Ball State University
Bowling Green
Bowling Green Scores Saturday Sweep Over Volleyball
October 20, 2007 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team could not overcome its second-straight hot opponent, suffering a 3-0 (36-34, 30-14, 30-24) setback to Bowling Green, who picked up its seventh-straight win, Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals drop to 2-8 in Mid-American Conference action, while falling to 3-19 overall.
The Falcons remain a game behind Miami and No. 20 Ohio in the MAC East standings, improving to 17-7 overall and to 8-2 in league play.
Junior Christine Kennedy (San Marcos, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) paced the Ball State offense with nine kills, while sophomore Rachel Alcorn (New Castle, Ind./Chrysler H.S.) and freshman Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) tied for team-high honors with 12 digs.
After trading the first two points in the opening game, sophomore Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) scored the next three points for the Cardinals, surrounding a block assists with a pair of kills. Kennedy followed with a pair of kills of her own, giving Ball State a 6-1 advantage.
The Cardinals maintained a two-point edge at the 15-13 mark, only to see Bowling Green rally off the next four points and pull ahead 17-17. The Falcons eventually built a four-point lead at the 24-20 mark, on a kill from Corey Domek, but the Cardinals answered back, tying the game at 25-25 on another Kakatolis kill.
The teams traded the lead several times from that point, as they battled to a 34-34 deadlock. BSGU held game-point three times, while BSU reached game-point twice.
A kill from Madeline Means gave the Falcons' their fourth set-point at 35-34, while Maggie Karges followed with a game-winning service ace.
The second game saw the teams play to a 5-5 tie, before a 5-0 BGSU run put the guests ahead for good in the game. BSU did manage to get within two points at 12-10, only to see a 15-1 Falcons' run put the game out of reach. Bowling Green won the set 30-14 on anther Means kill.
Ball State opened the third game by charging to a 4-1 lead, only to see the Falcons rally back and tie the set at 4-4. After the teams played to a 15-15 tie, a service ace from BSU's Rio gave the Cardinals a slim 16-15 advantage.
Unfortunately it was Ball State's last lead of the game, as the Falcons scored the next three points and took a five point lead at 23-18. The Cardinals clawed within a point at the 25-24 mark, on a kill from freshman Abby LaVigne (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton H.S.), but BGSU rallied off the final five points, winning the set 30-24.
Senior Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) also scored double-figure digs for BSU, finishing the night with 10, to go along with a team-best 31 assists.
The Cardinals' offense continued to struggle, despite a strong first game performance, finishing the night with a .049 (38-32-143) rate of success, including negative marks in the final two games.
Bowling Green finished the contest with a .209 (49-20-139) attack percentage, with Kendra Halm scoring a match-high 13 kills and Domek adding 12. Chelsey Meek posted a match-high 23 digs for BGSU.
Both teams collected 59 digs in the match, as well as five aces. Bowling Green scored 10 team blocks, while BSU logged eight.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday (Oct. 26) when it hosts Central Michigan at 7 p.m. The contest is the first of two-straight that the Ball State Sports Network will carry live on television.
