Women's Volleyball Back in Action at Kent State

Ball State (15-9; 11-1 MAC) at Kent State (8-15; 3-9 MAC)
Match 25 - at Kent State	Friday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Match 26 - at Kent State	Saturday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. ET ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Notes	Ball State \| Kent State
Social Media	X (Twitter) \| Instagram

THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: After picking up a home sweep of Miami Tuesday, the Ball State women's volleyball team closes the week with a two-match set at Kent State ... The teams will battle at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Fans unable to attend this weekend'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 Kent State ... Updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.

CURRENTLY IN THE MAC: With its 11-1 league mark, Ball State owns a two-match lead in the MAC standings, with Western Michigan currently second at 9-3 ... Toledo is third at 8-4, while Bowling Green and Ohio are tied for fourth at 7-5 ... Rounding out the current top six is Central Michigan at 6-6 ... The top six teams in the final league standings advance to the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship held Nov. 21-23 at Bowling Green's Stroh Center ... Miami and Akron are currently tied as the first teams out with its 5-7 MAC ledgers.

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 Tuesday's match versus Miami with a 1048-667-2 (.611) 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 330-104 (.760) all-time record inside Worthen Arena, including an 84-41 (.672) mark against non-conference foes and a 246-63 (.796) ledger 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 ... Ball State closes out its 2025 home slate Nov. 13-14 with back-to-back matches versus Central Michigan which is 6-27 all-time in Worthen Arena.

BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With an 11-1 record in MAC play this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 470-226 (.675) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, four matches behind the Cardinals at 466-230 (.670), while this weekend's opponent Kent State is 10th at 246-450 (.353).

ABOUT THE 10-0 START TO #MACtion: While it's season-long 10-match winning streak came to an end last Saturday vs. Ohio, Ball State's 10-0 start to MAC play tied as the third-best league start in program history ... The Cardinals also won its first 10 conference matches of the 1997 campaign ... Ball State has also gone undefeated in league play twice, boasting an 18-0 mark in 1993, followed by a 17-0 record in 1994.

SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Cardinals enter the weekend with a 15-9 overall record, including an 11-1 record in Mid-American Conference play ... Ball State rebounded from its first league loss of the season last Saturday with a 3-0 sweep of Miami Tuesday in Worthen Arena.
• Ball State remains the top-ranked MAC squad in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings, coming in at 56 ... The Cardinals were 77th in the initial RPI rankings on Oct. 5 and climbed to as high as 45th in the Oct. 19 release.
• Ball State enters the weekend as one of the nation's top terminating teams, ranking second nationally with 1,284 total kills ... Only Towson (1,287) has more kills than the Cardinals ... 402 of Ball State's kills, which is fifth nationally, have come from the arm of sophomore outside Carson Tyler who also ranks first in the MAC and 39th nationally with a 4.19 kills-per-set average.
• In addition, the Cardinals lead the MAC and rank 46th nationally with a .254 team attack percentage ... Junior middle Camryn Wise is first in the league and 43rd nationally with a .381 rate of success, while junior setter Lindsey Green ranks 96th nationally with 695 total assists and owns a 7.32 assists-per-set average.

SCOUTING KENT STATE:
• The Golden Flashes enter the weekend with an 8-15 overall record, including a 3-9 mark in MAC play ... In Tuesday #MACtion, Kent State suffered a 3-0 setback at Ohio for its third straight league loss.
• KSU ranks last in the MAC in the latest NCAA RPI Rankings at 259, dropping 11 spots from its ranking of 248 last week ... Kent State was ranked as high as 188th in the initial RPI rankings on Oct. 5, before falling to 239th on Oct. 12.
• Kent State enters the weekend ranked fourth in the MAC with a 14.69 digs-per-set average and fifth in the league with a .200 opponent's attack percentage ... The Golden Flashes have held opponents to sub-.200 hitting marks in 12 matches this season, including holding North Dakota to a .028 (29-26-109) rate of success on Sept. 12.
• On the offensive front, Mackenzie McGuire leads the team and ranks third in the MAC with a 3.84 kills-per-set average ... McGuire has smashed double-digit kills in nine of Kent State's 12 league matches this season, including a match-high 12 markers in Tuesday's setback versus Ohio.
• The Cardinals currently hold a 46-18 lead in the all-time series versus Kent State, including five straight wins ... Last season, Ball State picked a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) sweep in the M.A.C. Center on Oct. 19, 2024 ... It was BSU's fifth straight win via sweep in the series and helped the Cardinals improve to 18-9 in matches played in Kent, Ohio ... KSU's last win over BSU was also its last home win of the series on Sept. 24, 2021, by a score 3-2 (19-25, 13-25, 28-26, 25-19, 17-15).

BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• Sophomore outside Carson Tyler has been one of the nation's top attackers so far this season, ranking fifth nationally with 402 kills for a MAC-best 4.19 kills-per-set average ... She has reached double-digit kills in 22 matches so far this season, including a career-high 29 kills versus Toledo (Oct. 10), 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 her 13 kills in Tuesday's win over Miami, Carson Tyler took over sole possession of 18th in program history with double-digit kills in 44 career matches ... She has 22 such matches this season, while collecting 22 her freshman campaign ... In addition, Tyler is one of just nine players in program history to register 20-or-more kills in at least 10 career matches, with her 24 kills at Bowling Green (Oct. 16) being her 12th.

• A six-rotation player, Carson Tyler is currently second on the squad with 243 digs ... She has recorded kill/dig double-doubles in 13 matches this season, with her latest coming versus Miami (Oct. 28) ... Tyler registered a 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 .961 reception percentage, successfully passing 540 of the 562 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 playing for the Cardinals, smashing 280 total kills, collecting 182 digs and hitting .215 (280-103-823) ... A member of the Golden Gopher Invitational All-Tournament Team, VanOort has tallied double-digit kills in 17 of BSU's 24 matches, including a season-high 20 kills twice ... Throw in 97 matches with double-figure kills during her four-year career at Indiana Tech and VanOort has been credited with at least 10 kills in 114 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 10 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.

• Noelle VanOort reached a career milestone in Tuesday's win over Miami, smashing the 2,000th kill of her collegiate career ... The moment came midway through the second set when her third blast of the match gave BSU a 12-6 edge ... Prior to arriving at Ball State, VanOort finished her four-year playing career at Indiana Tech (2021-24) as a two-time NAIA Third Team All-American and ranked second in program history with 1,724 kills ... Add 280 kills so far at Ball State and her career total stands at 2,004 ... She has also collected 1,830 digs and served up 294 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 373 digs and a 3.89 digs-per-set average this season ... Her total ranks third among all MAC defenders, while her average is fourth ... Ledbetter has recorded double-digit digs in 21 of BSU's 24 matches, upping her career total to 44 ... 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 .254 attack percentage this season which is first in the MAC and 46th nationally ... The mark includes a .263 rate of success over the team's 12 MAC matches ... Green, who dished out a career-high 51 assists twice this season, currently ranks ninth in the MAC with a 7.32 assists-per-set average, with her 695 total assists ranking 96th nationally ... She also leads the squad with 30 service aces ... Axness, meanwhile, enters the weekend with a 4.42 assists-per-set average and has served up 12 aces.

• Junior middle Gwen Crull has turned up the offensive heat over the last seven weeks, reaching double-digit kills for the first eight times in her collegiate career ... Her best match came at Miami (Oct. 7), when she smashed a career-high 13 kills and hit .522 (13-1-23) ... She has also collected 12 kills on two occasions; vs. Cincinnati (Sept. 18) and at Akron (Sept. 26) ... Since the start of MAC play, Crull is second on the squad with a .413 (97-16-196) attack percentage, which ranks third in the MAC during the span ... She also leads the squad with a 0.84 blocks-per-set average this season, including a team-high 13 solo blocks.

• Junior middle Camryn Wise enters the week leading the Mid-American Conference with a .381 attack percentage ... She has hit .300-or-better in 18 of the team's 24 matches, paced by a .579 (12-1-19) rate of success at Marquette (Sept. 12) ... Looking at just league matches, Wise's mark jumps up to .418 with just 13 errors on 177 swings, to go along with 87 kills ... Wise has hit at least .385 in nine MAC outings, starting with a .545 (6-0-11) effort at Buffalo (Sept. 25).

• Sophomore Tiffany Snook is starting to find her grove on the right side, ranking fourth on the squad in league play with 89 kills and a 2.02 kills-per-set average ... The effort includes a career-high 17 kills and a .433 (17-4-30) attack percentage versus Toledo (Oct. 10) ... She also secured 11 kills at Akron (Sept. 26) and has registered at least six kills in eight of Ball State's 12 league matches.

• 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.

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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