Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
22-4 (12-2MAC)
Central Michigan
13-13 (7-7MAC)
WVB Tops CMU; Claims At Least A Share Of MAC Title
November 07, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team secured at least a share of the Mid-American Conference regular season title for the first time since the 2002 season with a thrilling 3-1 (18-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-23) victory over Central Michigan Saturday night at CMU's Finch Fieldhouse.
In addition, the Cardinals improved to 22-4 (12-2 MAC) on the year and earned a first round bye in the upcoming 2010 Mid-American Conference Tournament. Ball State can lock up the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament with a win over Toledo next Thursday (Nov. 11) or against Akron next Saturday (Nov. 13) at Worthen Arena.
"It is great to come home and play for an out-right championship next week," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "I am thrilled for the University. We have a great volleyball tradition at Ball State, and I am glad to play a small part in bringing that tradition back. It has been awhile since we have won a championship, and I give a lot of credit to the girls, the coaching staff and the Ball State administration for their support. It's been a total effort from everyone involved, including our great fans who have been a huge part of our success."
The Cardinals can also earn the No. 1 seed with an Eastern Michigan win in one of its final two matches at Northern Illinois (Nov. 12) or at Western Michigan (Nov. 13).
Central Michigan, which was the preseason favorite to win the MAC West Division, falls to 13-13 (7-7 MAC) with the loss.
"It was another great team effort tonight," added Shondell. "We were completely out-played in game one, but we did not panic and picked our game up in the second set and played pretty steady the rest of the night. CMU came in with a lot of emotion on senior night and would not let anything hit the floor in the first set."
Freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) led the Ball State attack with 15 kills, including the match-winning blast. Heeres also tallied a pair of digs and one of BSU's two solo blocks.
Also playing a large role in the Cardinals victory was senior defensive specialist Karin Caudill (Selma, Ind./Burris Laboratory School). While she finished the contest with just one dig and two service receptions, her play in the first set helped Ball State gain the momentum in the match according to Shondell.
"I give Karin a lot of credit for helping turning the match around," added Shondell. "She came in when we were struggling in the first set and made some big plays to help us capture the momentum late in the game. Her play really got us going in the right direction and was an inspiration for the rest of our team."
Fellow freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) and junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) each collected 14 kills in the victory. Baker added eight digs and a .353 (14-2-34) hitting percentage, while Brandl hit a team-best .440 (14-3-25) and tallied five digs and four blocks.
Senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) paced all players with 26 digs, raising her career total to 2,023. She is just the second player in program history to collect over 2,000 career digs, joining Stephanie Keller (2001-04) who finished her career with 2,273.
Also scoring double-digit digs for the Cardinals was freshman defensive specialist Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) with 11.
Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) led the Ball State offense to a .218 (58-24-156) hitting effort, dishing out 46 assists to go along with five kills, four digs and four total blocks.
Kaitlyn Schultz paced the Central Michigan offense with 16 kills, while racking up a .429 (16-1-35) hitting mark to help CMU to a .248 (53-17-145) rate of success for the night. Lindsey Dulude and Laruen Krupsky added nine kills apiece. Lisa Johnson paced the Chippewas with 17 digs.
The Chippewas posted the first three points of the opening set and never looked back, forcing the Cardinals to use their first timeout trailing 9-3. CMU cruised to a 22-11 lead, only to have Ball State rally off the next the next six points, cutting the advantage to 22-17. Unfortunately, CMU scored three of the final four points to win the frame 25-18.
Central Michigan scored three of the first four points in the second set, only to have a McGinnis kill and back-to-back Heeres markers give the Cardinals their first lead of the match at 4-3. CMU fought back to take a 10-8 advantage, only to see three kills from Baker help BSU rattle off the next five points, giving the guests a 13-10 edge and forcing a Chippewas timeout.
CMU answered with four of the next five points, tying the score at 14. With Ball State leading 18-17, a Val DeWeerd kill sparked a 3-0 CMU run causing the Cardinals to call for their first minute break. The teams traded the next seven points, before a kill from BSU's Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) stopped the back-and-forth battle and tied the score at 23.
Following the Chippewas' second timeout, an attack error gave BSU set-point at 24-23. CMU would survive BSU's first attempt to win the set, but a Heeres kill gave Ball State another shot. The Cardinals would not let this opportunity slip by, as a kill from Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) kill ended the game at 26-24.
The teams battled to a 10-10 stalemate to open the third game, before a block from Boyd and Brandl shifted the momentum to BSU's side of the court. BSU followed with the next three points, including an ace from Fredrich, to cause a CMU timeout at 14-10.
The Cardinals maintained control of the frame from there, pulling ahead by nine at 21-12 after a Marx blast to CMU's sport court. The Chippewas would not go down without a fight, however, scoring the next six points to pill within three at 21-18.
A Marx kill following BSU's second timeout ended Central Michigan's run, while a CMU service error and a block from Boyd and Marx gave the Cardinals set-point at 24-19. Three rallies later, a kill from Baker gave the Cardinals a 25-21 victory in the set.
In another tight battle, Ball State played to a 18-15 lead in the fourth set, only to have Central Michigan rattle off three straight points and even the score at 18. A kill from Baker stopped the Chippewas' rally, while an attack error pushed the score to 20-18 in favor of the Cardinals.
Despite a Baker blast off the block, CMU battled back to knot the score at 21 thanks to a pair of Schultz kills. BSU responded with kills from Baker and Brandl to force Central Michigan's second timeout at 23-21. The Chippewas answered with a Dulude kill and a block to tie the score once again at 23-23.
Following Ball State's second minute break, a Brandl blast gave Ball State match-point at 24-23. After a furious rally, Heeres followed with a match-winning blast which secured BSU's first MAC Regular Season title since the 2002 season.
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes the 2010 regular season next weekend with a pair of home matches. Thursday, the Cardinals host Toledo in a 7 p.m. match which will be televised by the Ball State Sports Network. Saturday, the Cardinals celebrate senior night with a 7 p.m. first serve versus Akron.
