You have to go even further back to find the last time the Cardinals played four matches in two days at a pre-conference tournament, which was Sept. 13-14, 2013 at the Hawkeye Challenge.
One thing all five matches have in common … they were Ball State wins!
"I'm really excited for the opportunity to get back on the road and compete against non-conference opponents again," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said about the upcoming weekend. "Traveling with the team, testing ourselves versus a variety of teams, and learning more about our teams strengths is what I'm really looking forward to."
Ball State dominated the 2013 Hawkeye Challenge, earning 3-1 wins over Western Illinois and host Iowa on the opening day of the event, before sweeping Drake and UIC the following afternoon to claim the tournament championship.
The Cardinals also swept the Bears on that faithful end to the 2019 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge, not knowing it would be their last regular season non-conference match in nearly two years due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Flash forward to August 2021, and you know the Cardinals will be geared up and ready for the challenge heading into the GBD Invite which opens Friday.
"They came into camp super prepared," Phillips said. "I am really proud of our leadership; they have stepped up. The girls, they want us to have an unbelievable year. It's not coach led, it's player led."
Ball State opens the season Friday at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) versus host Green Bay and will play St. Thomas at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT). Saturday, the Cardinals will play Northern Iowa at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) and North Dakota State at 5 p.m. (4 p.m. CT).
Live stats will be available for all four matches HERE, while fans can watch the contest versus Green Bay on ESPN+.
"I love the depth of our team, as well as our scrappy back court defense." Phillips added. "Everyone is bought in, working hard and ready to help the team in any way needed. Overall, this weekend will be successful if we get better every match, gain confidence, and improve our teams chemistry."
HERE ARE FIVE THINGS TO KNOW HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND:
1. While the Cardinals did lose leading attacker and First Team All-MAC selection Kia Holder to graduation last season, the team still returns 71.6% of its offensive production from last season … Leading the returning attackers are junior middle Marie Plitt (156 kills in 2020-21) and junior opposite Natalie Mitchem (153 kills in 2020-21) … However, Ball State was able to add a key piece to its offense in graduate transfer Jaclyn Bulmahn who earned First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors after leading Valparaiso with 244 kills in the shortened spring season.
2. Last season, Ball State turned in a dominating performance at the net, leading the MAC and ranking 35th nationally with a 2.49 blocks-per-set average … It was just the second time since the 2005 season the Cardinals have averaged over 2.40 blocks per set … Key to the effort were sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland and junior middle Marie Plitt … Gilliland used her 1.18 blocks-per-set average to ranked second in the MAC and claim MAC All-Freshman Team honors … Plitt was not far behind, ranking sixth in the league at 1.05 blocks-per-set … For their effort, the pair were named to the 2021 Preseason All-MAC West Division Team.
3. In addition to the strong blocking numbers, the Cardinals return a majority of the back row which helped limit opposing teams to a .196 attack percentage last season … It was the second-best defensive showing in the MAC, trailing only league champion Bowling Green's .170 mark … Juniors Maggie Huber and Natalie Risi split time as the team's libero, averaging 4.14 (10th in the MAC) and 3.00 dig per set, respectively … Overall, the Cardinals return 85.3% of its total digs from a year ago.
4. The Cardinals enter their 50th season of play with a 26-23 record in season-opening matches ... Ball State has won its last three season openers, including a 3-0 (25-21, 25-13, 25-12) sweep of Akron when BSU opened the delayed 2020-21 season on Jan. 22, 2021 … Ball State enters the 2021 fall campaign with a 941-620-2 (.603) all-time record in women's volleyball.
5. Ball State is 4-5 all-time versus teams in the GBD Invite field … The Cardinals are 1-1 all-time versus Green Bay, with both previous matches being played on neutral courts … The Phoenix won the last meeting on Sept. 28, 2008 by a score of 3-0 (32-30, 32-30, 25-18) … BSU and St. Thomas will be battling for the first time, as the Purple make its NCAA Division I debut against Ball State … Northern Iowa holds a 4-2 edge in the all-time series versus the Cardinals, having won the last four meetings, most recently topping BSU in Worthen Arena by a score of 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-13, 25-19) on Sept. 7, 2018 … A few hours after the aforementioned loss to UNI, Ball State rebounded to beat North Dakota State 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-16) in the first-ever meeting with the Bison.
"ball" - Google News
August 26, 2021 at 11:00PM
https://ift.tt/3mxEGE0
WVB Opens Season Friday at GBD Invite - BallStateSports.com
"ball" - Google News
https://ift.tt/39CKzGV
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment