Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
Western Kentucky
Volleyball Set for Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational Hosted by Wright State
September 02, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
| Ball State (2-0; 0-0 MAC) at Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational (hosted by Wright State) | |
| Match 3 - vs Western Kentucky (2-1) | Thursday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. ET Live Stats |
| Match 4 - vs. Dayton (3-1) | Friday, Sept. 4 at 3 p.m. ET Live Stats |
| Match 5 - at Wright State (2-1) | Saturday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. ET Live Stats | ESPN+ |
| Notes | Ball State | Western Kentucky | Dayton | Wright State |
| Social Media | X (Twitter) | Instagram |
THIS WEEK IN BALL STATE VOLLEYBALL: The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Thursday when it opens play in the Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational with a 6 p.m. showdown with Western Kentucky ... The Cardinals will then play Dayton at 3 p.m. Friday, before finishing the tournament versus host Wright State at 4 p.m. Saturday ... The event is shaping up to be a big test for the Cardinals, with both Western Kentucky (6) and Dayton (25) receiving votes in this week's AVCA Division I Coaches Poll ... In addition, both WKU and Wright State were NCAA tournament teams a year ago.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live stats will be available for all three matches courtesy of Wright State ... In addition, Saturday's match the host Raiders will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ... Updates from the matches will also be provided on the team's X feed and Instagram story: @BallStateWVB.
MAC PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATIONS: The Ball State women's volleyball team was picked to finish second in the league in the MAC's annual preseason coaches' poll ... The defending regular season champion Cardinals earned 91 points and three first place votes, trailing only defending tournament champion Toledo (92 points / seven first place votes) ... The Rockets also had a slight edge over Ball State in the MAC Women's Volleyball Championship projections, earning six votes to the Cardinals' five.
PRESEASON ALL-MAC: Ball State placed three student-athletes on the Preseason All-MAC Team ... Representing the squad were senior middles Gwen Crull and Camryn Wise, along with junior defensive specialist/libero Sophie Ledbetter ... All three were First Team All-MAC selections last season after helping guide the Cardinals to the league's regular season title with a 17-1 MAC ledger.
BALL STATE ALL-TIME: Ball State enters the Tru by Hilton Beavercreek Invitational with a 1057-668-2 (.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 ... BSU has also earned two bids into the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 17-1 record in Mid-American Conference play last season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 476-226 (.678) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, six matches behind the Cardinals at 470-232 (.670).
WHEN IN WORTHEN: The Cardinals boast a 332-104 (.761) all-time record inside Worthen Arena, including an 84-41 (.672) mark against non-conference foes and a 248-63 (.797) ledger versus league foes ... 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.
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Ball State women's volleyball team opened the 2026 season with a pair of wins in South Bend, Indiana, last weekend ... The first was a reverse sweep of in-state rival Notre Dame Friday, led by a 13-kill performance from redshirt junior outside Ava Smith ... The Cardinals followed with a four-set win over Xavier Saturday, with four players logging double-digit kills.
• For her play in the two games, junior libero Sophie Ledbetter was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week for the third time in her career ... Ledbetter led all league players and ranked seventh nationally with a 5.44 digs-per-set average ... She also led the charge in limiting BSU's opponents to a .195 attack percentage.
• As a team, the Cardinals ranked second in the MAC and 12th nationally with a 17.00 digs-per-set average opening weekend ... Along with Ledbetter's 49 total digs, four other Cardinals were credited with at least 20 digs over the two matches, with senior setter Lindsey Green ranking second on the squad at 23 (2.56 per set).
• At the net, senior Gwen Crull finished the weekend ranked eighth in the MAC and 189th nationally with a 1.11 blocks-per-set average ... She led the Ball State defense with four blocks versus Notre Dame, while pacing all players with six blocks against Xavier.
• On the offensive front, the Cardinals ran an extremely balanced attack with six attackers smashing double-digit kills for the weekend ... Ava Smith led the way with 26, blasting 13 in each match, while junior outside Audrey Geer collected 24 and junior opposite Tiffany Snook was credited with 23.
BALL STATE QUICK HITS:
• With her 49 digs opening weekend, Sophie Ledbetter raised her career total to 951, ironically leaving her 49 shy of becoming the 22nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs ... Her 26 digs in the season-opener versus Notre Dame (Aug. 28) were one shy of her career high of 27 set Sept. 6, 2024, versus James Madison and tied Sept. 20, 2025, versus Eastern Kentucky.
• With double-digit digs in both matches opening weekend, Sophie Ledbetter raised her career total to 53 matches in double figures ... With the effort, Ledbetter climbed two spots into 15th in program history for matches with double-digit digs ... She needs eight more matches in double figures to break into the top 10 on BSU's all-time list.
• Along with her stellar defensive play, which helped keep numerous rallies alive and led to a lot of scoring opportunities for the Cardinals, Sophie Ledbetter finished opening weekend with a perfect reception percentage, going 29-for-29 to lead Ball State's primary passers ... It also raised her career total to 34 matches with a perfect reception percentage.
• Ava Smith shined in her first weekend for the Cardinals, tying her career high with 13 kills in wins over Notre Dame (Aug. 28) and Xavier (Aug. 29) ... She also collected a career-high 16 digs in the reverse sweep of the Fighting Irish, giving the transfer from FGCU her first career collegiate double-double.
• Audrey Geer smashed double-digit kills in both matches opening weekend in her Ball State debut, starting with 11 versus Notre Dame (Aug. 28) and adding 13 vs. Xavier (Aug. 29) ... The effort raised the Marshall transfer's career total to 24 matches with double-digit kills ... Geer also collected 14 digs in the win over the Musketeers, raising her collegiate double-double total to 14 matches.
• Lindsey Green and Reese Axness continued to split duties in the 6-2 opening weekend, combining to lead the Ball State offense to a .204 attack percentage against a pair of premier opponents ... Green led the duo with 57 assists for a 6.33 assists-per-set average, while Axness was not far behind at 41 assists for a 4.56 average ... In addition, each recorded one double-double, with Axness securing 11 digs to go along with her 20 assists in the reverse sweep of Notre Dame (Aug. 28), while Green collected 32 assists and 14 digs in the win over Xavier (Aug. 29) ... Overall, the pair combined for 98 assists and a 10.89 assists-per-set average which would have ranked second in the league opening weekend.
• The Cardinals welcomed a familiar face back to the lineup opening weekend, as redshirt senior Madison Buckley returned to the court for the first time since the 2024 season ... Buckley ranked fourth on the squad with 16 total kills, including a season-high 11 in the win over Xavier (Aug. 29) ... In fact, Buckley led all players with a .556 (11-1-18) attack percentage in the match, while also securing five total blocks ... Buckley owns a .260 career attack percentage and her second block assist against the Musketeers was the 200th block of her collegiate career.
• Gwen Crull was just as solid in the middle for the Cardinals, reaching double-digit kills for the first eight times in her collegiate career last season ... Her best match came at Miami (Oct. 7), when she smashed a career-high 13 kills and hit .522 (13-1-23) ... She also collected 12 kills on two occasions; vs. Cincinnati (Sept. 18) and at Akron (Sept. 26) ... In MAC play, Crull ranked second on the squad and in the league with a .384 (136-28-281) attack percentage ... She also led the squad with a 0.86 blocks-per-set average last season, including a team-high 17 solo blocks.
• Junior opposite Tiffany Snook picked up right where she left off last season, smashing 23 kills for a 2.56 kills-per-set average opening weekend ... She started with 12 kills in the reverse sweep of Notre Dame (Aug. 28) and followed with 11 in the win over Xavier (Aug. 29) ... It raised Snook's career total to 15 matches with double-digit kills and gives her three straight after her 12 kills in the MAC Championship semifinals versus Toledo (Nov. 22, 2025).
