Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Kent State
November 12, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (18-7; 9-5 MAC) hosts Kent State (11-14; 5-9 MAC) / at Eastern Michigan (10-16; 4-10 MAC) | |
|---|---|
| Match 26 - hosts Kent State | Friday, Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats PROMOTIONS: Senior Salute / Student-Athlete Night / MAC Food & Fund Drive |
| Match 27 - at Eastern Michigan | Saturday, Nov. 14 at 4 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Notes | Ball State | Kent State | Eastern Michigan |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram |
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the regular season this weekend with a Friday home match versus Kent State (6 p.m.) and a Saturday road contest at Eastern Michigan (4 p.m.).
THIS WEEK'S PROMOTIONS:
Friday, Nov. 13 - Senior Salute / Student-Athlete Night / MAC Food & Fund Drive: The Cardinals will celebrate its senior class in the home finale with a special post-match video tribute and limited edition team posters ... In addition, Ball State will honor all its student-athletes in attendance ... Ball State athletics will also be taking food donations for Second Harvest and monetary donations for the Muncie Mission as part of the Mid-American Conference's Food and Fund drive.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... Friday's home match versus Kent State will be broadcast in conjunction with Ball State Sports Link ... Sam Klug will call the play-by play, Kaylyn Macechko will serve as analyst and Zion Palmieri will man the sideline ... EMU will broadcast Saturday's road match ... Live stats will also be provided by each home institution ... Score updates will also be available on Ball State volleyball's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1073-675-2 (.614) 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 9-5 Mid-American Conference record so far this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 485-231 (.677) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, seven matches behind the Cardinals at 478-238 (.668) ... Kent State is currently ninth at 251-465 (.351) and Eastern Michigan is seventh at 296-419 (.414).
WHEN IN WORTHEN: With a 5-2 record to start home #MACtion this season, the Cardinals boast a 338-107 (.760) all-time record inside Worthen Arena, including an 85-42 (.669) mark against non-conference foes and a 253-65 (.796) ledger versus Mid-American Conference rivals ... No MAC opponent owns a winning record inside Worthen Arena, as the Cardinals have at least a .621 winning percentage against all league schools on its current home floor ... Bowling Green has the most wins among league programs in Worthen Arena with an 11-18 (.379) mark ... Kent State, Ball State's last regular season MAC home opponent, is 4-17 (.190) all-time in Worthen Arena.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Ball State women's volleyball team enters Friday's match versus Kent State with an 18-7 (9-5 MAC) record after picking up a pair of sweeps at Buffalo last weekend ... With the effort, Ball State clinched a berth in the six-team MAC Women's Volleyball Championship.
• The Cardinals are ranked 38th in the latest run of the NCAA Division I RPI Rankings which includes matches played through Nov. 8 ... Ball State was 32nd in the first run (matches though Oct. 4), 53rd in the second (Oct. 11), 50th in the third (Oct. 18), 55th in the fourth (Oct. 25) and 44th in the fifth (Nov. 1).
• 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 weekend ranked first in the MAC and 19th nationally with a 4.74 digs-per-set average ... Her 427 total digs, including a career-high 29 digs vs. Miami (Oct. 6) and vs. Akron (Oct. 23), are second among all MAC players and 41st 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 eighth nationally with a 17.03 digs-per-set average ... The Cardinals have out-dug opponents in 19 of its 25 matches so far this season and have seven players averaging at least 1.62 digs-per-set.
• Ball State has also been able to translate those digs into kills, ranking fifth the nation in assists per set (13.37) and ninth nationally in kills per set (14.16) ... Led by the setter trio of senior Lindsey Green, sophomore setter Reese Axness and freshman Lucy McCollum, the Cardinals also rank 25th nationally with a .262 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 25 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 18 ... Junior opposite Tiffany Snook is not far behind with double-digit kills in 12 matches.
• Senior middle Camryn Wise enters the weekend ranked first in the MAC and 23rd nationally with a .407 hitting percentage, including 14 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 Tiana Kaauwai leads the nation at .519.
• 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 vs. Kent State ranked eighth in program history with 1,329 career digs ... The total is 250 digs shy of moving her into seventh in program history, with Amanda McCormick (2005-06) currently holding the spot with 1,579 digs over her two-year Ball State career ... In addition, Ledbetter has collected double-digit digs 24 times this season and in 75 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 the Oct. 23 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 fourth in the MAC with a 3.49 kills-per-set average ... She has smashed double-digit kills in 18 matches so far this season, paced by her career-high 20 in the Oct. 30 outing versus Bowling Green ... Including her two seasons at FGCU, Smith has 519 career kills with double digits in 24 career matches.
• Ava Smith has also been a solid addition in the backcourt, ranking fourth on the squad with 144 total digs and sixth on the team with a 1.68 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 194 career digs.
• Audrey Geer collected her seventh double-double of the season with 13 kills and 14 digs in last Saturday's win at Buffalo ... She has double-digit kills in 10 matches this season and is second on the squad with a 2.53 kills-per-set average ... She also ranks second on the squad with a 3.00 digs-per-set average, including double figures in 12 matches.
• Including her two seasons at Marshall, Audrey Geer has smashed 591 career kills ... She has notched double-digit kills in 32 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 31 matches as a collegiate player and has amassed 611 career digs, including a career-high 19 digs versus Southern Miss on Nov. 15, 2024 ... Together, she has tallied 20 career kill/dig double-doubles, including seven this season.
• Ball State's setting duo has become a trio as of late, with freshman Lucy McCollum finding her way into the 6-2 lineup with senior Lindsey Green in the last three matches ... Throw in sophomore setter Resse Axness, and the trio have the Cardinals ranked first in the MAC and 25th nationally with a .262 hitting percentage ... Their efforts have also helped the Cardinals rank fifth in the nation in assists-per-set average (13.37) and ninth in kills-per-set average (14.16).
• Junior opposite Tiffany Snook has been a solid attacking option for the Ball State offense this season, ranking third on the squad with a 2.47 kills-per-set average ... In fact, Snook is second on the squad in both total kills (220) and matches with double-digit kills (12) ... The effort includes her career-high tying 17 kills in the sweep at Campbell (Sept. 11) ... The 17 kills tie as the fifth best in a three-set match by a MAC player this season, two behind Ava Smith's 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 Kent State with 575 career kills and a .376 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 277 total blocks ... Over 100 career matches, Wise has accumulated 43 solo blocks and 234 block assists, for a 0.81 career blocks-per-set average ... So far this season, she leads the team with 12 solo blocks, while chipping in 36 block assists.
• Senior middle Gwen Crull is currently fifth in the MAC and 99th nationally with a .351 attack percentage ... She hit a season-best .727 (8-0-11) at Toledo (Oct. 2) and has accumulated at least eight kills in eight matches, paced by a season-high 10 versus Western Michigan (Sept. 26) ... Crull also currently leads the team with 49 total blocks for a 0.59 blocks-per-set average ... She has been credited with at least one block in 19 matches, including a season-high 6.0 in the four-set win over Xavier (Aug. 29).
• Freshman outside Mallory Pike had a career weekend versus Bowling Green, including her first career kill/dig double-double in the Oct. 31 five-set victory ... She smashed a career-high 11 kills in the win, while adding a career-best 16 digs ... M. Pike, who served up a career-high six aces versus Central Michigan (Oct. 10), currently leads the squad with 19 aces this season ... She also became the sixth player on the squad to reach 100 digs this season last weekend at Buffalo ... She currently has 112 digs and a 2.15 digs-per-set average.
• The Cardinals have been able to rely on a very deep bench on its march to an 18-7 record this season ... 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.
