Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
5-510-15; MAC
Miami
8-214-8; MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 26 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 3 |
| Miami | 24 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 2 |
Volleyball Upsets MAC East Leader Miami
October 25, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team scored a thrilling 3-2 (26-24, 25-17, 17-25, 11-25, 18-16) upset of Mid-American Conference East Division leader Miami Saturday night a Millett Hall.
With the victory, the Cardinals snap the RedHawks seven-match winning streak and improve to 10-15 (5-5 MAC). Miami falls to 14-8 (8-2 MAC) with the loss.
Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Wis./Hillcrest H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to the victory, collecting a BSU career and match-high 21 kills. Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) posted a career-high for the second-straight night, adding 12 kills, while Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) added 10 kills and 10 digs for her second-straight double-double.
Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) and Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) each collected nine kills for the Cardinals.
BSU's Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) finished the match with her 13th double-double of the season handing out 48 assists, while earning 10 digs. Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) was Ball State's top defender, tallying 28 digs.
Hallie Hanks paced four RedHawks in double-digit kills with 15, while Emily Schroeder added 13. Melissa Zenz paced all players on the night with 29 digs.
After the teams battled to a 10-10 tie in the opening set, a kill from McGinnis followed by a Rio service ace and a Miami attack error gave the Cardinals a 13-10 advantage. After Miami rallied off the next two points, BSU regained its three-point lead at 16-13. Moments later, following a RedHawks timeout, Kakatolis smashed back-to-back markers to give BSU a five-point edge at 18-13.
However, Miami would not go down without a fight, rattling off seven of the next eight points to gain a 20-19 lead. From there, the teams battled to a 23-23 tie before a kill from MU's Schroeder gave the RedHawks set point at 24-23. This time, Green responded for the Cardinals smashing three-straight markers to end the frame at 26-24.
Set two saw the Cardinals build a 4-1 advantage, only to see the RedHawks battle back within one at 5-4, thanks in part to a pair of BSU miscues. From there, BSU looked ready to coast to an easy victory by building a nine-point lead at 18-9.
Miami would make things interesting in the set, as three kills from Schroeder and a pair of kills from Hanks helped the hosts rally off the next six points, making the score 18-15. BSU responded with kills from Boyd and Kakatolis, as they went on to post seven of the final nine points to win the frame 25-17. Sullivan provided the set-winning kill for the Cardinals.
Green opened the third set with back-to-back kills, while a service ace from McGinnis quickly gave BSU a 3-0 lead in the frame. The lead was short-lived, however, as Miami scored five of the next six points to take a 5-4 advantage in the set. The lead remained one point at the 10-9 mark, before Miami scored the next three points on two BSU errors surrounding a Michele Metzler kill.
From there, Miami extended its lead to six points at 18-12, before winning the stanza by eight on a kill from Hanks at 25-17.
After falling behind 9-2 in the fourth frame, Phillips and Green traded four-straight kills to bring BSU within three at 9-6. Unfortunately, Miami responded with the next five points and never looked back, winning the set 25-11 on a solo block from Schroeder.
The fifth set opened with the teams playing to a 2-2 tie, before a Boyd kill and a Miami attack error gave the visitors from Muncie a 4-2 lead. After the RedHawks tied the set at five, a kill from Sullivan and a pair of MU attack errors gave BSU an 8-5 lead at the court switch.
A Miami timeout and two kills from Maria Leahy helped the hosts pull within one at 9-8 and forced Ball State to use its first timeout. Leahy added her third kill to tie the set at nine, but McGinnis, Phillips and Green quickly responded with three-straight kills to give BSU a 12-9 lead.
After Miami's final timeout, a Metzler kill and a BSU attack error brought the RedHawks within one at 12-11 and made the Cardinals utilize their final timeout. From there, Ball State reached match point at 14-12 for the second-straight night. After seeing the RedHawks tie the set at 14, the combatants battled to a 16-16 tie before a pair of Miami errors allowed the Cardinals to secure the set at 18-16 and the match at 3-2.
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes the road portion of its 2008 regular season schedule next weekend with a Friday match at Eastern Michigan and a Saturday contest at Central Michigan. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. starts.
