Western Ky. vs Ball State Volleyball: Ball State Wins 3-1

Final · 4 setsThu, Sep 3, 2026 · Neutral site

1:3

Ball St. beat Western Ky. 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21) on Thu, Sep 3, 2026 at a neutral site. Ball St.'s Ava Smith led with 19 kills, and Sophie Ledbetter added 18 digs.

Data through Nov 3, 1:50 PM CT · final Sep 3

Set	1	2	3	4	Sets
W KY	25	20	17	21	1
BALLST	20	25	25	25	3

Win probability

Ball St. above 50 · Western Ky. below

Biggest swing: 6.2% to Ball St. — set 4, W KY 15-18 BALLST. Attack error by Aubrey Sears. BALLST win probability 81% → 87%.

Pre-match

Season fit · includes this match

W KY 64.9%35.1% BALLST

Western Ky. wins

3-0

20.0%

3-1

24.9%

3-2

20.1%

Ball St. wins

3-0

7.2%

3-1

12.6%

3-2

15.3%

W KY break %: 41.6% vs this opp
BALLST break %: 38.8% 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
Aubrey SearsAttack error+6.2%
Attack error by Aubrey Sears
Set 4 · W KY 15-18 BALLST · BALLST 81% → 87%
02
Kaira KnoxKill+5.7%
Kill by Kaira Knox (set by Kate Rush)
Set 4 · W KY 15-16 BALLST · W KY 18% → 24%
03
Ava SmithKill+5.3%
Kill by Ava Smith (set by Reese Axness)
Set 4 · W KY 16-20 BALLST · BALLST 88% → 93%
04
Madison BuckleyKill+5.0%
Kill by Madison Buckley (set by Reese Axness)
Set 4 · W KY 19-22 BALLST · BALLST 87% → 92%
05
Ava SmithKill+5.0%
Kill by Ava Smith (set by Sophie Ledbetter)
Set 3 · W KY 12-14 BALLST · BALLST 43% → 48%
06
Kate RushKill+4.9%
Kill by Kate Rush (set by Kennedy Cherry)
Set 4 · W KY 19-21 BALLST · W KY 8% → 13%
07
Madison BuckleyKill+4.9%
Kill by Madison Buckley (set by Reese Axness)
Set 4 · W KY 19-23 BALLST · BALLST 92% → 97%
08
Kaira KnoxAttack error+4.8%
Attack error by Kaira Knox
Set 3 · W KY 12-13 BALLST · BALLST 38% → 43%

Box score

Official NCAA box

Western Ky.away

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
22Faith YoungOH	4	11	2	34	.265	3	3	2	5	0	2	2	3	17
21Eliza McKnightOH	4	13	1	22	.545	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.5	13.5
5Kaira KnoxOH	4	9	3	23	.261	1	2	3	6	0	0	0	0	11
20Kate RushS	4	4	1	11	.273	44	2	2	9	0	0	1	0.5	6.5
8Cali FosterL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	9	1	0	0	0	0
16Sonja LaaksonenOH	1	2	2	8	.000	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
17Alivia SkidmoreOH	4	8	3	27	.185	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	0.5	8.5
2Tayler BaronL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	1	3	2	18	1	0	0	0	3
3Kennedy CherryL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	2	1	1	8	0	0	0	0	1
13Kendall MellerOH	3	5	6	27	-.037	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	1.5	6.5
18Aubrey SearsOH	1	2	1	5	.200	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
9Camila AdamsDS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		54	19	157	.223	52	11	15	60	5	3	6	6	83

Ball St.home

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
14Ava SmithOH	4	19	3	36	.444	0	0	0	11	4	0	0	0	19
1Audrey GeerOH	4	15	4	37	.297	0	3	0	15	2	0	0	0	18
11Tiffany SnookMB	4	10	3	23	.304	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0.5	10.5
13Gwen CrullMB	4	1	0	6	.167	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	2
8Lindsey GreenS	4	0	0	0	–	24	1	0	13	0	0	1	0.5	1.5
17Camryn WiseMB	2	0	2	8	-.250	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21Madison BuckleyOPP	4	8	2	15	.400	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.5	8.5
12Sophie LedbetterDS	4	0	0	1	.000	8	1	4	18	3	0	0	0	1
2Reese AxnessS	4	0	0	2	.000	20	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
10Leah PikeMB	2	2	0	8	.250	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	0.5	2.5
3Elizabeth TabelingDS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		55	14	136	.301	52	5	4	70	11	1	4	3	95

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.

Momentum

Point differential by rally

Longest run 5 W KY · BALLST 7

Set 1

25-20

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 2

Set 2

20-25

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 6

Set 3

17-25

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 7

Set 4

21-25

Longest run 5 W KYBALLST 7

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

Rotations

Sideout and break % by rotation slot

Western Ky.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	30%7/23	13%1/8
2	88%7/8	53%8/15
3	88%7/8	42%5/12
4	75%6/8	14%1/7
5	55%6/11	50%6/12
6	45%5/11	40%4/10
All	55%38/69	39%25/64

Ball St.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	58%7/12	72%13/18
2	64%7/11	59%10/17
3	58%7/12	13%1/8
4	60%6/10	0%0/7
5	55%6/11	50%6/12
6	75%6/8	14%1/7
All	61%39/64	45%31/69

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 4 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

178 rallies

#	W KY-BALLST	Srv	Point	End	Player	Setter / blockers / passer	WP Δ
Set 1
1	1-0	W KY	W KY	Blocked	Camryn Wise	blk Faith Young	+2.4
2	1-1	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Sonja Laaksonen		+1.6
3	2-1	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Sonja Laaksonen	set Kate Rush	+1.6
4	3-1	W KY	W KY×4	Attack err	Tiffany Snook		+2.3
5	4-1	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Ava Smith	+2.1
6	5-1	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Ava Smith	+1.9
7	5-2	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
8	6-2	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.3
9	6-3	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
10	7-3	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.3
11	7-4	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+1.2
12	7-5	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.1
13	8-5	BALLST	W KY	Blocked	Madison Buckley	blk Alivia Skidmore, Eliza McKnight	+1.6
14	9-5	W KY	W KY	Kill	Faith Young		+2.1
15	9-6	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.2
16	10-6	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.4
17	11-6	W KY	W KY	Kill	Sonja Laaksonen	set Kaira Knox	+1.7
18	11-7	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.0
19	11-8	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer		+1.8
20	12-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kate Rush	set Tayler Baron	+1.4
21	12-9	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+1.3
22	12-10	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.3
23	13-10	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+1.8
24	14-10	W KY	W KY	Ace	Western Ky.		+2.3
25	14-11	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.3
26	15-11	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.5
27	16-11	W KY	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.8
28	16-12	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Kate Rush		+0.9
29	17-12	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.2
30	18-12	W KY	W KY	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Audrey Geer	+1.2
31	18-13	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.5
32	19-13	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+0.8
33	19-14	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+0.5
34	20-14	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Madison Buckley		+0.7
35	20-15	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Sonja Laaksonen		+0.4
36	20-16	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer		+1.0
37	21-16	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.0
38	21-17	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+0.6
39	21-18	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.5
40	22-18	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.6
41	22-19	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+0.9
42	23-19	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	Sophie Ledbetter		+1.5
43	24-19	W KY	W KY	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Ava Smith	+0.9
44	24-20	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+0.1
45	25-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+0.3
Set 2
1	0-1	BALLST	BALLST	Ace	Ball St.	aced Cali Foster	+2.2
2	1-1	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.4
3	2-1	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.1
4	3-1	W KY	W KY×4	Blocked	Tiffany Snook	blk Kendall Meller	+2.0
5	4-1	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.9
6	4-2	W KY	BALLST×6	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
7	4-3	BALLST	BALLST×6	Blocked	Kendall Meller	blk Lindsey Green, Tiffany Snook	+2.0
8	4-4	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+2.2
9	4-5	BALLST	BALLST×6	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+2.4
10	4-6	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+2.4
11	4-7	BALLST	BALLST×6	Ace	Ball St.	aced Kendall Meller	+2.4
12	5-7	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.5
13	5-8	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.7
14	5-9	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+2.3
15	6-9	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	Sophie Ledbetter		+1.3
16	6-10	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
17	6-11	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Alivia Skidmore		+2.1
18	7-11	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.1
19	7-12	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+1.5
20	8-12	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+1.1
21	9-12		W KY	NCAA feed gap1 point not loggedWhy? The NCAA play-by-play skipped these points: the score changed but no play was logged, so we know who won each point, not how. They count in the score, momentum and win probability, but no player is credited. Box-score stats come from the official box score and are unaffected.			+2.1
22	9-13	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+1.7
23	10-13	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Faith Young	+1.4
24	11-13	W KY	W KY	Blocked	Camryn Wise	blk Faith Young	+2.5
25	11-14	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.0
26	12-14	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+1.7
27	12-15	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+2.1
28	13-15	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+1.7
29	13-16	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+2.1
30	13-17		BALLST	NCAA feed gap1 point not loggedWhy? The NCAA play-by-play skipped these points: the score changed but no play was logged, so we know who won each point, not how. They count in the score, momentum and win probability, but no player is credited. Box-score stats come from the official box score and are unaffected.			+2.7
31	14-17	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.4
32	14-18	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
33	14-19	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.1
34	15-19	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+0.9
35	16-19	W KY	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.0
36	16-20	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+1.9
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.3
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.9
39	18-21	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.2
40	18-22	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+1.9
41	18-23	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
42	19-23	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+0.4
43	20-23	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+1.2
44	20-24	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
45	20-25	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+0.7
Set 3
1	0-1	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Leah Pike	set Lindsey Green	+2.3
2	0-2	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+3.5
3	1-2	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	Sophie Ledbetter		+2.2
4	1-3	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+2.4
5	2-3	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.3
6	3-3	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Kate Rush	set Kennedy Cherry	+3.5
7	4-3	W KY	W KY×4	Blocked	Ava Smith	blk Kate Rush, Faith Young	+3.5
8	5-3	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Ava Smith	+3.3
9	5-4	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Alivia Skidmore		+2.2
10	6-4	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+2.3
11	6-5	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+2.2
12	6-6	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Leah Pike	set Reese Axness	+3.7
13	7-6	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+2.5
14	8-6	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Faith Young	+3.6
15	9-6	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+3.3
16	9-7	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.1
17	9-8	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Sophie Ledbetter	+3.5
18	10-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.5
19	11-8	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Ava Smith		+3.5
20	11-9	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+2.1
21	12-9	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+2.4
22	12-10	W KY	BALLST×7	Serve err	Western Ky.		+2.2
23	12-11	BALLST	BALLST×7	Ace	Ball St.	aced Tayler Baron	+3.8
24	12-12	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+4.4
25	12-13	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+4.8
26	12-14	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+5.0
27	12-15	BALLST	BALLST×7	Blocked	Eliza McKnight	blk Gwen Crull	+4.8
28	12-16	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+4.3
29	13-16	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+2.2
30	13-17	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+2.9
31	14-17	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.2
32	14-18	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+3.0
33	15-18	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.1
34	15-19	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+3.0
35	16-19	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.1
36	16-20	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+3.1
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Blocked	Tiffany Snook	blk Kendall Meller, Faith Young	+2.0
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST×5	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+3.1
39	17-22	BALLST	BALLST×5	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.9
40	17-23	BALLST	BALLST×5	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+1.4
41	17-24	BALLST	BALLST×5	Ace	Ball St.		+0.5
42	17-25	BALLST	BALLST×5	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+0.1
Set 4
1	0-1	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+4.0
2	0-2	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Faith Young		+4.1
3	0-3	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+4.1
4	0-4	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Kate Rush		+4.0
5	0-5	BALLST	BALLST×7	Ace	Ball St.		+3.7
6	0-6	BALLST	BALLST×7	Bad set	Kate Rush		+3.3
7	0-7	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+2.8
8	1-7	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.5
9	1-8	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
10	2-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.4
11	2-9	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+1.9
12	3-9	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.4
13	3-10	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+1.9
14	4-10	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.4
15	5-10	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kate Rush	set Eliza McKnight	+2.6
16	6-10	W KY	W KY×3	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+3.2
17	6-11	W KY	BALLST×4	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.7
18	6-12	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+3.3
19	6-13	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+2.6
20	6-14	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+2.0
21	7-14	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+0.8
22	8-14	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.8
23	9-14	W KY	W KY×3	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Audrey Geer	+2.4
24	9-15	W KY	BALLST	Blocked	Alivia Skidmore	blk Leah Pike, Madison Buckley	+2.2
25	10-15	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.5
26	10-16	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+2.2
27	11-16	BALLST	W KY×5	Kill	Aubrey Sears	set Faith Young	+1.4
28	12-16	W KY	W KY×5	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+2.9
29	13-16	W KY	W KY×5	Ace	Western Ky.	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+3.9
30	14-16	W KY	W KY×5	Attack err	Ava Smith		+4.8
31	15-16	W KY	W KY×5	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+5.7
32	15-17	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Faith Young		+4.5
33	15-18	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Aubrey Sears		+6.2
34	16-18	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	Sophie Ledbetter		+3.3
35	16-19	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+4.4
36	16-20	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+5.3
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Aubrey Sears	set Kate Rush	+2.3
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	Western Ky.		+3.6
39	18-21	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+2.1
40	19-21	W KY	W KY	Kill	Kate Rush	set Kennedy Cherry	+4.9
41	19-22	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+5.0
42	19-23	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+4.9
43	20-23	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.4
44	20-24	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.9
45	21-24	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+0.8
46	21-25	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+2.0

Score shown after each rally, Western Ky. 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 Ky. 3–1