Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
15-15
vs. No. 9 Akron
14-18
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 25 | 19 | 20 | 0 |
| Ball State | 27 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
WVB Sweeps Akron To Advance In MAC Tournament Play
November 18, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The No. 8 seed Ball State women's volleyball defended its home court Tuesday evening, defeating No. 9 seed Akron 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 25-20) in the first round of the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament at Worthen Arena.
With the victory, BSU earns a trip to the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio to face No. 1 seed Ohio Friday in the 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal match.
"I think this team understands that we are on a mission right now and we feel like this is our time," said head coach Dave Boos. "We have won four matches in a row, and five of the last six. I think we are riding a lot of confidence right now."
BSU (15-15) was led by a team-high 11 kills from fifth-year senior Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./University of Tampa) who also finished the match with a .267 (11-3-30) attack percentage an a pair of solo blocks.
Sophomore Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) dished out a match-high 33 assists while posting 12 digs for her sixth double-double of the campaign. She also led the Cardinals to a .248 (44-13-125) attack percentage as a team, including a .414 (15-3-39) rate of success in the second set
"We've been trying to get this lineup situated for the whole year," added Boos. "We have depth to go to on the bench, which we did not have earlier in the year. We had to ride out lineups that maybe were not the best lineups for that evening. Right now, we can go to different people which is crucial in tournament play."
Defensively, Cardinals' junior Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) had a match-high 23 digs, including 10 in the first set alone. She has now tallied 20-or-more digs in the last three matches.
On the other end of the court, Akron (14-18) was led by a match-high 12 kills from Brionna Patterson and 26 assists from Kara Smith. The Zips also had double-digit digs from Chelsea Harvey (15), Smith (11) and Courtney Jarvis (10). Akron finished the contest with a .130 (39-22-131) attack percentage.
In the opening set, the teams battled to a 15-15 tie before a Smith service ace and a block by Jackie Goleman helped Akron open up its largest lead of the stanza at 18-15.
The Cardinals answered with four straight points to pull ahead 19-18, benefitting from kills by Green and junior Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.).
Continuing its run, BSU notched three of the next four points with Green, Phillips and sophomore Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) teaming up for a kill a piece to propel the home team to a 22-19 lead.
The Zips retaliated, taking the lead back on a 4-0 run courtesy of a pair of kills from Patterson and a kill by Tina Dimitrijevs.
A pair of kills by Boyd helped BSU reach set point twice, at 24-23 and 25-24, but Akron tied the frame both times using kills from Liz Martin and Dimitrijevs. Sophomore Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) drove home a kill on the next play to give BSU its third set point, then combined with McGinnis for the set-winning block, 27-25, as the Cardinals advanced into set two with a 1-0 lead.
Set two saw Akron zip out to an early 5-2 lead behind a pair of kills from Goleman. Tallying off four of the next five scores, BSU tied the second set at 6-6 with kills from Boyd, Green, and senior Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.).
A pair of kills from Green and markers from both Brandl and sophomore Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School) allowed the Cardinals to open up a 15-10 lead. A Goleman kill for the Zips started a 4-1 run that positioned the visitors within two, at 16-14, and was capped by a service ace from Jarvis.
Phillips, set up by McGinnis both times, smashed home consecutive kills to squander Akron's comeback hopes and force a Zips' timeout.
Akron came as close as three, 19-16, on a block effort from Deimitrijevs and Patterson, but a pair of kills from Brandl and a Green smash down the stretch helped BSU put away the Zips, 25-19, and hold a commanding 2-0 match lead.
Led by a pair of kills and a block from Green, BSU jumped out to an 11-6 advantage early in the third set to force an Akron timeout. Despite a Goleman kill after the break, the Cardinals continued to pour it on, extending their lead to 17-9 as McGinnis got in on the scoring action with a pair of kills.
Trailing 20-12, the Zips utilized several BSU errors and a pair of kills from Patterson to climb within three, 23-20. Following a BSU timeout, however, the Cardinals were able to put away the set, 25-20, and the match, 3-0, off of a Breivogel kill and a Zips' error.
