Ball State University Athletics
Obras Breaks MAC Kill Record in Win Over Central Michigan
November 12, 2005 | Women's Volleyball
Mt. Pleasant, Mich. - - Ball State (18-9; 11-5 Mid-American Conference) senior outside attacker
"None of this would have been accomplished without the help of my coaches and teammates," Obras says. "Without the passes, digs and sets, the kills do not come. This is not just an individual record, this is for everyone I have played with over my four-years here. It is a Ball State record."
With her 15 kills, Obras moved her career total to 1,911, which is four better than the old mark of 1,907 set by Northern Illinois Tera Lobdell (2001-2004). Obras tied the record at 24-18 in game three, while breaking the mark at 29-28 in the third set.
"This is a great accomplishment for Sarah and her teammates," Ball State head coach
In addition to Obras' record, the Cardinals guaranteed themselves the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament with the win. The Cardinals will face the winner of No. 6 Miami and No. 11 Buffalo Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the SeaGate Center in Toledo, Ohio.
"The No. 3 seed is a nice position to be in." Litchfield adds. "However, we still have to play and play better if we want to have a successful MAC Tournament."
In addition to her record-setting kill total, Obras turned in 17 digs in the contest, moving her career total to 1,610. Obras - - who is the only player in league history to record over 1,500 kills and 1,500 digs in a career - - is just the sixth player in MAC history to record over 1,600 career digs.
In addition to Obras' 15 kills, senior Rachel Refenes (Milwaukee, Wis./Milwaukee Lutheran H.S.) and junior Kelly Cochran (La Porte, Ind./Michigan City Marquette H.S.) added double-digit kills in the match with 16 and 18 respectively.
Cochran also recorded 10 digs for her 17th double-double of the year. Cochran now has 907 kills and 948 digs in her career. Refenes also scored two blocks and a pair of service aces.
Senior middle attacker Kristin Westhof (Fruitport, Mich./Fruitport H.S.) turned in one of her best performances of the season, pacing the Cardinals with six blocks while adding seven kills and a .375 (
After playing to a 10-10 tie in the opening set, the Cardinals went on an 8-2 run to pull ahead 18-12. The Chippewas would answer back and draw within three points at 23-20 before a 4-0 BSU run gave BSU a 27-20 edge. Ball State would go on to win the game at 30-25 on a kill from Refenes.
The second set saw the teams battle to a 5-5 tie before a 13-5 BSU run gave the Cardinals an 18-10 advantage. CMU would draw within five at 25-20 before BSU rallied off the final five points of the game capped by another Refenes marker.
The Cardinals would control much of the early portion of the third set, climbing ahead by as many as eight at 22-14. Obras would tally her MAC-record tying 1,907 kill to give BSU a 24-18 edge, before a 10-4 CMU run tied the stanza at 28-28. Obras would follow with her record-breaking 1,908th career kill to give BSU match point at 29-28.
However, the Chippewas would score the next two points to reach their first game point at 31-30. After a CMU attack error tied the score at 31-31, a BSU attack error and a Sarah Warner kill gave Central Michigan a 33-31 game-three win.
In the fourth set, the Cardinals pulled ahead 15-10, only to have CMU cut the edge to one point at 20-19. However, the Cardinals iced the win as a Westhof kill and a seven-point serving run by
Defensively, junior libero McCormick notched 22 digs in the victory, while senior defensive specialist Stephanie Bacan (Remsen, Iowa/St. Mary's H.S.) added 14 digs. McCormick, who also collected a career-high four service aces in the win, now has 616 digs on the year for a 6.22 digs-per-game average.
Redshirt sophomore setter Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) posted her eighth 50-plus assists match of the year with 56 in the contest. She also added 10 digs, three blocks and three kills.
Junior outside attacker Heather Burleson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian H.S.) also factored in the win, collecting five digs, four kills and a block.
Whitney Evers paced the Chippewas with 11 kills, while Ali McCrite paced all players with 24 digs.
For the match, the Cardinals out-hit CMU .164 (63-32-189) to .094 (49-32-180), while scoring six aces to Central Michigan's two. CMU held an 11-8 edge in blocks and an 84-80 advantage in total digs.
