No. 16 Ohio State Sweeps Women?s Volleyball

MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite putting together its best all-around match of the young season, the Ball State women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (30-21, 30-28, 30-23) loss to No. 16 Ohio State Saturday night at Worthen Arena.

“Our team developed a lot this weekend and we showed our true selves in tonight's match,” said BSU head coach Dave Boos. “Our effort tonight was the best representation of where we are as a team right now.”

With the win over the Cardinals tonight, the Buckeyes (3-0) claimed the 2007 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge tournament title, while Southeast Missouri State (2-1) finished second after topping Maine (0-3) - - 3-0 (30-22, 30-23, 30-20) in the evening sessions opening match.

Ball State (1-2) placed third in the two-day event, followed by the Black Bears.

In the final match of the tournament, BSU freshman libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) continued her solid defensive play, collecting a match-best 23 digs, giving her a tournament total of 84.

Senior Brittany May (Gaston, Ind./Wes-Del H.S.) was Ball State's top attacker in the contest, smashing 11 kills, while scoring four total blocks.

Sophomores Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) and Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) each collected nine kills, while junior Christine Kennedy (San Marcos, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) added two and senior Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) smashed one.

Freshman Alexis Shonkwiler (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook H.S.) paced all players with a career-high six block assists in the contest, while Kakatolis added three.

Three different Buckeyes finished the match with double-figure kills, paced by Danielle Meyer's 13. OSU also had three players record double-figure digs, led by Ami Stevens with 15.

After falling behind 4-0 in the opening set, a kill from May and a strong serving effort from Rio sparked a 7-1 BSU run to give the home team a 7-5 advantage. Ball State went on to build a three-point lead at 10-7 and again at 13-10, before four-straight Buckeye points gave the guests a one-point lead at 14-13.

A kill from May tied the score one point later, but the Buckeyes rallied off five-straight markers and went on to win the game 30-21.

In the second game, OSU jumped out to a 9-5 advantage and built a nine-point lead at 25-16. However, the Cardinals did not go away, scoring 12 of the next 15 points to tie the game at 28. Breivogel and Kennedy tallied BSU's only aces of the contest in the run, while May added a solo block and a kill.

After an Ohio State timeout, a pair of Ball State errors cost the Cardinals, giving the Buckeyes a 30-28 second-stanza win.

The third frame saw the Cardinals play to a 7-3 advantage, only to have the Buckeyes tie the game at 8-8. After falling behind 15-13, the Cardinals rallied to take a brief 16-15 advantage on a Kakatolis kill and a pair of OSU attack errors. However, the Buckeyes scored the next three points and never trailed again, winning the set 30-23.

Overall, the Cardinals held a slim 54-to-53 advantage in digs in the match, while out-blocking OSU 7-to-6.5.

Ohio State out-hit Ball State .151 (45-24-139) to .096 (32-21-114), while holding an 8-to-2 edge in aces.

Ohio State placed three players on the all-tournament team, including Most Valuable Player Danielle Meyer. Also selected from the Buckeyes were Ami Stevens and Briana McCarthy. SEMO was represented by Brenna Schlader and Molly Davis, while Alyssa Rio was BSU's selection and Lindsay Allman was Maine's.

The Ball State women's volleyball hits the road for the first time this season, when it heads to Hempstead, N.Y., for the Hofstra Invitational Aug. 31-Sept. 1. In the two-day event, BSU will face San Diego State, Hofstra and Siena.

All-Tournament Team

OSU - Danielle Meyer - MVP

Ami Stevens

Briana McCarthy

SEMO - Brenna Schlader

Molly Davis

BSU - Alyssa Rio

Maine - Lindsay Allman

Players Mentioned

Julie Breivogel

Elaina Kakatolis

Christine Kennedy

Angie Parrell

Alyssa Rio