Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Buffalo
November 04, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (16-6; 6-5 MAC) at Buffalo (14-9; 6-6 MAC) | |
|---|---|
| Match 24 - at Buffalo | Friday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Match 25 - at Buffalo | Saturday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. ET ESPN+ | Live Stats |
| Notes | Ball State | Buffalo |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram |
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: It is a key road weekend for the Ball State women's volleyball team in its hunt for a berth into the Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship, as it heads to Buffalo for a pair of matches at Broadview Arena ... The Cardinals and Bulls are set to square off at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Both of this weekend's matches at Buffalo will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... For those unable to tune in or join in person, live stats will be available for both matches courtesy of Buffalo Athletics ... Score updates will also be provided on Ball State volleyball's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
WHERE THINGS STAND: With just four matches remaining in the regular season, the Cardinals enter the week fourth in the MAC regular season race with a 7-5 league ledger ... Both Toledo (11-2) and Bowling Green (10-3) have locked up berths in the six-team MAC Women's Volleyball Championship hosted by Ball State Nov. 20-22 in Worthen Arena ... Miami (8-4) is third, while Ohio (7-6) and Western Michigan (7-6) are the last two teams currently in ... Buffalo (6-6) is currently the first team out, followed by Akron (4-8) and Eastern Michigan (4-9) ... Central Michigan (0-12) has been eliminated from championship contention.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the weekend with a 1071-675-2 (.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 7-5 Mid-American Conference record so far this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 483-231 (.676) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, six-and-a-half matches behind the Cardinals at 477-238 (.667) ... Buffalo is currently 11th at 141-345 (.290).
WHEN IN WORTHEN: With a 5-2 record in 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 foes 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 at Buffalo with a 16-7 (7-5 MAC) record after splitting last weekend's two-match series versus Bowling Green ... The Falcons won the series opener last Friday by a score of 3-1, while the Cardinals took Saturday's match by a score of 3-2 in a Halloween thriller.
• The Cardinals are ranked 44th 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), 50th in the third (Oct. 18) and 55th (Oct. 25) in the fourth.
• 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 Ledbetterenters the weekend ranked first in the MAC and 14th nationally with a 4.82 digs-per-set average ... Her 405 total digs, including a career-high 29 digs vs. Miami (Oct. 6) and vs. Akron (Oct. 23), are second among all MAC players and 34th 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 sixth nationally with a 16.99 digs-per-set average ... The Cardinals have out-dug opponents in 17 of its 23 matches so far this season and have six regulars averaging at least 1.77 digs-per-set.
• Ball State has also been able to translate those digs into kills, ranking sixth the nation in assists per set (13.29) and 13th nationally in kills per set (14.10) ... Led by senior setter Lindsey Green and sophomore setter Reese Axness, the Cardinals also rank 31st 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 23 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 17 ... 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 17th nationally with a .418 hitting percentage, including 13 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 ... SMU's Natalia Newsome 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 at Buffalo ranked 10th in program history with 1,307 career digs ... The total is two digs shy of moving her into ninth in program history, with Kelly Cochran (2003-06) currently holding the spot with 1,309 career digs ... In addition, Ledbetter has collected double-digit digs 22 times this season and in 73 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 3.47 kills-per-set average ... She has smashed double-digit kills in 17 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 496 career kills with double digits in 23 career matches.
• Ava Smith has also been a solid addition in the backcourt, ranking fourth on the squad with 143 total digs and fifth on the team with a 1.77 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 191 career digs.
• Audrey Geer collected her sixth double-double of the season with 10 kills and 13 digs in last Saturday's win over Bowling Green ... She has double-digit kills in nine matches this season and is third on the squad with a 2.42 kills-per-set average ... She also ranks second on the squad with a 2.94 digs-per-set average, including double figures in 11 matches.
• Including her two seasons at Marshall, Audrey Geer has smashed 569 career kills ... She has notched double-digit kills in 31 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 30 matches as a collegiate player and has amassed 589 career digs, including a career-high 19 digs versus Southern Miss on Nov. 15, 2024 ... Together, she has tallied 19 career kill/dig double-doubles, including six 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 31st nationally ... Their efforts have also helped the Cardinals rank sixth in the nation in assists-per-set average (13.29) and 13th in kills-per-set average (14.10) ... Green leads the duo and ranks sixth in the MAC with a 6.70 assists-per-set average, while Axness comes in at 5.30 assists per set ... In addition, the pair have combined for 12 assist/dig double-doubles, with nine 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 sixth nationally in digs-per-set average at 16.99 ... Green is third on the team with a 2.48 digs-per-set average, while Axness is fourth among the team's regular rotation players at 1.93 ... Green has posted double-digit digs in nine 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, ranking second on the squad with a 2.49 kills-per-set average ... In fact, Snook is second on the squad in both total kills (207) 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 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 Buffalo with 558 career kills and a .378 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 275 total blocks ... Over 98 career matches, Wise has accumulated 41 solo blocks and 234 block assists, for a 0.82 career blocks-per-set average ... So far this season, she leads the team with 10 solo blocks, while chipping in 36 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 281, followed by Tiffany Snook (207), Audrey Geer (155), Camryn Wise (148), Crull (126) and fifth-year opposite Madison Buckley (109).
• Gwen Crull is currently fifth in the MAC and 97th nationally with a .354 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 47 total blocks for a 0.61 blocks-per-set average ... She has been credited with at least one block in 17 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 Saturday's five-set victory ... She smashed a career-high 11 kills in the win, while adding a career-best 16 digs ... One day earlier, she was credited with nine kills and 14 digs ... She also served up three aces on the weekend, helping her climb to third in the league rankings with a 0.39 aces-per-set average ... Her 18 total aces currently lead the squad.
• The Cardinals have been able to rely on a very deep bench on its march to a 16-7 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.
