MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team concluded play in the 2007 Ball State Classic with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-24, 30-16) loss to tournament champion Illinois State Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
The Redbirds - - who tallied a 3-0 (30-21, 30-22, 30-26) victory over Eastern Illinois earlier in the day - - won their fifth-straight match and improve to 8-2 overall. The Cardinals fall to 1-7 with the loss.
In Saturday's tournament finale, Illinois State limited the Ball State offense to a season-low .048 (36-29-146) attack percentage, while hitting for a .254 (45-13-126) rate of success.
“The area we are struggling with the most right now is our ball control,” said BSU head coach Dave Boos. “We are having a hard time putting our attackers in a position where they can get good swings.”
After hitting .000 (11-11-46) in the opening set, the Cardinals got a lift from senior outside hitter/middle blocker Brittany May (Gaston, Ind./Wes-Del H.S.) in the second set, as May smashed eight kills, while hitting .385 (8-3-13).
May finished the match with a team-high nine kills, while scoring two of the Cardinals three solo blocks.
Freshman libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) continued her solid defensive play, logging a match-best 18 digs for her seventh consecutive match with double-figure digs.
In the opening game, the teams battled to a 13-13 tie, before a 9-1 Illinois State run put the Redbirds in charge 19-11. ISU took a 10-point lead at 24-14, before winning the set 30-17.
The Cardinals found themselves in an 11-4 hole early in the second stanza and were forced to call an early timeout. After the one-minute break, May came to life, smashing back-to-back markers and helping spark a 7-0 BSU run to tie the game at 11.
The game remained tied at the 21-21 mark before a 6-0 Illinois State run gave the guests all the momentum. ISU went on to win the set 30-24.
After playing to a 3-3 tie in the third game, Illinois State went on a 4-1 run and never looked back, winning the set 30-16.
In addition to Rio's 18 digs, junior middle blocker Christine Kennedy (San Marcos, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) added 13, while senior setter Angie Parrell (Black Earth, Wis./Wisconsin Heights H.S.) scored 10.
Illinois State's Mallory Leggett and Kari Staehlin tied for match-high honors with 10 kills apiece, while Kasey Mollerus added a team-best 17 digs.
In addition to out-hitting the Cardinals, the Redbirds held a 14-6 advantage in blocks, a 69-62 lead in digs and a 5-4 edge in aces.
The Ball State women's volleyball team looks to snap its seven-match losing streak Tuesday, when it heads to IUPUI for a 7 p.m. match versus the Jaguars.