Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Bowling Green
October 29, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (15-6; 6-4 MAC) hosts Bowling Green (17-4; 9-1 MAC) | |
|---|---|
| Match 22 - hosts Bowling Green | Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Match 23 - hosts Bowling Green | Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats PROMOTIONS: Chirp or Treat |
| Notes | Ball State | Bowling Green |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram |
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday at 6 p.m. when it hosts Bowling Green in the first of back-to-back matches in Worthen Arena ... The teams will meet again Saturday at 3 p.m. on Chirp or Treat
THIS WEEK'S PROMOTIONS:
Saturday, Oct. 31 - Chirp or Treat: Ball State women's volleyball celebrates Halloween with its annual Chirp or Treat match ... Youth fans can Trick or Treat the Worthen Arena concourse in costume starting at 2 p.m. with Ball State student-athletes from nearly every program, along with spirit squad members, passing out candy ... Youth admission will be FREE for the match with a paid adult ticket ... In addition, there will be prizes for the best kids Halloween costume, spooky music and Halloween themed video elements throughout the match ... There will also be a post-match autograph session with the Ball State women's volleyball team.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Ball State Sports Link producing Friday's match and the Ball State Sports Network covering Saturday's ... Friday's broadcast crew will be comprised of Annaka Whittey on play-by-play, Sam Klug as analyst and Kaylyn Macechko on sideline ... Saturday's broadcast features Voice of the Cardinals Mick Tidrow calling the action ... Katie Tomasic, a four-year letterwinner (2014-17) and two-time First Team All-MAC honoree for the Miami RedHawks, returns as the color analyst, while Max Gillie from Ball State Sports Link will serve as sideline reporter... For those unable to tune in or join in person, live stats will be available for both matches courtesy of Ball State Athletics ... Score updates will also be provided on Ball State volleyball's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1070-674-2 (.613) 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 Mid-American Conference West Division Championships, 11 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 ... The Cardinals have also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 6-4 Mid-American Conference record so far this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 482-230 (.677) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, six matches behind the Cardinals at 476-236 (.669) ... Bowling Green is currently third at 422-290 (.593).
WHEN IN WORTHEN: With a 4-1 record to start home #MACtion this season, the Cardinals boast a 337-106 (.761) all-time record inside Worthen Arena, including an 85-42 (.669) mark against non-conference foes and a 252-64 (.797) ledger versus Mid-American Conference rivals ... 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 ... Bowling Green has the most wins among league programs in Worthen Arena with a 10-17 (370) mark.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Ball State women's volleyball team enters Friday's match versus Bowling Green with a 15-6 (6-4 MAC) record after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Akron last Saturday ... The Cardinals are ranked 55th in the latest run of the NCAA Division I RPI Rankings ... Ball State was 32nd in the first release (Oct. 4), 53rd in the second (Oct. 11) and 50th in the third (Oct. 18).
• A four-time MAC Defensive Player of the Week and two-time MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week so far this season, Ball State junior libero Sophie Ledbetter enters the week ranked first in the MAC and 10th nationally with a 4.97 digs-per-set average ... Her 373 total digs, including a career-high 29 digs vs. Miami (Oct. 6) and vs. Akron (Oct. 23), are second among all MAC players and 28th nationally.
• Thanks in part to Sophie Ledbetter's strong play in the backcourt, the Ball State defense enters the weekend ranked second in the MAC and seventh nationally with a 16.84 digs-per-set average ... The Cardinals have out-dug opponents in 16 of its 21 matches so far this season and have six players averaging at least 1.76 digs-per-set.
• Ball State has also been able to translate those digs into kills, ranking seventh the nation in assists per set (13.21) and 10th nationally in kills per set (14.08) ... Led by senior setter Lindsey Green and sophomore setter Reese Axness, the Cardinals also rank 35th nationally with a .260 hitting percentage ... All three marks also lead the Mid-American Conference.
• Looking at the offensive numbers, the Cardinals are doing it with a very balanced attack as six players have collected at least 109 kills through the first 21 matches of the season ... Five of those attackers have reached double-digit kills in at least three matches, led by junior outside Ava Smith with double figures in 15 ... Junior opposite Tiffany Snook is not far behind with double-digit kills in 11 matches.
• Senior middle Camryn Wise enters the weekend ranked first in the MAC and eighth nationally with a .435 hitting percentage, including 12 matches above .400 so far this season ... In fact, Wise hit a program record .889 (16-0-18), for a player with at least 15 attempts in a match, in the Sept. 26 win over Western Michigan ... Portland's Taina Kaauwai leads the nation at .524.
• Ball State served up a season-high 13 total aces in the Oct. 10 win over Central Michigan, including a career-high six from freshman outside Mallory Pike ... Pike's six aces were the most for Cardinals player since the semifinals of the 2025 MAC Volleyball Championship when Carson Tyler blasted seven versus Toledo (Nov. 22, 2025) ... As a team, the 13 aces were the most since Sept. 24, 2022, when Ball State also served up 13 aces versus the Chippewas ... The last time Ball State surpassed the total as a team was with 14 aces on Sept. 19, 2009, in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-11, 25-18) sweep at Towson.
BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• Sophie Ledbetter enters Friday's match versus Bowling Green ranked 11th in program history with 1,275 career digs ... The total is 18 digs shy of moving her into the top 10 in program history, with Natalie Risi (2019-22) currently holding the 10th spot with 1,293 career digs ... In addition, Ledbetter has collected double-digit digs 20 times this season and in 71 matches over her career, with her career total ranking seventh on Ball State's all-time list.
• With her career-high tying 29 digs in last Saturday's five-set win over Akron, Sophie Ledbetter has collected 20-or-more digs in 21 career matches ... The total, which includes eight matches this season, ranks as the eighth-most in program history.
• Junior outside Ava Smith has shined in her first season with the Cardinals, leading the squad and ranking sixth in the MAC with a 3.42 kills-per-set average ... She has smashed double-digit kills in 15 matches so far this season, paced by a career-best 19 kills vs. Western Kentucky (Sept. 3), against Northwestern (Sept. 17) and in the MAC opener versus Western Michigan (Sept. 25) ... Including her two seasons at FGCU, Smith has 461 career kills with double digits in 21 career matches.
• Ava Smith has also been a solid addition in the backcourt, ranking fourth on the squad with 135 total digs and fifth on the team with a 1.88 digs-per-set average ... The effort includes her first three career kill/dig double-doubles ... Including her 48 digs in two seasons at FGCU, Smith has 183 career digs.
• Audrey Geer collected her fifth double-double of the season with a team-high 15 kills and 14 digs in last Saturday's win over Akron ... She has double-digit kills in eight matches this season is tied for second on the squad with a 2.51 kills-per-set average ... She also ranks second on the squad with a 2.85 digs-per-set average, including double figures in nine matches.
• Including her two seasons at Marshall, Audrey Geer has smashed 552 career kills ... She has notched double-digit kills in 30 collegiate matches and owns a career high of 17 kills versus Appalachian State on Nov. 11, 2024 ... In addition, she has collected double-digit digs in 28 matches as a collegiate player and has amassed 558 career digs ... Together, she has tallied 18 career kill/dig double-doubles, including five this season.
• Lindsey Green and Reese Axness continue to split setting duties, combining to lead the Ball State offense to a .260 hitting percentage, which is first in the MAC and 35th nationally ... Their efforts have also helped the Cardinals rank seventh in the nation in assists-per-set average (13.21) and 10th in kills-per-set average (14.08) ... Green leads the duo and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 6.76 assists-per-set average, while Axness comes in at 5.24 assists per set ... In addition, the pair have combined for 10 assist/dig double-doubles, with seven from Green and three from Axness.
• Along with their solid setting numbers, Lindsey Green and Reese Axness have played a large role in the Cardinals ranking seventh nationally in digs-per-set average at 16.84 ... Green is third on the team with a 2.44 digs-per-set average, while Axness is fourth at 1.92 ... Green has posted double-digit digs in seven matches this season, while Axness has achieved the mark in three.
• Junior opposite Tiffany Snook has been a solid attacking option for the Ball State offense this season, tying for second on the squad with a 2.51 kills-per-set average ... In fact, Snook is second on the squad in both total kills (186) and matches with double-digit kills (11) ... The effort includes her career-high tying 17 kills in the sweep at Campbell (Sept. 11) ... The 17 kills tie as the fourth best in a three-set match by a MAC player this season, two-behind Ava Smith's career-high tying 19 kills in the sweep of Western Michigan (Sept. 25).
• In addition, Tiffany Snook hit a career-best .696 (17-1-23) in the win over Campbell (Sept. 11) which is the fourth-best attack percentage in a three-set match by a MAC player this season.
• The highest hitting percentage by a MAC player in a match this season came courtesy of a record-setting performance from senior middle Camryn Wise ... Wise turned in the best hitting percentage in a match in program history (for a player with at least 15 attempts) versus Western Michigan (Sept. 26) by blasting a career-high 16 kills on 18 swings with no errors for a .889 rate of success ... Wise enters Friday's match versus Bowling Green with 542 career kills and a .381 career hitting percentage which would be first in program history ... Marie Plitt (2019-23) currently holds the program's attack percentage record at .362, while Julie Zylka (1998-2001) is second at .360.
• Camryn Wise enters the weekend as Ball State's active career blocking leader with 269 total blocks ... Over 96 career matches, Wise has accumulated 40 solo blocks and 229 block assists, for a 0.83 career blocks-per-set average ... So far this season, she leads the team with nine solo blocks, while chipping in 31 block assists.
• Senior middle Gwen Crull became the sixth different Ball State player to reach 100 kills this season with her four blasts in the Oct. 16 sweep of Ohio ... Ava Smith leads the squad with 246, followed by Tiffany Snook (186), Audrey Geer (138), Camryn Wise (132), Crull (114) and fifth-year opposite Madison Buckley (109).
• Gwen Crull is currently fourth in the MAC and 76th nationally with a .360 attack percentage ... She hit a season-best .727 (8-0-11) at Toledo (Oct. 2) and has accumulated at least eight kills in seven matches, paced by a season-high 10 versus Western Michigan (Sept. 26) ... Crull also currently leads the team with 45 total blocks and a 0.66 blocks-per-set average ... She has been credited with at least one block in 15 matches, including a season-high 6.0 in the four-set win over Xavier (Aug. 29).
• Over the last five matches, freshman opposite Merritt Sliwa has been an offensive force for the Cardinals, ranking second on the squad with 40 kills for a 2.50 kills-per-set average ... She registered a career-high 12 kills in the Oct. 23 win over Akron, while hitting a career-best .417 (7-2-12) in the Oct. 10 sweep of Central Michigan ... She is also second on the team with eight total blocks during the span.
• The Cardinals have been able to rely on a very deep bench on its march to a 15-6 record ... All 17 players have seen action, including 16 in sweeps of Stetson (Sept. 11) and Campbell (Sept. 11) ... Of the group, all 17 players have at least three digs and 14 have at least one kill.
