Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
19-4 (9-2MAC)
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Western Michigan
18-7 (8-3MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Michigan | 22 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 13 | 2 |
| Ball State | 25 | 23 | 16 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
WVB Takes Over First In MAC West
October 30, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - With just its third block of the match, the Ball State women's volleyball team completed a thrilling 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 25-22, 15-13) come-from-behind victory over Mid-American Conference West Division rival Western Michigan Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the win and a Northern Illinois loss at Toledo, the Cardinals move into a tie with NIU and Eastern Michigan for first place in the league standings, with all three having 9-2 league records. EMU defeated Central Michigan Thursday night to also improve to 9-2.
Tonight's victory over the Broncos ended Ball State's seven-match losing streak to Western Michigan and helped the Cardinals improve to 19-4 (9-2 MAC). BSU also remains perfect at home with a 9-0 record in Worthen Arena. Western Michigan falls to 18-7 (8-3 MAC) with the loss.
"We beat a great team in Western Michigan tonight," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "It is exciting to see the players who have been in the program for a number of years and not seen success against Western pick up a victory."
While four different Ball State attackers finished the night with double-digit kills, it was the play of senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) who Shondell credits with lifting the team to victory. Rio finished the match with a career-high 44 digs, including nine in the shortened fifth set.
"Alyssa was absolutely fantastic tonight with a career-high 44 digs," added Shondell. "She led the team on the court as a player and emotionally. Everyone fed off her performance as the match went on. She refused to lose tonight and put this team on her back."
Perhaps the biggest individual play for the Cardinals also came late in the fifth set, when junior right side attacker Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) posted her season-best 16th kill of the night to give BSU match-point at 14-13. BSU had held a 13-8 lead, only to see WMU battle back and tie the score at 13.
Boyd then combined with freshman middle blocker Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) for the match-winning block assists, giving BSU its first victory over Western Michigan since Oct. 28, 2006.
"After Western Michigan fought back to tie the fifth set, Jennifer came up with probably the biggest kill of her career to give us match point," said Shondell. "Then the stuff block by Jennifer and Mindy at the end was a great way to finish the match. The block could not have come at a better time."
Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) paced all players with 19 kills in the contest, while BSU's freshman outside attacking duo of Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) and Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) added 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Baker's 18 kills tied her career-high set versus IPFW (Sept. 14).
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to a .229 (77-33-192) hitting effort in the contest, dishing out 58 assists to go along with 11 digs for her team-leading eighth double-double of the year.
While Western Michigan was able to hold a .253 (62-18-174) to .229 edge in hitting in the contest, it was BSU's offensive and defensive play in the final two sets that lifted the Cardinals to victory. BSU out-dug the MAC's leading defense 82 to 70 on the night.
Ali Gossen and Ashley Turnage paced four Broncos with double-figure kills with 14. Gillian Asque collected 13 kills, while Jessica Brown added 10. Lena Oliver WMU with 26 digs on the night.
The teams battled to a 14-14 stalemate to open the match before a 4-1 run gave Western Michigan an 18-15 lead. After the teams traded service errors, a 5-2 run by the hosts evened the set at 21. Marx, Brandl and Boyd each smashed kills to help BSU knot the score.
BSU's hot streak continued in the set as kills from Baker and Brandl gave the hosts a 23-21 lead and forced a Broncos' timeout. A Rio service ace out of the break gave BSU set-point, while a Brandl blast gave the Cardinals a 25-22 opening-frame victory.
Western Michigan opened the second set with five of the first six points, and went on to claim a 10-5 advantage to force BSU's first timeout of the stanza. With the Broncos holding a 15-10 edge, three kills from Brandl and a pair of Heeres markers helped the Cardinals rally back and tie the score at 15.
WMU followed with a 5-0 run of its own, reclaiming a five-point lead at 20-15. Ball State would battle back within one, at 22-21, thanks in part to a pair of Boyd markers, but could not complete the comeback as a kill from Western Michigan's Brown ended the set at 25-23.
The Broncos controlled play in the third set, scoring four of the first five points thanks to a pair of kills from Allyson Doyle. Ball State would get no closer than two points the rest of the set, as WMU went on to claim a 25-16 win on a Asque kill. WMU hit .486 (18-1-35) in the frame to secure the victory.
With Ball State trailing 11-8 in the fourth set, kills from Heeres and Marx helped BSU battle back and even the score at 11. From there, the teams played to a 14-14 deadlock before kills from Brandl and Baker gave the hosts a 16-14 advantage. With BSU maintaining a 22-18 lead, a four-point run from the Broncos, which included kills from Ali Goosen and Turnage, knotted the score at 22.
Ball State was able to snap the WMU rally, however, using a Heeres kill and a WMU attack error to reach set-point at 24-22. Baker followed with the set-winning kill at 25-22 to force a deciding fifth frame.
The Cardinals looked like they were going to cruise to an easy victory in the fifth set, using three kills from Boyd, two from Baker and one from Brandl to establish a 9-3 edge. Two more Brandl kills and a pair of Heeres smashes pushed the score to 13-8 in favor of the hosts.
Unfortunately, a kill from Turnage and some untimely errors helped Western Michigan battle back and tie the score at 13. Ball State would not be denied its first victory over the Broncos since 2006, however, as Boyd's 16th kill and BSU's third block of the night gave Ball State the 15-13 set win and the 3-2 match victory.
The Ball State women's volleyball team battles Northern Illinois in another pivotal MAC West division tilt Saturday at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
