Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-11, 3-1MAC
Buffalo
5-13, 0-4MAC
Volleyball Pushes Win Streak To Three, Topping Buffalo 3-1
October 05, 2008 | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. - - Thanks in part to 15 service errors from Buffalo, the Ball State women's volleyball team ran its winning streak to three matches with a 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20) victory over the Bulls Saturday evening at Alumni Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 7-11 (3-1 Mid-American Conference) and are now 13-0 all-time versus Buffalo. The Bulls drop to 5-13 (0-4 MAC) with the loss.
Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) finished the match as BSU's top attacker, logging 10 kills on the night, while Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.) added nine markers and Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) scored eight.
Buffalo's Silvers led all players with 12 markers, while Claudia Neba and Marisa Hornbaker added 11 each. Overall, Buffalo held a 49-to-41 advantage in kills, while out-blocking the Cardinals 11.5-to-7.
Serving turned out to be the key to BSU's victory, as eight BSU service aces and 15 UB service errors helped guide the Cardinals to victory.
Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) was Ball State's top defender, logging 15 digs, while adding a pair of aces. Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) also collected double-digit digs for the Cardinals with 12.
Lindsey Schlegel led Buffalo with a match-high 17 digs, while Kristin Bignell collected a match-best eight total blocks.
Buffalo controlled play early in the opening set, building several two and three point advantages, only to see the Cardinals rally back and tie the set each time. With the score knotted at 15, the Bulls looked poised to pull away when back-to-back kills from Kayla Govier and a Ball State attack error pushed the score to 18-15.
However, after a Ball State timeout, the Cardinals came to life, rallying off the next six points, including a pair of kills from Breivogel and a Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) marker, to take its first advantage at 20-18. The hosts would respond with the next two points, only to have a service error and back-to-back Breivogel aces move the score to 23-20 in favor of the Cardinals.
A Buffalo attack error gave BSU set point at 24-20, while a kill from Boyd ended the set two points later at 25-21.
Big runs were the name of the game early in the second set, as both teams exchanged long rallies only to play to a 16-16 deadlock. After a 3-3 tie, the Cardinals struck first using kills from Green, Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.), Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) and Sullivan to pull ahead 11-5.
With the Cardinals holding a 12-7 lead, it was Buffalo's turn to make a run, as three kills from Silvers and three BSU attack errors helped the hosts pull ahead 15-12. From there, BSU rallied to tie the set at 16 and the teams played to a 23-23 tie. The Cardinals reached set point first, as an amazing dig from Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) helped set up a block assists from Boyd and McGinnis.
Neba kept the Bulls alive in the set with a kill on the next play, before combining with Bignell for a block to give UB its first set point at 25-24. After a service error, the Bulls got their second set point of the arm of Silvers, who followed another service error with another kill to give the host their third set point at 27-26. This time, the Bulls were not denied the set win, as Hornbaker smashed a set-winning kill.
After playing to another 3-3 tie in the third set, a McGinnis kill and a pair of Buffalo attack errors helped the Cardinals jump out to an early 6-3 advantage. From there, BSU cruised to a 10-point lead at 18-8 and maintained the margin at 21-11 off a Breivogel kill.
However, the Bulls would not go down without a fight, cutting the gap to six at 21-15 and forcing a Ball State timeout. After the break, a service error stopped the UB run momentarily, but a kill and a block cut the Ball State edge to five at 22-17. Another Buffalo service error followed, and the Cardinals were able to reach set point two plays later, at 24-18, thanks to a Sullivan kill.
Once again, the Bulls would not go away, as they rallied off the next five points to draw within one at 24-23. Despite scoring an ace off the backline to make the score 24-20, UB's Ellen Robertson served the next ball out of play, allowing the Cardinals to escape with a 25-23 third set win. Overall, three of BSU's final four points came from Buffalo service errors, as the hosts rallied off 12 of the final 16 points.
Set four saw the teams play to a 9-9 tie, before several UB errors and a Boyd service ace helped the Cardinals build a 14-9 advantage. Ball State extended the lead to 18-11 thanks to a Breivogel kill and a block assists from Green and McGinnis.
Buffalo managed to cut the Ball State lead to four points moments later, at 18-14, but the Cardinals answered with a Green kill and reached set point at 24-17 on a Sullivan marker. UB tried to come-back one more time, rallying off the next three points, but another Green kill ended the set at 25-20 and gave Ball State a 3-1 match victory.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action next Friday, when it travels to Northern Illinois for a pivotal 7 p.m. (CT) MAC West Division showdown.
