Ball State // NCAA Tournament
The Ball State women's volleyball program opens play in the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship with an 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT first serve at fifth-seeded Nebraska on Friday, Dec. 6 ... The winner advances to play either Northern Iowa or Missouri at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Dec. 7.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS:
• Ball State earned the program's ninth berth into the NCAA Tournament by claiming the 2019 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship title ... Winners of nine-straight matches, the Cardinals earned MAC Tournament victories over fifth-seeded Ohio (3-1) in the quarterfinals, top-seeded Miami (3-1) in the semifinals and third-seeded Bowling Green (3-2) in the championship match.
• Ball State enters Friday's match at Nebraska averaging a MAC-best 13.78 kills-per-set, which also ranks 35th nationally ... The team's 1,695 total kills are 10th among all 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs, while its 1,567 total assists are 10th ... The Cardinals also rank third in the league with a .221 hitting percentage.
• The Ball State defense is even more solid, ranking 19th nationally with a 17.54 digs-per-set average ... The Cardinals 2,158 total digs are the fifth-most among all NCAA Division I programs.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA:
• Nebraska earned the fifth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 25-4 overall record, including a 17-3 mark in Big Ten play ... The Huskers tied for second overall in the Big Ten, one match behind league-winner Wisconsin.
• The Nebraska roster features a pair of local players in sophomore defensive specialist Megan Miller (Alexandria, Ind./Alexandria-Monroe) and freshman defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) ... Knuckles serves as the Huskers libero and leads the team with a 3.71 digs-per-set average, while Miller is fifth at 2.09 digs per set.
• Nebraska enters Friday's match ranked 33rd in the country with a 13.79 kill-per-set average and has accumulated 1,462 kills on the year ... The Huskers are also connecting at a .269 clip this season, which ranks 25th nationally.
• On defense, Nebraska averages 2.36 blocks and 15.08 digs per set, plus it is holding opponents to the eighth-lowest attack percentage in the nation at .149.
SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA:
• UNI earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 24-10 overall record ... The Panthers fell to Illinois State in the championship match of the MVC Tournament last Saturday.
• UNI enters the tournament as one of the nation's top attacking teams, ranking seventh in the country with a 14.58 kills-per-set average ... The Panthers' 1,837 total kills and 1,698 total assists pace all 332 NCAA Division I programs ... UNI also leads the MVC with a .226 hitting percentage, which is 90th nationally.
• On defense, UNI ranks ninth nationally with a 17.91 digs-per-set average, while its 2,257 total digs are second in the country ... The Panthers are also limiting opponents to a .174 attack percentage this season.
SCOUTING MISSOURI:
• Missouri earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 21-7 overall record and tying for third in the SEC with a 13-5 league mark ... The Tigers closed the regular season with three straight conference wins, knocking off Tennessee (3-1), Ole Miss (3-1) and LSU (3-0).
• Missouri boasts one of the nation's top offenses, ranking third nationally in attack percentage (.301) and sixth in kills-per-set (14.70) ... The Tigers are also strong from the service line, ranking 23rd nationally at 1.68 aces per set.
• On defense, Missouri ranks 135th nationally with a 2.10 blocks-per-set average, while it's 12.56 digs-per-set average is 316th among the 332 ranked NCAA Division I programs ... The Tigers also allow opponents to connect for a .219 hitting percentage.
Bowling Green // NIVC
Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program will return to the court to host the first two rounds of the NIVC. This will be the third consecutive season that Bowling Green has accepted an invitation to the tournament. The Falcons will take on Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday (Dec. 5) with a 7 p.m. first serve. Last year, BGSU faced Bradley in the NIVC whereas two years they faced Wisconsin-Green Bay, coming up short in both years after five sets.
Meeting The Mastodons
Purdue Fort Wayne enters the NIVC after falling to Denver in the semifinals of the Summit League Championship where they first defeated Oral Roberts with both matches going four sets. During the season, Purdue Fort Wayne saw a win streak of five straight, winning two via sweep and two more via five sets. After a 3-0 loss to North Dakota State, the Mastodons picked up where they left off, rattling off four more straight wins.
NIVC Back For A Third Year
The 2019 edition marks the third consecutive year of the revitalized NIVC. In the previous two years, Ole Miss (2017) and Iowa State (2018) have won the tournament. The tournament selects 32-40 teams to participate each year following the NCAA's selection show. Since the rebirth of the tournament, the Falcons have participated each season, while also competing in the previous edition of the tournament in 1992 and 1933.
Last Time Out
The Falcons hosted the MAC Tournament the last time they took the court, advancing to the finals to face Ball State. On the road to the tournament championship, the Falcons first defeated Buffalo by the score of a 3-0 sweep, being led by Katelyn Meyer with 23 kills. In the semifinals, the Orange and Brown bested Central Michigan in four sets to advance to the MAC Championship match. Against the Chippewas, senior setter Isabelle Marciniak recorded a triple-double with 42 assists, 18 digs and 10 total blocks. The stat line was the first triple-double of not only Marciniak's career, but in the Mid-American Conference for the season.
Marciniak, Meyer Named MAC All-Tournament
Following the MAC Tournament, the Falcons saw two players named to the All-Tournament team, being Isabelle Marciniak and Katelyn Meyer. As a whole, the team consisted of two players from Ball State, two from Bowling Green, one from Miami and one from Central Michigan with the tournament MVP also being a member of the Ball State program. Over the tournament, Marciniak totaled 122 assists and 14 blocks, including the lone triple-double of the season for the MAC. As for Meyer, she totaled 60 kills over the three matches to lead the team in each match, including 23 kills with a .415 hitting percentage against Buffalo.
Home Sweet Home
The Falcons are serving as the host for the first two rounds of the NIVC Tournament after serving as the host for the MAC Tournament. The home court advantage proved to be a factor for the Falcons during the MAC Tournament as BGSU captured two wins en route to advancing to the MAC Tournament. Now, hosting the NIVC Tournament, Bowling Green will be seeking their first win in the tournament since 1993, which was a second round victory over Kansas in five sets.
Central Michigan // NIVC
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Central Michigan volleyball team will play in the postseason for the second time in program history on Thursday (8 p.m.) when the Chippewas take on South Dakota in a National Invitational Volleyball Championship game at South Dakota's Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
The Chippewas received an invitation to their first NIVC after winning the Mid-American Conference West Division co-championship, their first divisional title since 2003. Their game against South Dakota is just the second in the postseason in program history. CMU played in the NCAA Tournament in 2007, falling to Illinois.
The Chippewas are 21-8, the most wins for a CMU team since 2007.
"We were fortunate enough to put together a resume that got us invited," fourth-year Chippewa coach Mike Gawlik said. "I think with our young group it is something that, not only will it be an opportunity to put a cap on this year, I think it will pave the way for success for our program for future years as well. We are excited about the opportunity."
Tournament Format
The CMU-South Dakota game is the second of an opening-night doubleheader. UNLV (19-10) and Kansas City (17-11) meet in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The winners are scheduled to play at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6.
Friday's winner advances to the tournament quarterfinals against the winner of the four-team pod hosted by Texas-Arlington.
Back at It
Two weeks ago, the Chippewas went into the eight-team MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and fell to third-seeded Bowling Green in straight sets on the Falcons' home court.
Scouting
The Coyotes went 16-0 to win the Summit League championship and earn the No. 1 seed in the league tournament. They were upset by fourth-seeded Omaha in four sets in their conference tourney opener.
South Dakota's only other loss came on Sept. 3, to Iowa State of the Big 12. The Cyclones are 17-11 and are in the NCAA Tournament.
Elizabeth Juhnke, a 6-foot freshman, leads the Coyotes with 426 kills and was named the Summit League Freshman of the Year. South Dakota's Anne Rasmussen earned the league's Defensive Player of the Year Award for the second-consecutive season, and sophomore Madison Jurgens was named the league's Setter of the Year.
The Coyotes won 24 consecutive matches before falling to Omaha.
"They were right on the bubble of getting an NCAA at-large bid," Gawlik said. "We know that they're hungry, and we know that they play well in their own building.
"But I think that watching them on video and getting ready we can go toe-to-toe with them from a physicality standpoint. We're always excited to have an opportunity to go to battle. We're going to have to play pretty well."
The Chippewas
CMU is in the midst of its best season in more than a decade. Two weeks ago, Gawlik was named the MAC Coach of the Year and Kalina Smith and Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez earned First Team All-MAC honors.
Smith leads CMU with 357 kills, while Rosario-Martinez is second on the team with 258 and a team-high 34 aces. Chippewa setters Kendall Braate and Grace Butler have combined for 1,173 assists, while libero Megan Kern, the lone senior starter, has posted 550 digs.
Miami // NIVC
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - For the fourth straight season, the Miami University volleyball team is in a postseason tournament as it competes in the NIVC. The RedHawks head to Bowling Green, Ohio for the first two rounds of the 32-team event. On Thursday, Miami takes on TCU at 4:30 p.m in the first round. With a victory, the 'Hawks will face either the host Bowling Green or Purdue Fort Wayne in the second round on Friday at 7 p.m. Both matches will air live on BGSU's YouTube Channel.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: This is 12th time Miami has participated in a postseason volleyball tournament. That includes four NIVC bids, seven NCAA appearances and one spot in the 1980 MAIAW Tournament that was the national tournament before the NCAA took over women's sports in 1981.
LAST YEAR IN NIVC: Miami hosted the first two rounds of the NIVC last season. In the first round, the RedHawks cruised to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-22) win over Northern Kentucky. Miami ran into a hot-hitting Valparaiso squad in the second round as it was eliminated 0-3 (21-25, 16-25, 18-25).
DAIGNAULT MAC ALL-TOURNAMENT: Senior outside hitter Taylor Daignault was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team after her performance against Ball State in the MAC Semifinals on Nov. 23. She finished with 12 kills, 25 digs and two block assists, despite not playing in the first set of the four-set match.
POTENTIAL OPPONENT PREVIEWS
ABOUT TCU: The Horned Frogs went 9-17 during the regular season with a 4-12 mark in the Big 12. That record is deceiving as they play in one of the highest ranked conferences in the country. In fact, in their last match on Saturday, they fell in straight sets to Baylor, which was just awarded the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. TCU is a young team that features only one senior. Five different Horned Frogs average two or more kills per set, led by sophomore outside hitter Katie Clark. She has 242 kills, an average of 2.66 kills per set.
SERIES WITH THE HORNED FROGS: Miami holds a 2-1 lead in the all-time series with TCU. The teams last met on Sept. 3, 2004 in Oxford. After Hurricane Francis scuttled the RedHawks plans to travel to Florida for a tournament, they quickly put together one of their own. Miami was able to earn a 3-1 (30-24, 23-30, 30-23, 30-28) win over the Horned Frogs in what was the season-opener for both schools. Angie Zent led the 'Hawks with 18 kills.
ABOUT BOWLING GREEN: The Falcons are 19-12 overall and finished in second place in the MAC with an 11-5 record. As the third seed in the MAC Tournament they knocked off Buffalo in the quarterfinals, 3-0, and Central Michigan in the semifinals, 3-1. However, they dropped a 2-3 heartbreaker to Ball State in the MAC Championship in their last action on Nov. 24. Bowling Green has been led by sophomore outside hitter Katelyn Meyer. She has had a breakout campaign with 430 kills, an average of 3.74 kills per set. Their libero, sophomore Julia Walz has 644 digs on the season, an average of 5.60 digs per set.
SERIES WITH THE FALCONS: Miami holds a 52-32 lead in the all-time series with Bowling Green. The matches have been tight the last few seasons as the teams have shared the last two MAC Championships. The RedHawks used a strong defensive effort to earn a 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 26-24) win in their first meeting this season on Oct. 10 in Oxford. Sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Miami held the Falcons to a .097 attack percentage for the match. After another tight battle, the RedHawks fell, 2-3 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 18-25, 11-25), in the second meeting on Nov. 14 in Bowling Green. Senior middle hitter Margaret Payne led the way with 18 kills.
ABOUT PURDUE FORT WAYNE: Purdue Fort Wayne (formerly IPFW) went 18-14 in the regular season and placed third in the Summit League with a 11-5 record. In their last action at the Summit League Tournament, they defeated Oral Roberts in the quarterfinals, 3-1, before falling, 1-3, in the semifinals to Denver on Nov. 23. The Mastodons are led by junior outside hitter Katie Crowe. She has 408 kills, an average of 3.29 kills per set.
SERIES WITH THE MASTODONS: Miami holds a 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Purdue Fort Wayne. The teams last met at the Miami Invitational on Sept. 19, 2015 in Oxford. The RedHawks earned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) victory. Maris Below had 13 kills, while Krista Brakauskas recorded a double-double of 21 assists and 13 digs.
