Western Mich. vs Ball State Volleyball: Ball State Wins 3-0

FinalFri, Sep 25, 2026ESPN+

0:3

Ball St. beat visiting Western Mich. 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-19) on Fri, Sep 25, 2026. Ball St.'s Ava Smith led with 19 kills, and Sophie Ledbetter added 17 digs.

Data through Nov 3, 1:45 PM CT · final Sep 25

Set	1	2	3	Sets
W MICH	17	20	19	0
BALLST	25	25	25	3

Win probability

Ball St. above 50 · Western Mich. below

Biggest swing: 3.3% to Western Mich. — set 2, W MICH 18-17 BALLST. Western Mich. ace on Ava Smith. BALLST win probability 85% → 82%.

Pre-match

Season fit · includes this match

W MICH 25.2%74.8% BALLST

Western Mich. wins

3-0

4.5%

3-1

8.6%

3-2

12.1%

Ball St. wins

3-0

26.9%

3-1

28.6%

3-2

19.3%

W MICH break %: 37.3% vs this opp
BALLST break %: 42.4% vs this opp

Exact Markov model on each team's RallyIQ serve and receive strength, adjusted for schedule and applied to this matchup (D1 average break % 42.5%). Ratings use the whole season, including this match. Gold = actual result.

Top plays

Largest win-probability swings

01
Western Mich.Ace+3.3%
Western Mich. ace on Ava Smith
Set 2 · W MICH 18-17 BALLST · W MICH 15% → 18%
02
Audrey GeerKill+3.3%
Kill by Audrey Geer (set by Reese Axness)
Set 2 · W MICH 18-19 BALLST · BALLST 84% → 87%
03
Madison BuckleyBlock+3.0%
Annalise Patchett stuffed by Madison Buckley
Set 2 · W MICH 18-20 BALLST · BALLST 87% → 90%
04
Bri ZimmermanKill+2.8%
Kill by Bri Zimmerman (set by Leah Richmond)
Set 2 · W MICH 17-17 BALLST · W MICH 12% → 15%
05
Annalise Patchett&Gabby WeiheBlock+2.7%
Madison Buckley stuffed by Annalise Patchett & Gabby Weihe
Set 1 · W MICH 11-11 BALLST · W MICH 23% → 25%
06
Ava SmithKill+2.7%
Kill by Ava Smith (set by Lindsey Green)
Set 1 · W MICH 12-14 BALLST · BALLST 76% → 79%
07
Ava SmithKill+2.4%
Kill by Ava Smith (set by Reese Axness)
Set 2 · W MICH 13-14 BALLST · BALLST 85% → 87%
08
Gwen CrullKill+2.4%
Kill by Gwen Crull (set by Lindsey Green)
Set 1 · W MICH 13-16 BALLST · BALLST 79% → 82%

Box score

Official NCAA box

Western Mich.away

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
6Annalise PatchettOH	3	7	4	26	.115	0	1	1	9	2	1	2	2	10
10Gabby WeiheMB	3	7	0	16	.438	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	1	8
1Izzy SwierczOH	3	6	1	30	.167	2	1	0	9	1	0	0	0	7
4Leah RichmondS	3	5	0	11	.455	26	0	3	8	0	1	0	1	6
11Bri ZimmermanMB	3	5	3	20	.100	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5
2Elana EricksonL/DS	3	0	0	0	–	3	3	2	6	1	0	0	0	3
21Mia JurkovicOH	3	8	3	29	.172	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	8
19Carley PiercefieldL/DS	3	0	0	0	–	3	0	0	16	0	0	0	0	0
12Cassidy PratleyMB	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
9Ella GuilfoyL/DS	1	0	0	0	–	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		38	11	132	.205	35	5	7	54	5	2	4	4	56

Ball St.home

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
14Ava SmithOH	3	19	1	39	.462	0	2	1	9	3	0	1	0.5	21.5
13Gwen CrullMB	3	9	3	18	.333	2	1	1	3	0	0	2	1	11
1Audrey GeerOH	3	8	0	21	.381	1	0	1	12	1	1	1	1.5	9.5
17Camryn WiseMB	3	5	0	12	.417	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.5	5.5
11Tiffany SnookMB	3	4	2	15	.133	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4
8Lindsey GreenS	3	0	0	1	.000	20	0	1	11	0	0	0	0	0
21Madison BuckleyOPP	3	7	1	19	.316	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	1.5	8.5
4Kendall EdenL/DS	3	0	0	0	–	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
2Reese AxnessS	3	0	0	0	–	19	0	1	11	0	0	0	0	0
12Sophie LedbetterDS	3	0	0	0	–	6	0	0	17	1	0	0	0	0
3Elizabeth TabelingDS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		52	7	125	.360	48	5	6	69	5	2	6	5	75

Starters listed first. BLK is the NCAA total: a solo counts 1, a block assist ½. Recaps and press releases usually quote solos + assists instead, so the same night can be reported as a bigger, whole number. The box score is the source for every counting stat on this page.

Western Mich. vs Ball St.

Season series · Ball St. leads 2-0

Fri, Sep 25, 2026Western Mich. at Ball St. · Ball St. won 3-0This match
Sat, Sep 26, 2026Western Mich. at Ball St. · Ball St. won 3-0Result →

Momentum

Point differential by rally

Longest run 4 W MICH · BALLST 6

Set 1

17-25

Longest run 4 W MICHBALLST 5

Set 2

20-25

Longest run 4 W MICHBALLST 6

Set 3

19-25

Longest run 4 W MICHBALLST 3

Bars above the line = Ball St. leads, below = Western Mich. leads. Bright bars are points inside a run of 3+.

Rotations

Sideout and break % by rotation slot

Western Mich.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	70%7/10	29%2/7
2	64%7/11	22%2/9
3	47%7/15	13%1/8
4	58%7/12	13%1/8
5	30%6/20	50%7/14
6	67%4/6	45%5/11
All	51%38/74	32%18/57

Ball St.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	88%7/8	25%2/8
2	70%7/10	42%5/12
3	88%7/8	50%7/14
4	70%7/10	46%6/13
5	46%6/13	60%9/15
6	63%5/8	58%7/12
All	68%39/57	49%36/74

Slot = rotations since the start of the set (slot 1 is the lineup a team opened the set in), not a fixed player alignment. Only clean sets count (3 of 3 here): sets where the NCAA play-by-play has gaps or score corrections are left out because the rotation can't be tracked through them.

Rally log

131 rallies

#	W MICH-BALLST	Srv	Point	End	Player	Setter / blockers / passer	WP Δ
Set 1
1	1-0	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	+1.5
2	1-1	W MICH	BALLST×3	Serve err	Western Mich.		+1.4
3	1-2	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.1
4	1-3	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Camryn Wise	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
5	2-3	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+1.3
6	3-3	W MICH	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	+2.1
7	3-4	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.4
8	4-4	BALLST	W MICH	Serve err	Ball St.		+1.5
9	4-5	W MICH	BALLST	Attack err	Mia Jurkovic		+1.4
10	5-5	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Carley Piercefield	+1.5
11	5-6	W MICH	BALLST×5	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+1.5
12	5-7	BALLST	BALLST×5	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+2.1
13	5-8	BALLST	BALLST×5	Blocked	Bri Zimmerman	blk Audrey Geer, Gwen Crull	+1.9
14	5-9	BALLST	BALLST×5	Ace	Ball St.	aced Izzy Swiercz	+1.6
15	5-10	BALLST	BALLST×5	Ace	Ball St.	aced Annalise Patchett	+1.3
16	6-10	BALLST	W MICH×4	Serve err	Ball St.		+0.7
17	7-10	W MICH	W MICH×4	Ace	Western Mich.	aced Ava Smith	+1.4
18	8-10	W MICH	W MICH×4	Kill	Leah Richmond	set Elana Erickson	+1.8
19	9-10	W MICH	W MICH×4	Ace	Western Mich.	aced Audrey Geer	+2.2
20	9-11	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+1.6
21	10-11	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Leah Richmond	set Elana Erickson	+1.6
22	11-11	W MICH	W MICH	Blocked	Madison Buckley	blk Annalise Patchett, Gabby Weihe	+2.7
23	11-12	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Camryn Wise	set Reese Axness	+1.8
24	12-12	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Carley Piercefield	+1.9
25	12-13	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
26	12-14	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+2.7
27	13-14	BALLST	W MICH	Blocked	Tiffany Snook	blk Annalise Patchett, Gabby Weihe	+1.7
28	13-15	W MICH	BALLST×4	Kill	Camryn Wise	set Lindsey Green	+1.8
29	13-16	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Lindsey Green	+2.4
30	13-17	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
31	13-18	BALLST	BALLST×4	Ace	Ball St.	aced Annalise Patchett	+1.3
32	14-18	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Leah Richmond	+0.6
33	15-18	W MICH	W MICH	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	+1.4
34	15-19	W MICH	BALLST×3	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.3
35	15-20	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.3
36	15-21	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+0.7
37	16-21	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Bri Zimmerman	set Leah Richmond	+0.2
38	16-22	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+0.4
39	16-23	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Bri Zimmerman		+0.2
40	17-23	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Leah Richmond	set Ella Guilfoy	·
41	17-24	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+0.1
42	17-25	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	·
Set 2
1	0-1	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.0
2	0-2	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.5
3	1-2	BALLST	W MICH×3	Serve err	Ball St.		+1.0
4	2-2	W MICH	W MICH×3	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Leah Richmond	+1.7
5	3-2	W MICH	W MICH×3	Ace	Western Mich.	aced Ava Smith	+1.8
6	3-3	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Camryn Wise	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
7	4-3	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+1.3
8	4-4	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
9	5-4	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Bri Zimmerman	set Leah Richmond	+1.3
10	5-5	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+1.2
11	6-5	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Bri Zimmerman	set Leah Richmond	+1.3
12	7-5	W MICH	W MICH	Attack err	Gwen Crull		+2.1
13	7-6	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.3
14	7-7	BALLST	BALLST	Ace	Ball St.	aced Elana Erickson	+2.0
15	8-7	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Leah Richmond	set Elana Erickson	+1.4
16	9-7	W MICH	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	+2.2
17	9-8	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+1.3
18	10-8	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+1.5
19	11-8	W MICH	W MICH	Blocked	Tiffany Snook	blk Annalise Patchett	+2.3
20	11-9	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+1.3
21	11-10	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+2.2
22	12-10	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	+1.7
23	12-11	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.5
24	12-12	BALLST	BALLST	Ace	Ball St.		+2.3
25	13-12	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Leah Richmond	+1.7
26	13-13	W MICH	BALLST×3	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
27	13-14	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.4
28	13-15	BALLST	BALLST×3	Blocked	Mia Jurkovic	blk Gwen Crull, Madison Buckley	+2.2
29	14-15	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Bri Zimmerman	set Izzy Swiercz	+1.4
30	14-16	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+1.5
31	14-17	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Carley Piercefield	+2.0
32	15-17	BALLST	W MICH×4	Attack err	Gwen Crull		+1.1
33	16-17	W MICH	W MICH×4	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+2.2
34	17-17	W MICH	W MICH×4	Kill	Bri Zimmerman	set Leah Richmond	+2.8
35	18-17	W MICH	W MICH×4	Ace	Western Mich.	aced Ava Smith	+3.3
36	18-18	W MICH	BALLST×6	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+2.1
37	18-19	BALLST	BALLST×6	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+3.3
38	18-20	BALLST	BALLST×6	Blocked	Annalise Patchett	blk Madison Buckley	+3.0
39	18-21	BALLST	BALLST×6	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Gwen Crull	+2.3
40	18-22	BALLST	BALLST×6	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Gwen Crull	+1.5
41	18-23	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Annalise Patchett		+0.8
42	19-23	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Leah Richmond	+0.2
43	20-23	W MICH	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe		+0.6
44	20-24	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+0.8
45	20-25	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+0.3
Set 3
1	0-1	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+0.8
2	1-1	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Leah Richmond	set Reese Axness	+0.6
3	1-2	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Reese Axness	+0.6
4	2-2	BALLST	W MICH	Attack err	Ava Smith		+0.6
5	2-3	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+0.6
6	2-4	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Mia Jurkovic		+0.8
7	3-4	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Carley Piercefield	+0.5
8	3-5	W MICH	BALLST	Blocked	Izzy Swiercz	blk Camryn Wise, Ava Smith	+0.5
9	3-6	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Audrey Geer	+0.7
10	4-6	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	+0.5
11	4-7	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Camryn Wise	set Lindsey Green	+0.5
12	5-7	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Izzy Swiercz	+0.5
13	5-8	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+0.5
14	6-8	BALLST	W MICH	Attack err	Gwen Crull		+0.5
15	6-9	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+0.5
16	7-9	BALLST	W MICH	Serve err	Ball St.		+0.5
17	7-10	W MICH	BALLST	Attack err	Annalise Patchett		+0.5
18	8-10	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	+0.5
19	8-11	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.6
20	8-12	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Annalise Patchett		+0.7
21	9-12	BALLST	W MICH	Serve err	Ball St.		+0.4
22	9-13	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.5
23	9-14	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+0.6
24	10-14	BALLST	W MICH	Serve err	Ball St.		+0.3
25	10-15	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+0.4
26	10-16	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+0.4
27	11-16	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	+0.2
28	11-17	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+0.3
29	12-17	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+0.2
30	12-18	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+0.2
31	13-18	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Izzy Swiercz	set Leah Richmond	+0.2
32	13-19	W MICH	BALLST	Serve err	Western Mich.		+0.2
33	14-19	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Annalise Patchett	set Leah Richmond	+0.1
34	14-20	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+0.2
35	14-21	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.2
36	15-21	BALLST	W MICH	Kill	Gabby Weihe	set Leah Richmond	·
37	15-22	W MICH	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.1
38	16-22	BALLST	W MICH×4	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	·
39	17-22	W MICH	W MICH×4	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	+0.1
40	18-22	W MICH	W MICH×4	Ace	Western Mich.	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+0.2
41	19-22	W MICH	W MICH×4	Kill	Mia Jurkovic	set Leah Richmond	+0.4
42	19-23	W MICH	BALLST×3	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+0.5
43	19-24	BALLST	BALLST×3	Blocked	Bri Zimmerman	blk Audrey Geer	+0.3
44	19-25	BALLST	BALLST×3	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+0.1

Score shown after each rally, Western Mich. first. WP Δ = match win-probability points gained, colored by the team that gained them.“NCAA feed gap” rows mark points the NCAA play-by-play never logged (tap Why? for details).

Ball St. def. Western Mich. 3–0