Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
15-4 (5-2MAC)
Ohio
12-8 (4-3MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 14 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 9 | 2 |
| Ball State | 25 | 22 | 25 | 21 | 15 | 3 |
Team Effort Lifts Volleyball Past Ohio; 3-2
October 16, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
Muncie, Ind.- The Ball State women's volleyball team used a complete team effort to post a thrilling 3-2 (25-14, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-9) victory over defending Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament champions Ohio Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals snap an 11-match losing streak to the Bobcats and improve to 15-4 (5-2 MAC) this season, including a 7-0 mark in Worthen Arena. Ohio drops to 12-8 (4-3 MAC) with the loss.
"It was nice for our juniors and seniors to take advantage of what could be their final opportunity to beat Ohio on their home floor," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "The team came out and turned in a great effort tonight. They were very determined to beat a team which had dominated our program for the last few years. This was a hard-earned, hard-fought victory against a really strong Ohio squad."
In the victory, freshman outside attackers Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) and Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) each blasted a team-high 15 kills, while junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) added 14.
Brandl would go on to lead BSU's main attackers with a .385 (14-4-26) hitting mark, while Heeres finished the night with a .235 (15-7-34) rate of success.
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) led the Cardinals to a solid .224 (66-29-165) mark on offense, coming up with a match-best 54 assists to go along with 15 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. She also blasted five kills.
Senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) paced all players with a match-high 18 digs, as Ball State held a 62 to 48 advantage in the back row. Senior outside attacker Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) added 11 digs.
Defensively, the Cardinals limited the Bobcats to a .182 (53-25-154) rate of success on offence, despite being out-blocked 17.5 to six as a team. BSU's strong serving helped overcome the OU block, as Ball State committed just four serving errors compared to 12 for Ohio.
Freshman defensive specialist Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) paced all players with three aces in the contest.
Ohio's Sue Jacobi collected a match-high 20 kills in the contest, while Mandy Nichols added 12. Yorktown High School graduate Meryl Bender led the Bobcats with 15 digs, while Katie Post added a match-high 11 total blocks.
The opening set saw the Bobcats post the first two points before a pair of kills from Heeres sparked a 4-2 run from the Cardinals. Ohio answered with a kill from Jacobi, only to see two more points from BSU on kills from Brandl and Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.), push the score to 6-3.
The Bobcats would get no closer than two points the rest of the set, as a 9-5 BSU run extended the Cardinals lead to 15-8. Ball State claimed its first 10-point lead at the 21-11 mark thanks to a kill from Baker, before winning the frame 25-14 on Brandl's fifth kill of the set.
While the visiting Bobcats built an early 10-6 advantage in the second fame, the Cardinals battled back with five of the next six points to knot the score at 11. Ball State took its first lead of the set moments later, as a Fredrich service ace pushed the score to 15-14.
From there, the teams battled to a 22-22 stalemate, with neither squad leading by more than two points. Unfortunately, it was all Ohio down the stretch, as three straight kills from Jacobi helped the Bobcats win the set 25-22.
The third set opened with the teams playing to a 3-3 tie before a Baker kill and a Brandl ace shifted the momentum to BSU's side of the court. With the Cardinals holding a 9-6 lead, kills from McGinnis and Heeres forced OU to call its first timeout at 11-6.
Ohio rallied back within three, at 12-9, before a 4-0 run from the Cardinals, started by a Boyd kill and ending with a Brandl solo block, led to the Bobcats second timeout at 16-9. Ohio responded with a 5-1 run, including a kill and ace from Michelle Jantsch, forcing Ball State to use its first break of the frame at 17-14.
The Cardinals scored the next two points, only to see Ohio claw within one at 19-18. However, a kill from Baker, a solo block from Mindy Marx (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) and a Bobcats attack error pushed the score to 22-18. A Heeres blast through the block gave the Cardinals set-point at 24-20, while a Brandl kill ended the set at 25-21.
Ohio capitalized on several early attack errors from the Cardinals to pull out to an 8-2 edge in the fourth set. Ball State followed with a 4-0 run of its own, thanks in part to kills from Marx, Boyd and Sullivan, to battle within two at 8-6.
Several rallies later, a solo block and sneak attack from McGinnis cut the OU advantage to one at 11-10. The Bobcats roared back to life, scoring five of the next six points to force Ball State's second timeout of the frame at 16-11. Trailing 19-15, the Cardinals benefited from a Brandl kill and three Ohio attack errors to cut the lead to one at 20-19.
After a Bobcats' timeout, a Baker kill off the block tied the score at 20. Unfortunately, the Cardinals ran out of gas in the set, as Ohio scored five of the final six points, winning the game 25-21 on a Post solo block.
While Ohio scored two of the first three points in the fifth frame, three straight errors followed by a Brandl overpass kill forced the guests to call their first timeout trailing 5-2. Ball State continued to hold the three-point lead at the court switch after a Boyd kill and an Ohio error.
The Cardinals extended their lead to four points moments later, as a Baker kill and an Ohio attack error moved the score to 10-6. Back-to-back kills from Marx after the break pushed the lead to six at 12-6. After a kill from Ohio's Post, Marx's third kill in four rallies moved the score to 13-7.
A Heeres kill on the next rally gave BSU match-point at 14-7, while three rallies later, another kill from Heeres ended the set at 15-9 and the match at 3-2.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday evening, with a 7 p.m. first serve versus Kent State at Worthen Arena.
