Previews courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State (14-5, 5-3 MAC)
It is another quick turnaround for the Ball State women's volleyball team as it travels to Miami for a 6:30 p.m. first serve Tuesday at Millett Hall ... The Cardinals will then close the week in Worthen Arena Friday when it hosts Akron for Alumni Night.
BALL STATE IN THE MAC: With a 5-3 Mid-American Conference record so far this season, Ball State maintains its status as the winningest program in league play with a 481-229 (.677) all-time MAC mark ... Western Michigan is second on the list, six matches behind the Cardinals at 475-235 (.669) ... Miami is currently fourth at 414-296 (.583).
SCOUTING BALL STATE:
• The Ball State women's volleyball team enters Tuesday's match at Miami with a 14-5 (5-3 MAC) record and on a three-match winning streak ... Last weekend, the Cardinals picked up a pair of sweeps at Ohio which helped the team climb three spots into 50th in the latest run of the NCAA Division I RPI Rankings ... Ball State started the season at 32nd and were ranked 53rd entering the Ohio series.
• 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 week ranked first in the MAC and 10th nationally with a 4.96 digs-per-set average ... Her 332 total digs, including a career-high 29 digs vs. Miami (Oct. 6), 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 week ranked second in the MAC and sixth nationally with a 16.96 digs-per-set average ... The Cardinals have out-dug opponents in 14 of its 19 matches so far this season and have five starters averaging at least 2.00 digs-per-set.
• Ball State has also been able to translate those digs into kills, ranking third the nation in assists per set (13.40) and fourth nationally in kills per set (14.31) ... Led by senior setter
Lindsey Green and sophomore setter
Reese Axness, the Cardinals also rank 32nd nationally with a .262 hitting percentage.
• 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 19 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 15 ... Junior opposite
Tiffany Snook is not far behind with double-digit kills in 10 matches.
• Senior middle
Camryn Wise enters the week ranked first in the MAC and 22nd nationally with a .408 hitting percentage, including 10 matches above the mark 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.
• 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.
Miami (14-5, 6-2 MAC)
Miami continues Mid-American Conference play by hosting Ball State on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. The Red and White are 40-50 when facing off with the Cardinals. The RedHawks hold a 19-19 record when hosting Ball State. Miami recently defeated the Cardinals 3-1 in Muncie on Oct. 5. This was the first win over Ball State since March 23, 2021, and the first road victory versus the Cardinals since Oct. 25, 2019. Prior to that win, the Cardinals had won the last seven matches versus the Red and White.
MAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: On Monday afternoon, the Mid-American Conference announced that Miami University volleyball outside hitter
Molly Creech was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week. The sophomore led the Red and White defensively with 44 digs (6.29/set) last week, as she totaled a season-high 23 digs at Eastern Michigan on Thursday night. In addition, Creech recorded a .933 reception percentage (42-for-45). She also added 12 kills, six service aces and an assist. Her efforts helped the RedHawks earn two wins at Eastern Michigan. Creech has received back-to-back MAC weekly honors for her play the past two weeks. In total, the RedHawks have earned four MAC weekly awards this season.
RECENT ACTION: The Miami University volleyball team finished out last week with a four-set win (17-25, 25-23, 29-27, 26-24) and a three-set victory (25-16, 25-23, 25-16) at Eastern Michigan. These two wins extended Miami's win streak to six in a row. This is the second time this season that the Red and White has won six or more games consecutively.
SERVING SPECIALISTS: This season, the RedHawks have already produced 118 service aces, averaging 1.79 service aces per set and out-serving opponents 118-62. Miami ranks first in the MAC and 49th in the nation in aces per set (1.79/set).
Grace Kreutz leads the team in serving, as she is first in the MAC and ranks 72nd nationally in aces per set (0.43/set). Earlier this season, Kreutz collected a career-high six service aces in a single match versus South Carolina State.
Holland Van Deusen has also played a large role in Miami's strong serving, as she is second in the MAC in aces per set (0.38/set). Most recently,
Molly Creech served a career-best five service aces at Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 15.
For more MAC Volleyball news and notes throughout the season, visit www.GetSomeMaction.com and follow @MACSports on X, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
