Ball State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Posts Third-Straight Win, Blanking Buffalo 3-0
September 30, 2006 | Women's Volleyball
Buffalo, N.Y. - - The Ball State (6-10/3-1 Mid-American Conference) women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to a season-best three matches with a 3-0 (30-28, 31-29, 30-21) victory over Buffalo (12-8/1-3 MAC) Saturday evening at UB's Alumni Arena. With the win, the Cardinals remain a perfect 10-0 versus the Bulls.
Also posting double-digit kills for the Cardinals were Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) and
Amanda McCormick (Muncie, Ind./Burris H.S.) paced all players with 21 digs in the victory, including 19 through the first two games. She also added four assists and a kill.
Ball State dominated the early portion of the first game, rallying off the first six points which included four kills from Cochran. A one more kill from Cochran and three markers from
Buffalo would catch fire from that point, posting a 10-4 run to get within two at 14-12. Two more kills from Cochran and a UB attack error would build the BSU edge back to five points at 17-12. However, the Bulls would battle back again, getting the within two points at 22-20 and again at 23-21.
The Cardinals would follow by rallying off the next three points to pull ahead 26-21. Buffalo would cut the lead to two points for the fifth time with a kill from Jenna Mape. BSU's May would give the Cardinals game point at 29-26, only to see a kill from UB's Brandie Clark and a BSU attack error get the Bulls within one at 29-28. A Buffalo attack error would then give the Cardinals a 30-28 game-one victory.
The second set saw the teams battle back and forth early, only to play to a 14-14 tie. A kill from Kennedy would spark a 6-0 BSU run, giving the Cardinals a 20-14 edge. Ball State would maintain a five-point lead at 25-20, only to see Buffalo draw within one point at 27-26.
After a Cardinals' time out, kills from Breivogel and Kirby Gibson (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson H.S.) would give BSU its first game point at 29-26. Like the first game, Buffalo would not quit, scoring the next three points - - capped by a Lizaiha Garcia service ace to tie the score at 29-29.
A Buffalo attack error would push the score to 30-29 in favor of the Cardinals, while Cochran's 13th kill of the night won the game for BSU at 31-29.
Like the second game, the third was a back-and-forth battle early, with the teams playing to a 10-10 tie. Again, it was Ball State making the first push of the set, going on a 6-1 run to pull ahead 16-11. A BSU service error and a pair of kills from Buffalo's Nikki Morzenti would shrink the Cardinals lead to two points at 16-14.
BSU's lead would stay at two points at 19-17, until a 9-0 Cardinals run which started with a Kennedy and Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) block assists and included three-straight Kennedy aces, gave BSU a 28-17 lead. Buffalo would score four of the next five points, but a Gibson kill ended the game at 30-21 and the match at 3-0.
Kennedy would finish the night with six kills, a career-high four service aces, three digs and a block, while Gibson scored six kills - - including the match-winner - - two assists, one dig and a block.
Parrell led all players with 31 assists on the night, in addition to five kills, two digs and a block assists. Cassie Conner (Willow Springs, Ill./Lyons Township H.S.) also saw time as setter, logging 12 assists, three digs and one kill.
Also factoring in the victory were Stephanie Bacan (Remsen, Iowa/St. Mary's H.S.) with six digs and Ana Gabriela Pedrosa (Belo Horizonte,
For the match, the Cardinals out-hit Buffalo .234 (55-23-137) to .119 (37-21-134). BSU also held the advantage in digs (67 to 48) and aces (5 to 4). The Bulls won the battle at the net, scoring six blocks to BSU's three.
Morzenti and Mape would each post 12 kills for Buffalo, while Garcia paced the club with 17 digs.
Ball State returns to the court Friday, when it hosts Ohio at
