MUNCIE, Ind. - - After a 49-14 football victory, the Ball State women's volleyball team completed a Saturday sweep of Buffalo with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-17, 30-25) victory at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 2-2 in Mid-American Conference action, while raising their overall record to 3-13. The Bulls fall to 2-18 (1-3 MAC) with the loss.
While the BSU offense exploded for a season-high .211 (40-17-109) attack percentage, it was the team's arena-record 16 service aces - - topping the previous mark of 15 originally set versus Akron (Nov. 2, 1996) - - that was the top story of the night.
“Our service game was impressive tonight,” said Ball State head coach Dave Boos. “We were able to keep Buffalo off-balance throughout the match. While our 16 aces were a big factor in the win, I was more impressed with our low service error total.”
Sophomore Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) was BSU's top server, recording a career-high five aces. She was also the only player in the contest to log double-figure kills, scoring 10.
Senior Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) added four aces, while junior Christine Kennedy (San Marcos, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) and freshman Karin Caudill (Selma, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) each tallied three.
Freshman libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) paced all players with 17 digs, in addition to collecting an ace.
The match started with the teams battling to an 11-11 tie before a Bulls attack error and back-to-back BSU blocks sparked a 6-1 Ball State run, making the score 17-12. Buffalo manage to cut the BSU advantage to four points at 19-15, only to see a kill from Kennedy and three-straight Breivogel aces give the momentum back to the Cardinals.
After reaching game point at 29-17, off a blocks assist from Breivogel and freshman Alexis Shonkwiler (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook H.S), fellow freshman Abby LaVigne (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton H.S.) ended the set at 30-17 with one of her six kills on the night.
Buffalo jumped out to an early 4-2 advantage in the second game, before a UB attack error and a Caudill service ace tied the set at 4-4. The game remained tied at 5-5, before a kill from Kennedy sparked a 4-0 BSU run, giving the hosts the lead for good in the set.
With the Cardinals holding a 25-17 advantage, back-to-back kills from sophomore Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.), and two more aces from Breivogel helped end the game at 30-17.
In the third set, the teams played to another 5-5 tie before the Cardinals rallied off 15 of the next 22 points to pull ahead 20-12.
The Bulls attempted to mount a comeback, charging within three points at 28-25, but a costly service error gave BSU match point at 29-25. Breivogel ended the match with a solo block, her third total block in the contest.
In addition to her three service aces, Kennedy logged a match-best five total blocks, while adding 11 digs and eight kills.
Also factoring in the win for Ball State were senior Brittany May (Gaston, Ind./Wes-Del H.S.) with three kills, and sophomore Rachel Alcorn (New Castle, Ind./Chrysler H.S.) with six digs.
Claudia Neba paced the Buffalo offense with seven kills, while Lizaiha Garcia added a team-best 15 digs.
Overall, the Cardinals out-hit the Bulls .211 to .075 (32-23-120), while dominated the service game, scoring 16 aces to none for Buffalo. BSU also held a 52 to 44 advantage in digs and a 10 to 4 edge in total blocks.
The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to extend its winning streak to three matches Friday (Oct. 5), when it hosts Western Michigan in a 7 p.m. start at Worthen Arena.
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