Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-9 (3-3MAC)
Buffalo
12-7 (3-3MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 22 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 1 |
| Ball State | 25 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women's Volleyball Scores 3-1 Win Over Buffalo
October 11, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team picked up its second win of the week with a 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 25-15) victory over Buffalo Saturday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 10-9 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference. Ball State also climbs into a three-way tie for second place in the MAC West Division after Western Michigan (6-0 MAC) defeated Central Michigan (3-3 MAC) by a score of 3-1 tonight. Northern Illinois is also 3-3 in MAC play after a 3-2 win over Eastern Michigan (2-4 MAC) tonight.
Buffalo drops to 12-7 (3-3 MAC) with the loss and is now 0-14 all-time versus Ball State and 0-9 in Worthen Arena.
"It feels really good to have a chance to get back into the MAC West Division race," said Ball State head coach Dave Boos. "While I have mixed emotions about our play early in the match tonight, I was very pleased with our effort in the final two sets against a strong Buffalo team."
After splitting the first two sets, the Cardinals turned up the heat in the final two, hitting for a .424 (13-2-26) rate of success in each frame. Led by sophomore Kelsey Brandl's (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) 13 kills and .650 (13-0-20) attack percentage, the Cardinals were able to out-hit the Bulls .286 (54-20-119) to .172 (44-22-128) in the contest.
"The area where I am most proud of tonight is we committed just two hitting errors in both the third and fourth sets," added Boos. "When we play volleyball like that, we are going to be a dangerous team."
For Brandl, the match was the fourth straight in which she had tagged double-digit markers. She also collected three digs in two blocks in the victory.
"Kelsey is becoming a beast for us," said Boos. "I think early on in the season, I saw glimpses of her when she was trying to find her way. Now, every time she comes back to Worthen Arena, fans are seeing a new and better Kelsey Brandl. She is becoming a main part of the game for us and she was pretty much unstoppable tonight."
Also scoring double-digit kills for the Cardinals in the contest were senior Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.) and sophomore Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) who pounded 11 each. Both also had a solo block, with Boyd adding a block assist.
On the defensive side of the court, sophomore Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) tied for match-high honors with 12 digs, as the Cardinals collected 49 compared to 39 for Buffalo. Both teams finished the match with six team blocks.
At the service line, the Cardinals added seven aces, with three from sophomore Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) and two from sophomore Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.).
Marisa Hornbaker smashed a match-high 16 kills for the Bulls offense, while Tori Beckman tied for match-high honors with 12 digs.
In the opening set, a pair of kills from Hornbaker and several BSU attack errors helped the Bulls pull out to an 11-6 lead. After a Ball State timeout, Brandl got the Cardinals back on track with a kill, while back-to-back Waters aces cut the gap to 11-9. Two more Brandl kills and a solo block and ace from junior Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) helped give the Cardinals their first lead of the set moments later at 14-12.
Buffalo managed to tie the set two rallies later off a kill from Abby Niekamp, but markers from Green and Boyd gave BSU a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the frame. Boyd went on to score BSU's final two kills in a 25-21 opening-set victory.
The Bulls jumped out to another early lead in the second stanza, as two kills from Kristin Bignell helped UB build an 11-4 advantage. Ball State was able to cut the lead to four at 15-11, but the hosts would get no closer as Buffalo went on to win the set 25-17 on a BSU attack error.
With Ball State holding a slim 8-6 advantage in the third set, a critical Buffalo serving error gave BSU the momentum it needed to take control of the set as the Cardinals rallied off the next eight points to pull ahead 16-6. Brandl, senior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) and McGinnis each had a kill in the run.
Back-to-back kills from Green gave BSU a 10-point lead at 20-10, while the Cardinals went on to win the frame 25-16 on a Schembra service ace.
Waters third ace of the night and two more Breivogel kills helped Ball State build a 5-1 advantage early in the fourth frame. UB remained within three points at the 8-5 mark, only to see the Cardinals post nine of the next 11 points to pull ahead by 10 at 17-7. The Bulls would get as close as six at 20-14, but kills from Boyd and senior Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) ended the set at 25-15.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action next Friday, when it travels to Kent State for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Golden Flashes.
