Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
10-14, 3-8MAC
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Western Michigan
17-9, 9-2MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 16 | 15 | 12 | 0 |
| Western Michigan | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women?s Volleyball Swept At Western Michigan
October 31, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-12) setback to Mid-American Conference West Division leader Western Michigan Friday evening at University Arena.
With the loss, the Cardinals record falls to 10-14 (3-8 MAC). The Broncos, who improve to 9-1 at home this season, are 17-9 (9-2 MAC) after picking up their third straight victory.
Western Michigan was able to limit the Ball State offense to a season-low -.019 (25-27-103) attack percentage, while racking up a .289 (36-10-90) hitting mark of their own.
Once again it was sophomore Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) leading the Ball State attack with a team-high nine kills. Defensively, junior Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) collected a team-best 10 digs.
Western Michigan's Michelle Moore led all attackers with 12 kills on the night, while hitting for a .370 (12-2-27) rate of success. WMU's Caitlin Strimel led all players with 16 digs.
Ball State opened the match strong, with a service ace from senior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) giving the Cardinals a 4-2 edge. However, the Broncos responded with three straight kills and pulled ahead by two at 6-4 on a BSU attack error. Ball State senior Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) would tie the set moments later with back-to-back kills, pushing the score to 9-9.
From there, the Broncos rattled off the next five points to pull ahead 14-9. A Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) ace would get the Cardinals within two at 14-12, before a 4-1 WMU run lead to BSU's second timeout. From there, the hosts ended the frame at 25-16 with a 7-3 run, capped by a solo block and block assists from Ashley Turnage.
Western Michigan carried over their strong play into the second set, as two kills from Jessica Brown helped the hosts post the first five points. A Breivogel kill, a Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) service ace and a WMU attack error followed, moving the score to 5-3. The hosts would surge out a couple more times, only to see BSU remain within two at 12-10 after another Breivogel marker.
Three straight Broncos points followed, leading to the Cardinals first timeout of the set. From there, WMU scored 13 of the final 18 points to win the frame 25-15 on a BSU service error.
Brandl got the BSU offense rolling to open the third frame, with a pair of kills surrounding a solo block. Unfortunately, Ball State's errors returned, as four bad swings and a service error helped the host pull ahead 6-4. A pair of aces from Strimel helped WMU build a five-point lead at 10-5 and led to a BSU break.
Ball State would get no closer than four points the rest of the set, as Western Michigan went on to win the frame 25-12 on a kill from Moore.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it looks to snap a five-match losing streak with a 7 p.m. (CT) first serve at Northern Illinois. Earlier this season, the Cardinals swept the Huskies 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) at Worthen Arena (Sept. 25).
