Purdue Fort Wayne
Ball State
In-State Rivals Clash as IPFW Hosts Ball State
8/27/2012 4:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The women's volleyball team will host the Ball State Cardinals on Tuesday, August 28. Each team enters the contest with an overall record of 2-1 after hosting opening weekend tournaments. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
The Ball State Cardinals are currently 2-1 overall after hosting the 2012 Active Ankle Challenge on Aug. 24-25. BSU won 3-0 over Gardner-Webb in the season opener, but suffered a 1-3 setback to VCU on Saturday. They ended the tournament on a high-note defeating Illinois State 3-1.
The Cardinals have six players with at least 10 kills. Kara Bates is currently the team leader with 34. Bates is averaging just over three kills per game with an attack percentage of .170.
Jacqui Seidel is an impact player in the Ball State lineup. Seidel leads the team in assists with 110 and is second on the team with 36 digs. The team's dig leader is Catie Fredrich (52).
The head coach for Ball State is Steve Shondell. Shondell is entering his third season at the helm of the program. His current overall record stands at 51-14.
SUMMIT LEAGUE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Tessa McGill earned Summit League Defensive Player of the Week honors for her outstanding play in the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational this past weekend.
McGill earned the first Summit League Player of the Week honor this season along with South Dakota State's Kelli Fiegen who was named Offensive Player of the Week. McGill has now earned the distinct honor six times in her career.
The defensive specialist from Muncie, Ind. set an IPFW school record by recording 28 digs in a three-set match against Murray State in the season opener. She reached a double-digit dig total in all three matches over the weekend which landed her on the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational All-Tournament Team.
McGill went on to post 21 digs against Cleveland State and 19 in a three set win over Kent State. For the weekend, McGill recorded 68 digs averaging 7.56 per set, six assists and three service aces. Her 68 digs moved her into second all-time at IPFW and eighth in Summit League history with 1,637 career digs.
CHASING RECORDS
Tessa McGill started the 2012 season ranked fourth all-time with 1,569 career digs. After the opening weekend McGill was able to pass Julie Parrot (4th - 1,583) and Laura Douglas (3rd - 1,625) to move into second all-time. McGill will have to put together a special senior season in order to catch Peachy Jankowski who is the record holder with 2,253 career digs.
Megan Steenhuysen is another Mastodon who will attempt to climb the record book. Steenhuysen ranks sixth all-time with 3,349 career assists. She is closing in on Kris Wilder (5th - 3,806).
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Mastodons trail Ball State in the all-time series 3-10. IPFW won the first ever meeting 3-2 (16-14,15-11,5-15,12-15,15-13) in 1987, but the Cardinals are currently on a four match win streak. The last win for IPFW over BSU was in 2007 (3-0).
QUICK HITTERS
• Tessa McGill and Jessie Manwaring were named to the All-Tournament Team after guiding the Mastodons to a second place finish in the Hyatt Place Fort Wayne / IPFW Invitational this past weekend.
• Emily Spencer has recorded two double-doubles in just three games this season.
• Tessa McGill set a school record for most digs in a three set match with 28 against the Murray State Racers.
• Emily Spencer leads the team in kills (42) and the Summit League in kills per set (4.67).
• Tessa McGill was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27.
• Freshmen Sarah Heckman and Katie Higginbotham each recorded their first collegiate kills against Murray State on Friday.
• Madison Spence recorded a career-high seven assists against Murray State.
• Ball State leads the all-time series over IPFW 10-3.
• Tessa McGill is from Muncie, Indiana, the home of Ball State.
