and sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter ... Tyler was named the 2024 MAC and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year after ranking first on the team and seventh in the league with a 3.34 kills-per-set average last season ... Ledbetter earned a nod on the 2024 MAC All-Freshman team after leading the squad and ranking 10th in the MAC with a 3.68 digs-per-set average.

BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters Thursday's match versus Northern Illinois with a 1040-666-2 (.609) all-time record in women's volleyball ... Ball State became 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 six seasons ... BSU has also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).

WHEN IN WORTHEN: The Cardinals boast a 324-103 (.759) all-time mark inside Worthen Arena, including an 84-41 (.672) record against non-conference foes and a 240-62 (.795) mark versus league foes ... 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 ... NIU is 9-20 all-time in Worthen Arena, while WMU is 8-26.

BALL STATE IN THE MAC: After opening the 2025 league season with wins at Buffalo and Akron, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 461-225 (.672) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, two matches behind the Cardinals at 459-227 (.669), while NIU is fifth at 312-224 (.582).

SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Cardinals enter the week with a 6-8 overall record after opening league play with a 2-0 record ... Ball State started conference play with a 3-0 sweep at Buffalo (Sept. 25) and followed with a four-set victory at Akron (Sept. 26).
• Ball State enters the week as one of the nation's top terminating teams, ranking 11th nationally with 778 total kills ... 252 of those kills, which is fifth nationally, have come from the arm of sophomore outside Carson Tyler who also ranks first in the MAC and 32nd nationally with a 4.34 kills-per-set average.
• In addition, the Cardinals lead the MAC and ranks 51st nationally with a .253 team attack percentage ... Junior middle Camryn Wise is first in the league and 87th nationally with a .366 rate of success, while junior setter Lindsey Green ranks 59th nationally with 453 total assists and owns a 7.95 assists-per-set average.

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS:
• The Huskies enter Thursday's match with a 9-2 (2-0 MAC) record after earning a 3-2 win over Central Michigan (Sept. 25) and a sweep of Eastern Michigan (Sept. 26) to open league play last week.
• NIU enters the week as one of the nation's top serving teams, ranked 52nd nationally with a 1.81 aces-per-set average ... Jordyn Tynsky leads the squad and is 116th nationally with a 0.42 average.
• The Huskies have also limited opposing squads to a .179 attack percentage this season which ranks second among league squads and is 68th nationally ... Only two opponents have hit above .250 against NIU this season, with Stetson (Aug. 29) hitting .257 and Gonzaga (Sept. 12) connecting at a .255 clip.
• Thursday's match will be the last Mid-American Conference regular season meeting between the two programs as NIU is moving to the Horizon League starting next season ... Overall, the Cardinals hold a 42-38 lead in the all-time series thanks to its current eight-match winning streak over the Huskies ... NIU's last win in the series was a 3-0 sweep on Feb. 19, 2021 in the COVID-19 spring season.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
• The Broncos enter a Thursday match up at Miami with a 5-10 (2-0 MAC) record after earning a 3-1 win over Eastern Michigan (Sept. 25) and a 3-2 victory against Central Michigan (Sept. 26) to open league play last week.
• Western Michigan features one of the nation's toughest back courts, ranking first in the MAC and ninth nationally with a 17.14 digs-per-set average ... In fact, WMU's 977 total digs are sixth nationally ... Elana Erickson leads the squad and the MAC, while ranking 20th nationally, with a 4.81 digs-per-set average.
• The solid backcourt play has helped the Broncos rank 14th nationally with 2,144 attack attempts this season ... WMU has connected for 685 kills on those swings, which is 66th nationally, while ranking 214th nationally with a .215 attack percentage.
• Ball State holds a slim 56-52 edge in the all-time series despite WMU winning four of the last five meetings ... The teams split a pair of matches in Worthen Arena last season, with the Cardinals winning the opener 3-0 on Nov. 15, while WMU earned a 3-2 victory the next day before also defeating the Cardinals 3-0 in the title match of the MAC Volleyball Championship (Nov. 24).

BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• The reigning MAC Offensive Player of the Week, sophomore outside Carson Tyler has been one of the nation's top attackers so far this season, ranking fifth nationally with 252 kills for a MAC-best 4.34 kills-per-set average ... She has reached double-digit kills in all 14 matches so far this season, including a career-high 28 kills versus Cincinnati (Sept. 18), 26 kills versus James Madison (Sept. 14) and 21 kills at UConn (Sept. 5) ... Last season, Tyler averaged 3.34 kills per set to become the first player in program history to earn AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year accolades.

• With double-digit kills in all 14 matches this season, Carson Tyler has raised her career total to 34 matches ... She needs nine more matches in double figures to break into the top 20 in program history at 43 ... In addition, Tyler is one of just nine players in program history to register 20-or-more kills in at least 10 career matches.

• A six-rotation player, Carson Tyler is currently second on the squad with 142 digs this season ... She has recorded kill/dig double-doubles in seven matches so far this season, with her latest coming versus Cincinnati (Sept. 18) which she tallied a career-high 28 kills and 12 digs ... She registered career-high 19 digs in the win at Marquette (Sept. 12) and collected 18 versus Cal Poly (Aug. 31) and James Madison (Sept. 14) ... Tyler also leads Ball State's primary passers with a .971 reception percentage, successfully passing 333 of the team-leading 343 serves she has faced ... Tyler also led the Cardinals' primary passers with a .963 reception percentage last season by successfully passing 650 of the team-high 675 serves she faced.

• Graduate outside Noelle VanOort has made quite an impact during her first five weeks playing for the Cardinals, smashing 189 total kills, collecting 136 digs and hitting .270 (189-56-492) ... A member of the Golden Gopher Invitational All-Tournament Team, VanOort has tallied double digit kills in 12 of BSU's 14 matches, including a season-high 20 kills twice ... Throw in 97 matches with double-figure kills during her career at Indiana Tech and VanOort has been credited with at least 10 kills in 109 collegiate matches ... She has also raised her collegiate total to 11 matches with 20+ kills, including a 20/20 effort Nov. 5, 2022, with 23 kills and 25 digs versus Siena Heights.

• Noelle VanOort has been just as solid on defense through the first five weeks, earning double-digit digs seven times, including a season-high 23 vs. Cincinnati (Sept. 18) ... The effort has raised her career total to 97 matches with double-digit digs, including her 90 at Indiana Tech ... It also helped her raise her collegiate kill/dig double-double total to 74, including six with Ball State and 68 with the Warriors.

• Prior to arriving at Ball State, Noelle VanOort finished her four-year playing career at Indiana Tech (2021-24) as a two-time NAIA Third Team All-American ... Her 1,724 career kills ranked second in program history, while her 1,648 career digs were sixth ... She also set the program standard with 282 career service aces ... She has continued to find success in her first five weeks playing for the Cardinals and enters the week with 1913 kills, 1784 digs and 293 aces over her collegiate career.

• With 20 kills each in the Aug. 31 match versus Cal Poly, Noelle VanOort and Carson Tyler became the first Ball State duo to record 20-or-more kills in the same match since the 2007 season ... Brittany May and Julie Breivogel were the last players to do so with 21 and 20 kills, respectively, in an Oct. 5, 2027 match versus Western Michigan.

• Sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter paces the Ball State defense with 226 digs and a 3.90 digs-per-set average this season ... The total currently ranks third among MAC defenders, while the average is fourth ... Ledbetter has recorded double-digit digs in 13 of BSU's 14 matches, upping her career total to 36 ... The effort includes a career-high tying 27 digs versus Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 20) and 26 digs in the season-opener versus St. Thomas (Aug. 29).

• Sophie Ledbetter earned her first collegiate double-double versus Cal Poly (Aug. 31), handing out 10 assists to go along with her 14 digs.

• Junior Lindsey Green and freshman Reese Axness have combined to lead the Ball State offense to a .253 attack percentage so far this season which is first in the MAC and 51st nationally ... For their combined effort in the first week of league play, leading the Cardinals to a league-high .306 hitting mark, the duo were named the MAC Co-Setters of the Week ... Green, who dished out a career-high 51 assists twice this season, currently ranks eighth in the MAC with an 7.95 assists-per-set average, with her 453 total assists ranking 59th nationally ... She also leads the squad with 19 service aces ... Axness, meanwhile, enters the week with a 4.20 assists-per-set average and has served up four aces.

• Sophomore transfer middle/opposite Tiffany Snook turned in one of the best matches of her collegiate career versus Cal Poly (Aug. 31), smashing a career-high 16 kills while connecting for a .481 (16-3-27) rate of success ... Throw in 11 kills last time out versus Akron (Sept. 26) and Snook has double-digit kills in 11 collegiate matches, including nine in her lone season at Memphis.

• Junior middle Gwen Crull has turned up the offensive heat over the last two weeks, reaching double-digit kills for the first three times in her collegiate career ... She started with a career-high 12 kills versus Cincinnati (Sept. 18) and followed with 11 two matches later versus Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 20) ... She tied her career-high mark with 12 more kills at Akron (Sept. 26) ... Crull also leads the Ball State defense with a 0.67 blocks-per-set average.

• Roster Update: Senior opposite Madison Buckley and redshirt junior outside attacker Aniya Kennedy will both miss the 2025 season as medical redshirts … Buckley was a 2024 First Team All-MAC selection after ranking second on the team in total blocks (90.0) and third in total kills (276) last season … Kennedy, the 2023 MAC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-MAC selection, ranked second on the squad with 279 kills last season and chipped in 43 total blocks.

Women's Volleyball Brings #MACtion to Muncie Thursday & Friday

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Players Mentioned

Reese Axness

Madison Buckley

Gwen Crull

Lindsey Green

Aniya Kennedy

Sophie Ledbetter

Tiffany Snook

Carson Tyler

Noelle VanOort

Camryn Wise