Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-13 (3-7MAC)
Miami
12-10 (7-3MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami | 21 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Ball State | 25 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 1 |
Miami Hands Women's Volleyball 3-1 Loss
October 25, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team (10-13, 3-7 Mid-American Conference) suffered a 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21) setback at the hands of Miami (12-10, 7-3 MAC) Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
"As the match went on, our ball handling began to slowly dip and our left side play couldn't keep us in the match," said head coach Dave Boos. "We were very close in this match despite the fact we couldn't find traction and we didn't pass the ball well."
Sophomore Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./University of Cincinnati) led BSU in kills for the second consecutive night, recording a match-high 14, while also adding four block assists and a pair of digs.
Sophomore Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) set the Cardinals offense once again, registering a match-best 39 assists. The standout also added seven digs, four block assists and a trio of kills.
Defensively, junior Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) led all student-athletes with 15 digs and sophomore Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) filed in 14.
Maria Leahy paced the Miami attack with 11 kills, while Megan Griffin added eight. On the defensive side, Lisa Treadway collected a team-best 12 digs.
Overall, the RedHawks were able to out-hit the Cardinals .132 (44-26-136) to .109 (45-30-138) in the contest. BSU held a 60 to 53 advantage in digs and a 10 to nine lead in team blocks.
Set one was an early battle as neither team claimed a lead bigger than four throughout the frame. BSU's earliest multiple-point lead came at 7-5 after two consecutive service aces from Brandl, who also had a kill and a block assist early on.
With the Cardinals trailing 13-12, kills from junior Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) and senior Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.) gave the hosts a 14-13 advantage. After a BSU service error knotted the score at 14, a 5-2 run by the Cardinals forced the RedHawks into a timeout.
Miami would get as close a one point, at 21-20 off a Griffin service ace, but Ball State responded with four of the final five points, including a set-winning marker from Green at 25-21
Trailing the match 1-0, the RedHawks came out with an edge in the second frame, jumping out to leads of 7-3 and 10-6, capitalizing on six Ball State errors. With the score moved to 12-9, the RedHawks rallied off six of the next eight points, thanks in part to kills from Cassie Farrell and Leahy, to pull ahead by seven at 18-11.
From there, the Cardinals put together a 10-3 run of their own behind three kills from junior Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) to set up the frame's final stretch with the two squads tied at 21 apiece. A solo block from senior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) gave the hosts a brief 23-22 advantage, only to see a pair of miscues give Miami set point. Michele Metzler went on to even the match with a set-winning kill for the RedHawks that ended the frame at 25-23.
Maintaining a high level of play from the latter part of set two, the Cardinals flew out to a 10-3 lead in the third set, receiving three kills and a service ace from Brandl and a kill from McGinnis. Miami retaliated, tallying nine unanswered points and establishing its first lead of the third frame, thanks in part to two blocks and a pair of Hallie Hanks kills that pushed the score to 12-10.
From there, the teams battled to an 18-18 tie before a Metzler kill and an Andrea Atteberry service ace sparked a 4-0 RedHawks run. Ball State would use a kill and ace from Brandl, as well as a McGinnis kill to cut the lead back to one at 22-21. However, the guests scored the next two points and went on to win the frame 25-23 on another Hanks kill.
The Cardinals came out strong again in set four with a 4-1 lead after Brandl and McGinnis teamed up twice to block MU's attack attempts. Led by kills from Brandl and Breivogel, BSU continued to hold its lead at 7-5.
MU responded with an 11-3 run to take control of the final frame at 16-10, with Atteberry smashing two kills in the run. Despite a pair of kills from Green and one by McGinnis, the RedHawks extended their lead to seven at 21-13.
Trailing 23-14, BSU put forth a valiant effort, closing within three points at 24-21 after trapping the RedHawks into a series of attack errors and receiving kills from Brandl and Breivogel. Miami closed out the set and match, however, on the next series with a kill from Leahy.
The Cardinals return to the court Friday, Oct. 30, when they hit the road and travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face-off with MAC West Division leading Western Michigan. BSU completes its weekend MAC series Saturday at Northern Illinois. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. first serve.
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