Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
8-6 (1-0MAC)
Northern Illinois
6-8 (0-1MAC)
Women?s Volleyball Sweeps Northern Illinois In MAC Opener
September 26, 2009 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team (8-6, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) swept Northern Illinois (6-8, 0-1 MAC) in its league opener Friday night at Worthen Arena in a 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-16) effort.
"I thought our first two contacts tonight were great," said Ball State head coach Dave Boos. "Our ball handlers turned in their best passing effort of the season and Brittany had her best setting match of the year. Those two factors really set the tone for the evening. I also thought our team understood the scouting report and executed it very well.
Behind the team's solid passing effort, the Cardinals connected for a .303 (42-12-99) rate of success as sophomore setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) dished out a match-high 31 assists while adding eight digs and four kills.
From the attack line, junior middle blocker Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) hit a match-best .455 (7-2-11), while sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) added a .400 (7-1-15) hitting mark.
"Having both our middles hitting above .400 again is a nice addition to our offense," added Boos. "They are going to be a centerpiece for our team when we pass the ball as well as we did tonight."
Overall, the BSU offense was led by senior outside attacker Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./University of Tampa) who tallied a match-best 11 kills. Senior opposite attack Elaina Kakatolis (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe H.S.) also added seven kills.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Ball State backcourt was bolstered by the return of junior defensive specialist Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.), who recorded five digs and a perfect 1.000 reception percentage in her first match since the season-opener versus Purdue.
In addition to Rio, senior outside attacker Julie Breivogel (Boonville, Ind./Boonville H.S.) tied for a match-high honors with 12 digs, while sophomore libero Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) added nine.
For the match, the Ball State defense limited the Huskies to a .058 (25-19-104) hitting mark, including a .000 (6-6-36) effort in the second frame. Meagan Schoenrock paced the NIU offense with eight kills, while Maddie Hughes tied for match-high honors with 12 digs.
The Cardinals jumped out of the gate and flew to a 7-2 lead in the opening set as two Green kills helped force an early NIU timeout. BSU went on to gain a double-digit lead at 20-10 behind a service ace from sophomore Christie Waters (Muncie, Ind./Burris Laboratory School).
A Breivogel kill and a NIU ball handling error gave the Cardinals set point at 24-12, while Breivogel's second kill of the frame sealed the 25-13 victory for the Cardinals.
The match's second frame saw the two squads pitted in a closer competition, as BSU saw its first deficit of the match at 1-0 after a Schoenrock kill. The Cardinals responded with a three point run behind two kills from Brandl, who went on to score four of BSU's first six points.
The two squads were tied seven times with the final deadlock coming at 9-9. The Cardinals broke open the set's last tie by scoring five straight points and 11 of the next 12 to prompt two NIU timeouts and take a 20-10 lead. Green recorded four kills throughout the run while the Huskies suffered five errors.
NIU managed to cut the home lead to eight, 22-14, courtesy of a 4-2 spurt of its own, but kills from Kakatolis and Phillips helped the Cardinals win the set, 25-15, and push their match lead to 2-0.
In the match's final frame, the visiting Huskies got off to their best start and largest lead of the match, 7-4, despite two Green kills in the early-going. BSU answered with six of the next seven points behind kills from four different Cardinals, including two by Kakatolis.
The Huskies were able to get within one, 10-9, but BSU continued its stellar play opening up a 17-11 lead. McGinnis notched a kill and a pair of assists during the run.
NIU cut the BSU lead to 18-14 but failed to get any closer as the Cardinals scored seven of the final nine points to win the frame 25-16 and the match 3-0. Phillips led BSU during the final run with two kills and joined green for the match-winning block assist.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday night as they continue MAC play versus two-time defending MAC West Division Champion and 2008 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 participant Western Michigan. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Worthen Arena.
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