Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-12 (3-6MAC)
Bowling Green
9-15 (2-7MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 25 | 18 | 25 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Ball State | 27 | 25 | 22 | 23 | 9 | 2 |
Women's Volleyball Topped By BGSU In Five
October 24, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite a career-high 20 kills from sophomore Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.), the Ball State women's volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-27, 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-9) in a hard-fought match versus Mid-American Conference rival Bowling Green Friday night at Worthen Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals drop to 10-12 (3-6 MAC), while Bowling Green improves to 9-15 (2-7 MAC).
"We have to embrace the moment and the fact we have a chance to go out and compete in really exciting and tough competition," said head coach Dave Boos. "That's why we play the game. I don't think we came out there to do that tonight. We came out pretty frightened."
Despite falling behind 20-12 in the opening set, the Cardinals were able to rally back and take the frame behind strong play from both Brandl and Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.), who added 14 kills in the contest. Brandl finish the match hitting .516 (20-4-31), while Phillips tallied a .500 (14-2-24) attacking mark.
Also claiming double-digit kills for the Cardinals was senior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) with 10. Breivogel nearly tallied a double-double, adding nine digs in the contest.
Sophomore Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) paced BSU offensively with 50 assists, while guiding the team to a .219 (63-29-155) rate of success. The Cardinals limited the BGSU attack to a .214 (59-25-159) attack mark, while both teams tallied 10 total blocks.
Defensively, BSU was led by junior Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) who notched a team-high 13 digs. McGinnis added 12, while sophomore Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) added 10. Overall, the Cardinals held a 64 to 55 advantage in total digs in the match.
For the Falcons, Corey Domek posted a team-best 19 kills, while Shari Luther added 16 markers. Domek also added a match-best 15 digs.
The first set saw the Cardinals and Falcons battle through the first 15 points with the Falcons holding a marginal 8-7 lead, despite two of Brandl's seven kills in the frame. With the help of four BSU errors, the Falcons scored six straight points to open a 14-7 advantage.With the guests holding a 16-8 lead, Ball State capitalized on a BGSU service error and utilized a strong serving effort from Schembra, including an ace, to strung together four consecutive points to force a BGSU timeout at 16-12.
After the Falcons responded with four points of their own, BSU rallied off eight of the set's next 10 points to close in at 22-20. Brandl notched four kills during the run, including three in a row that marked the Cardinals' 13-15th points.
After a Kaitlin Jackson kill gave the Falcons set-point at 24-21, BSU's Phillips' blasted three consecutive kills of her own, to tie the set 24-24. A solo block by sophomore Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) gave the Cardinals their first set point on the next play. The Falcons retaliated, tying the first series 25-25, before a pair of kills from Breivogel awarded BSU the matches' opening set, 27-25.
Set two also saw an 8-7 advantage after 15 points, this time in favor of the Cardinals, who received contributions from all over the board early on, including kills from three different student-athletes. Phillips, who recorded one of those kills, also registered two block assists in the early going.
Led by three more kills from Phillips and a pair of service aces from sophomore Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School), the Cardinals slowly pulled away with a 10-5 run that forced a BGSU timeout at 18-12.
BSU held the Falcons to just six points throughout the remainder of the set as the visitors failed to get any closer than five points. Assisted by a pair of Breivogel kills, the Cardinals led the match at 2-0 behind a 25-18 set two victory.
The home team jumped out to a 7-5 lead in set three courtesy of two Brandl kills and several attack errors by BGSU. However, the Falcons were able to force a Cardinal timeout after a 4-0 run that put them ahead 9-7. Continuing to display its resiliency, BSU responded with four of the next six points to keep things close and tie the third frame, 11-11.
With Bowling Green holding a 15-12 lead, BSU bounced back by scoring six of the next eight points and taking an 18-17 lead that forced a visitors' timeout. Three of the Cardinals' six points during the run came thanks to three kills from Breivogel.
With BSU leading 21-19, BGSU ended the frame with a 6-1 run to win its first set of the night, 25-22, and close the match score to 2-1.
The Cardinals trailed early in the fourth frame, 14-9, despite three early kills from Brandl. Later in the frame, Brandl continued her stellar play by adding three more kills to help BSU tie the action, 16-16.
The visitors scored eight of the next 12 points to reach set point at 24-20, thanks in part to three kills from Domek. However, BSU tallied three straight points behind a pair of kills from junior Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) to cut the gap to 24-23. BGSU closed the fourth set on the next point however, as a Domek kill ended the frame at 25-23 and tied the match 2-2.
"We made some lineup changes in set four to try to boost our ball control," added head coach Dave Boos. "It was a bit too little too late, however, and the wheels came off. That is one of those times where this team has to find a way to embrace the competitive moments in a match."
In the matches' fifth and decisive set, the Falcons jumped out to an 8-3 lead before the teams switched sides. Although BGSU led 14-5, the Cardinals retaliated behind three kills from fifth-year senior Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.). The Falcons were able to close out the set and match, however, courtesy of a 15-9 set five victory.
The Cardinals return to action at Worthen Arena Saturday night at 7 p.m. versus another MAC foe in Miami.
