Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Ball State Cardinals (15-9, 11-1 MAC) 
Tuesday was a milestone night for outside Noelle VanOort who blasted her 2,000th collegiate kill to help guide the Ball State women's volleyball team to a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-15) sweep of Miami inside Worthen Arena. The Ball State women's volleyball team heads into a two-match series at Kent State. The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.

Entering the match with 1,997 collegiate kills, with 1,724 coming at Indiana Tech (2021-24) and 273 before first serve tonight with the Cardinals (15-9; 11-1 Mid-American Conference), VanOort reached the magic mark at 12-6 in the second set when she forced the RedHawks (11-13; 5-7 MAC) to call its second timeout. She would finish the night with seven total markers, raising her total to 2,004.

Overall, the Ball State defense limited Miami to a season-low 23 kills, with its .057 (23-18-87) attack percentage tying as its lowest mark of the year. Lauren Coyne managed a team-high seven kills, while Anna McClure registered a team-high eight digs.


Western Michigan Broncos (12-13, 9-3 MAC)
The Western Michigan volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a two-match series at Toledo.

WMU (12-13, 9-3 MAC) at Toledo (17-7, 8-4)
Match One: Friday, Oct. 31 | 6 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS
Match Two: Saturday, Nov. 1 | 4 pm | WATCH LIVE | LIVE STATS

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Western Michigan takes its five-match winning streak on the road this week as it travels to Toledo for a two-match series. The Broncos enter the weekend in second place in the MAC standings, one game ahead of the Rockets.

LAST TIME OUT
WMU ran its winning streak up to five in a row on Tuesday with a straight-set victory over Northern Illinois. Leah Richmond posted a double-double (31 assists, 10 digs) to help the Broncos hit .310 for the night. Annalise Patchett led the attack with 12 kills on a .370 hitting percentage, while Reeghan Boyer anchored the defensive effort with 21 digs.  

DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE
Leah Richmond picked up yet another double-double in Tuesday's victory over NIU, totaling 31 assists and 10 digs. It was her 19th double-double of the year and 10th in WMU's 12 MAC contests. For the season, Richmond leads the conference in both total assists (936) and assists per set (9.85), with her 936 total assists ranking second in all of NCAA Division I. The redshirt freshman also ranks 10th in the MAC in digs per set with 3.22.

DIGGING IN DEFENSIVELY
Western Michigan has been one of the top defensive teams in the conference all season long, thanks in large part to its back line. The Brown and Gold lead the MAC in both total digs (1,660) and digs per set (17.11), with their total digs ranked third nationally and their digs per set average 11th-best in the nation. A pair of Broncos rank in the top-10 in the league in digs per set, with Elana Erickson second (4.00) and Leah Richmond 10th (3.22). Since moving to the libero role full time for the series at Buffalo, Reeghan Boyer has upped her digging contributions as well, and ranks ninth in conference play at 3.43 digs pet set. 

BRONCO BLOCK PARTY
In addition to its digging, the Bronco defense has seen a major uptick in blocking during conference play. After recording double-digit blocks just once during the non-conference slate, Western Michigan has recorded double-digit blocks in 10 of its 12 MAC matches. Leading the charge up front for WMU has been Amanda Glanton, who is atop the league in conference play in both total blocks (73) and blocks per set (1.49). 


Toledo Rockets (17-7, 8-4 MAC) 
Friday, Oct. 31 / vs. Western Michigan / Toledo, Ohio / 6:00 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats
Saturday, Nov. 1 / vs. Western Michigan / Toledo, Ohio / 4:00 p.m. / Watch (ESPN+) / Live Stats

The Toledo women's volleyball team fell to Bowling Green, 3-0 (24-26, 20-25, 29-27) in the latest edition of the Battle of I-75 on Tuesday evening in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Rockets sit at 17-7 (8-4 MAC) following the loss and are in third place in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Sophomore Olivia Heitkamp paced the offense for the seventh-straight match with 12 kills. Senior Sophie Catalano added nine terminations and redshirt sophomore Kayla Ozanich poured in eight kills of her own. Sophomore libero Grace Freiberger recorded 22 digs, her ninth match of the season with 20 or more digs, and chipped in two aces. Freshman Jessica Costlow added a career-best 15 digs and two aces while senior setter Kelsey Smith had 28 assists and nine digs.


Bowling Green Falcons (13-11, 7-5 MAC)
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will hit the road for a pair of matches against Miami (OH). The first will be Friday (Oct. 31) with a 6:30 p.m. first serve followed by a 7 p.m. start on Saturday (Nov. 1). All matches for the Falcons this week will be available to stream on ESPN+. 

BGSU Schedule This Week
Friday, Oct. 31 | BGSU at Miami (OH) | 6:30 p.m. | ESPN+
Saturday, Nov. 1 | BGSU at Miami (OH) | 4 p.m. | ESPN+

BGSU captured a three-set sweep over the Toledo Rockets Tuesday night (Oct. 28) in front of a packed Stroh Center. The sweep marked the first for either team in the Battle of I-75 since Oct. 25, 2008, which was also a 3-0 BGSU win at home. For the Falcons, the team registered 79 digs, the most in a three-set match since 2006. Additionally, Avery Hobson, Amanda Otten and Anna Sitek all registered double-doubles, giving BGSU three double-doubles in the same match for the third time in the last two weeks after previously not having done it since 2023. The win moves BGSU to 13-11 on the season while being 7-5 in the MAC.


Ohio Bobcats (8-15, 6-5 MAC)
Oct. 31 / at Central Michigan / Mount Pleasant, Mich. / McGuirk Arena / 6 p.m. ET / ESPN+ / Watch / Live Stats 
Nov. 1 / at Central Michigan / Mount Pleasant, Mich. / McGuirk Arena / 4 p.m. ET / ESPN+ / Watch / Live Stats 

The Ohio volleyball team (9-15, 7-5 MAC) swept Kent State (8-15, 3-9 MAC) 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-18) on Tuesday, Oct. 28. Ohio will head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for two matchups against Central Michigan. The Bobcats are back in action against CMU on Friday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m. ET, before wrapping up the weekend series on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. ET. inside McGuirk Arena. Both games can be seen on ESPN+. 
 
Ohio finished with a .298 attack percentage, 44 kills, nine aces, three blocks, 43 assists and 37 digs. Kent State finished with a .196 attack percentage, 30 kills, one ace, five blocks, 29 assists and 36 digs. Freshman Bailey Blair was a strong offensive force for the Bobcats, leading the team with 12 kills and 12.0 points. Blair also recorded a .450 attack percentage. Junior Emily Waddell had another career-best night in the Convo. Waddell recorded a .800 attack percentage with eight kills and no errors on 10 total attacks. Waddell was also a standout on defense with a team-high three block assists.


Central Michigan Chippewas (9-15, 6-6 MAC)
BACK-TO-BACK FOR THE MAC POTW
One week after earning the honor, Keelyn Muell earned it again – Mid-American Conference Setter of the Week. Muell earns the award after leading the Chippewas to their sixth win in seven matches and their fifth straight win. Keelyn Muell guided Central Michigan's offense with precision in a weekend sweep at Kent State. The junior setter averaged 10.57 assists per set across seven sets, totaling 74 assists while directing an attack that hit a combined .294 over the two matches - highlighted by a team .320 attack percentage on Friday night. Muell also added eight digs, four total blocks, and two service aces, showcasing her all-around court awareness and defensive reliability. Her ability to distribute the ball efficiently and keep CMU's offense balanced was instrumental in the Chippewas' back-to-back conference victories. Three key attackers for CMU hit +.300 over the two matches.

MILESTONE WATCH
Entering the matches against Ohio, Abby Olin and Natalia Rejment are closing in on some high career milestones. Olin is three blocks away from reaching the 250 career blocks mark. The 68 solo blocks that Olin currently has recorded rank her third in program history since rally scoring in 2001. She has tallied 247 total blocks in her four-year playing career thus far. Those blocks rank her 8th in program history with seven regular-season matches to go in 2025. In 2024, Olin tallied 115 blocks and set the single-season program record with 36 solo blocks. Rejment, who has been on a tear for Central Michigan, enters the matches with the Bobcats with 789 career kills. If Rejment can reach the 1,000 kill mark she will find herself in the top-10 in program history for career kills. The same goes for digs for Rejment, as she enters the mid-week with 939.

SINCE MAC PLAY MAC STATS
Throughout conference play, Central Michigan ranks third in the MAC with 77 service aces and 1.75/set. Brooklyn Conner leads the MAC with a .422 hitting percentage with 57 kills in her 27 sets played through conference play. Rejment ranks sixth in the conference with 3.39 kills/set, and fourth with 3.95 points/set. Keelyn Muell enters the matches back at home with 10.18 assists/set, good for third-best in the conference. Central Michigan hit .361 as a team on Friday against the Zips, which is the second-highest hitting percentage in a match this season throughout MAC play across all teams in the conference. Against Akron on Friday, October 17th, Central Michigan set a new program record for kills in a three-set match. CMU recorded 56 kills, surpassing the previous record of 54 set on November 4th, 2010. In that same match, the 50 assists were also the best in three sets in MAC play by any team. Taylor Cripe hit .625 against Kent State on October 24th, the second highest by any player in a three-set match in MAC play. Grace Thomas holds the third-best hitting percentage in any match with a .647 against Kent State in four sets. 


Akron Zips (12-11, 5-7 MAC)
AKRON, Ohio - Akron looks to defend the JAR as the Eastern Michigan Eagles come to the Rubber City for a pair of games on October 31 and November 1.

How To Follow The Action
Friday: Stats | Video
Saturday: Stats | Video

Zips At A Glance
The Zips return to James A. Rhodes Arena with a 12-11 overall record and a 5-7 record in the MAC. Akron is coming off a five-set victory at Buffalo on October 28, where Delaney Gash and Martina Villani both recorded double-doubles to power the Blue and Gold to the victory. The win over Buffalo snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bulls and gave head coach Tyson Norton his first win over Buffalo. Gash led the offense with 24 kills and 12 digs, while Villani recorded 39 assists and 12 digs. Ruby Klusman added a career-high seven kills and a career-high five digs in the win. So far this season, Gash leads the Zips in kills (348) and points (377). Villani is the leader in assists (903) while Del Real leads the way in digs (343) and aces (38). Ozoh is the leader for total blocks (100).

Leaders In The MAC
Akron ranks in the top-five in the MAC in total points (3rd - 1574), points per set (2nd - 16.74), hitting % (3rd - .212), fewest opp assists per set (11.46), total assists (2nd - 11145), assists per set (2nd - 12.18), total kills (2nd - 1232), kills per set (2nd - 13.11), total aces (4th - 151), aces per set (5th - 1.61) and fewest opp. digs per set (4th - 13.72). Individually, the Zips see Lyndi Wolf rank 6th in hitting percentage (.303). Delaney Gash ranks 2nd in total kills (348), 3rd in kills per set (3.87), 3rd in total points (377) and 4th in points per set (4.19). Martina Villani ranks 2nd in total assists (903) and assists per set (9.61). Vanessa Del Real ranks 2nd in total aces (38), 3rd in aces per set (.43), 6th in total digs (343) and 6th in digs per set (3.85). Chidera Ozoh ranks 5th in total blocks (100) and 7th in blocks per set (1.06).

Among The Best In The NCAA
Akron and Eastern Michigan will battle for the 47th and 48th in the all-time series this weekend. The Zips hold a 24-22 edge in the series after winning the past three contests, all 3-0 sweeps. The Blue and Gold are 5-5 over the past 10 matches and 3-2 over the last five. After starting the series down 0-2 to EMU, Akron would win 14 of the next 17 matches before the Eagles would notch five straight. The Zips rank 87th in the NCAA in assists per set (12.18), 98th in kills per set (13.11), 7th in total assists (1,145), 55th in total digs (1,305), 6th in total kills (1,232), 40th in total aces (151) and 71st in total blocks (191). Individually, Vanessa Del Real ranks 58th in aces per set (.43), 24th in total aces (38) and 77th in total digs (343). Martina Villani ranks 62nd in assists per set (9.61) 5th in total assists (903) and 100th in total aces (31). Delaney Gash ranks 89th in kills per set (3.87), 29th in total points (377) and 21st in total kills (348). Chidera Ozoh ranks 37th in total blocks (100).

Miami RedHawks (11-13, 5-7 MAC)
The Miami volleyball team returns home for a couple of conference matches against Bowling Green this weekend. Miami will host the Falcons on Friday, Oct. 31, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m.

The RedHawks fell in a three-set match (21-25, 19-25, 15-25) against Ball State (15-9, 11-1 MAC) on Tuesday evening at Worthen Arena. Grace Kreutz recorded a career-high three service aces, while Gentry Warrick led all RedHawks with six blocks.


Eastern Michigan Eagles (12-13, 4-8 MAC)
With six regular-season matches remaining, the Eastern Michigan University volleyball team will head to Ohio for two matches against the University of Akron Zips, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1. Friday's match will start at 6 p.m., and Saturday's will begin at 4 p.m. from the James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio. Both matches can be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team swept rivals Central Michigan University, 3-0, inside the George Gervin GameAbove Center, breaking a 10-match losing streak in the series Tuesday night, Oct. 28. Eastern recorded 10 aces and 10 blocks, and outperformed the Chippewas in every stat except digs, which were tied at 47 apiece.


Buffalo Bulls (7-14, 4-8 MAC)
The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (7-14, 4-8 MAC) will head west as they'll play the Northern Illinois Huskies on Friday and Saturday. This will be the Bulls' final time playing the Huskies as a conference opponent. All matches this week will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Bulls lost to the Akron Zips (12-11, 5-7 MAC) on Tuesday evening in five sets, 19-25, 25-10, 25-21, 19-25, 10-15. Jordyn Romano had a career night as she finished with career-high marks in kills and points with 16 each. Emerson Matthews led the Bulls with 19 kills as Manoela Forlin recorded her fifth double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs.


Northern Illinois Huskies (10-11, 3-9 MAC)
Friday, Oct. 31: Buffalo, 6 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats | Buy Tickets
Saturday, Nov. 1: Buffalo, 6 p.m. – ESPN+ | Live Stats | Buy Tickets

Splitting the series this season, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team (10-11, 3-9 MAC) fell in straight sets to the Western Michigan University Broncos (12-13, 9-3 MAC) this evening in Kalamazoo. The Huskies and Broncos posted set scores of 17-25, 25-27, 15-25.

Buffalo took both meetings last season while NIU holds the series record at 20-11.
 
McCartney is leading the Huskies with 2.99 kills per set and is joined by Grevengoed at 2.84 kills per set. Grevengoed has recorded three consecutive double-doubles and leads the Huskies with nine this season. Sophomore setter Ella Strausberger reached 1,000 career assists in the Huskies match against Akron on October 25. Strausberger leads the Huskies with an average of 5.13 assists per set. Rylea Alvin is leading the Huskies blocking efforts with 83 this season. With an average of 1.09 per set, Alvin lands at fifth in the MAC.

The Huskies continue action this week as they host Buffalo, October 31 and November 1 at 6 p.m. inside Victor E. Court. Fans are invited to stay after the game on October 31 for post-match autographs with the Huskies volleyball team as they celebrate Huskie Halloween. Due to ICA Cheer competition taking place in the Convocation Center, fans are asked to park in lot C3 for the November 1 game against Buffalo.   


Kent State Golden Flashes (8-15, 3-9 MAC)
Kent State welcomes first-place Ball State to the M.A.C. Center for a pair of Mid-American Conference matches.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, October 31 | 6 p.m. | Kent State vs. Ball State
Saturday, November 1 | 4 p.m. | Kent State vs. Ball State

PREVIEWING THE FLASHES
Kent State (8-15, 3-9 MAC) have lost three in a row and look to move back above .500 at the M.A.C. Center, where the team has gone 2-3 this season.

Senior Mackenzie McGuire has been among the conference's best offensive players and ranks third in points per set (4.34) and kills per set (3.84). McGuire is No. 55 nationally with 307 total kills. She has recorded at least 10 kills in 19 of 23 matches.

A pair of newcomers have made immediate impacts to Kent State's attack, as freshman Macie Moreland (154) and junior Mercedez Brown (145) are the next two kills leaders.

Sophomore Nadia Miller has increased her contributions over the past month and is averaging 3.19 points, 2.23 kills and team-high 1.26 blocks per set against, while hitting at a 290 clip during October.

Junior Christina Vigil ranks fourth in the MAC at 9.28 assists per set and is No. 37 in the nation with 770 total assists. She also leads the team at 2.55 digs per set.