Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
20-4 (10-2MAC)
Northern Illinois
23-4 (9-3MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Illinois | 16 | 16 | 21 | 0 |
| Ball State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
WVB Sweeps Northern Illinois, Leads MAC
October 31, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - For the first time since the end of the 2002 season, the Ball State women's volleyball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-21) sweep of Northern Illinois Saturday night at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 20-4 (10-2 MAC) on the year and remain a perfect 10-0 in Worthen Arena. Northern Illinois falls to 23-4 (9-3 MAC) with their second loss of the weekend.
In other conference action, Ohio (15-10/7-5 MAC) defeated Eastern Michigan (22-7/9-3 MAC) by a score of 3-1 to give the Ball State the outright West Division and conference lead.
"We turned in a wonderful team effort tonight," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "Everyone was clicking together, and we came out and played the kind of volleyball we are truly capable of achieving. This was one of those matches were everything fell our way. We were so much more relaxed tonight after finally beating Western Michigan last night. The girls felt confident coming into the match and played one of our better matches against a great Northern Illinois team."
Leading the Ball State charge in the sweep of the Huskies was freshman outside attacker Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) with a match-best 12 kills and 10 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. Baker also finished the contest with a .545 (12-0-22) attack percentage and a service ace.
Also blasting double-digit kills for Ball State was junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) with 11, to go along with a .364 (11-3-22) hitting percentage and three blocks.
Junior right side hitter Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) turned in her second solid outing of the weekend as well, pelting the court with nine kills and a match-best .667 (9-1-12) attack percentage.
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to its second-best hitting effort of the season, dishing out a match-high 34 assists as the Cardinals hit for a .366 (45-11-93) rate of success.
As a team, the Cardinals limited the league's leading attacking team in Northern Illinois to a .151 (33-17-106) effort for the night. The Huskies entered the night hitting .264 over their first 26 matches.
Ball State also held a 50 to 33 advantage in digs, paced by senior libero Alyssa Rio's (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) match-best 19. BSU also served up four aces on the night, with Brandl collecting two.
NIU was led on offense by Lauren Wicinski's 11 kills, while Justine Schepler collected a team-best seven digs.
With the Huskies holding a slim 10-9 lead in the opening set, the Cardinals came to life, posting the next seven points to take control of the set at 16-10. McGinnis, Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) and Brandl each smashed kills in the run, while Baker capped it with an ace. Another Brandl kill gave the Cardinals' set-point at 24-15, while a Baker blast ended the frame at 25-16.
Northern Illinois looked to rebound early in the second set, playing to a 9-7 lead. However, another strong run from the Cardinals, this time a 12-1 effort, put the hosts ahead for good. Baker and Boyd each collected three kills in the run, while Rio added an ace. The Cardinals went on to win the frame 25-16 on a NIU attack error.
While the third set was the closest of the match, Ball State would take control of the frame with an early 4-1 lead. While NIU was able to battle back within one point at 7-6, the Cardinals never relinquished the lead, eventually winning 25-21 on Brandl's second service ace of the night.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Eastern Michigan for a 7 p.m. first serve versus the Eagles.
