Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
6-11 (2-1MAC)
Toledo
8-8 (0-3MAC)
42-Straight; Volleyball Sweeps Rockets
October 03, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
TOLEDO, Ohio - - Behind a career-high .647 (12-1-17) attack percentage from junior Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.), the Ball State women's volleyball team scored a 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-14) victory over Toledo Thursday evening at St. Ursula Academy.
With the win, the Cardinals picked up there 42nd-straight victory over Rockets and improve to 6-11 (2-1 Mid-American Conference) on the year. Toledo falls to 8-8 (0-3 MAC) with the loss.
The sweep in tonight's match marks the 21st sweep over the Rockets in the 42-match winning streak. BSU has also won in four set 13 times and in five sets eight times.
In addition to her .647 attack percentage, Kakatolis finished the contest with a match-high 12 kills and helped guide the BSU attack to a .333 (42-13-87) rate of success, marking the highest attacking percentage for the Cardinals under head coach Dave Boos.
The Ball State attack continued with freshman Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) adding eight kills and a .353 (8-2-17) attack percentage, plus junior Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.) scoring seven kills and hitting .462 (7-1-13).
In addition to the solid attacking numbers, the Cardinals finished the match with 11.5 team blocks, including three solo blocks and a block assists from junior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.). Green and Boyd also collected four total blocks each in the victory.
Defensively, sophomore Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) collected a match-high 15 digs, while adding one of BSU's three service aces.
Shannon Strachan led the Rockets with 10 kills, while Amber DeWeerdt added eight, as UT finished the night with a .143 attack percentage. In addition to her eight kills, DeWeerdt led Toledo with nine digs.
In the opening set, the Cardinals were able to capitalize on two early Toledo service errors to build a 4-2 advantage. The lead was short-lived however, as the Rockets tied the set at five, before playing to a 10-6 edge. With BSU trailing 12-10, a kill from Boyd and a solo block and kill from Green helped the Cardinals pull ahead 13-12.
From there, the teams battled to a 23-23 tie before a kill from UT's Strachan gave the hosts the first set point of the night. Kakatolis kept the Cardinals alive with a kill, only to see Stephanie Kersting give UT its second set point.
This time Breivogel answered the call for Ball State, tying the set with a kill. A service ace from Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) gave BSU its first set point at 26-25, while a Rio over pass landed between several defenders to end the set 27-25 in favor of the Cardinals.
Set two opened with the teams playing to a 3-3 tie, before another Kakatolis kill sparked a 3-0 BSU run that gave the Cardinals the lead for good in the set. The Rockets managed to draw within one point on several occasions, including the 16-15 mark.
However, two UT errors, a Breivogel solo block and a kill from Green pushed the score to 19-15. BSU cruised to the end from there, winning the set 25-19 on a kills from Kakatolis.
The third frame saw the teams play to a 2-2 tie, before a Toledo service error and a Green solo block gave Ball State a lead it would not relinquish. BSU built a 10-point edge at 21-11 on a kill from Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.), while a Green kill ended the match at 25-14.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, with a 7 p.m. match at Buffalo. BSU is 12-0 all-time versus the Bulls entering Saturday's showdown at Alumni Arena.
