Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
1-0
The Citadel
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Citadel | 15 | 16 | 17 | 0 |
| Ball State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
WVB's Offense Rolls In Sweep Of The Citadel
August 27, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
FOLLOW THE ACTION IN THE 2010 SIUE COUGAR CLASSIC:
BSU vs. Indiana State - - Live Stats
BSU vs. SIU-Edwardsville - - Live Stats / Audio / Video
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - - The Ball State (1-0) women's volleyball team connected for a .292 (48-17-106) rate of success on offense in a season-opening 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) sweep of The Citadel (0-1) Friday afternoon in the first match of the 2010 SIUE Cougar Classic at the Vadalabene Center.
"Overall, I though the match could not have gone much better than it did," said first-year head coach Steve Shondell who picked up his first career collegiate coaching victory in the win. "Our girls came out ready to play. The first match of the year is always tough for any team, and we came out and served the ball tough, passed well and played great defense to keep the pressure on our opponent from start to finish."
Freshman Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) led the offensive charge for the Cardinals with 15 kills in her first collegiate match. She also posted a .609 (15-1-23) hitting mark with her only error coming in the third set.
Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S./Cincinnati) added 13 kills and a .500 (13-2-22) hitting mark, while junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) was able to effectively spread out the offense behind a solid team passing effort. McGinnis finished the match with 39 assists, five digs and three kills.
"So much of our offense goes back to our passing," said Shondell. "Our passers consistently got the ball to Brittany tonight and she was able to pick and choose where she wanted to set the ball. Kylee and Kelsey are very capable of having those kinds of nights when we can get them the ball on a regular basis."
In the backcourt, defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) collected a match-best 11 digs, while senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) and freshman defensive specialist Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./ Menomonee Falls H.S. ) added nine each.
"Our passers were real consistent today, keeping us in system throughout most of the afternoon," added Shondell. "I could not have been any more pleased with how we handled the ball today."
In addition to hitting for a .292 clip, the Cardinals defense limited The Citadel to a .106 hitting mark. Kaona Mercer was the Bulldogs' top attacker with six kills, while Tatum Jestila added five. Kathryn Johnston paced The Citadel defense with eight digs.
The Cardinals took control of the first set early, starting with a block assist from Brandl and freshman outside attacker Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.). Moments later, Fredrich added her first career service ace to push the Ball State advantage to 4-1. Kills from Baker and Heeres extended the edge to 9-5, while a Bulldogs' attack error led to a Citadel timeout at 10-5.
With the Cardinals maintaining a four-point edge at 17-13, BSU scored eight of the final 10 points to win the frame 25-15. Brandl posted back-to-back kills to end the set, while Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) also added a pair of markers in the final push.
Despite an early kill from Brandl in the second set, it was The Citadel which pulled out to a 4-1 advantage. However, kills from Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) and Baker helped the Cardinals even the frame at four. Another Phillips kill helped Ball State take its first lead of the game at 6-5, while a huge smash from Baker, set up by a spectacular dig from Fredrich, pushed the BSU advantage to 9-6.
The Bulldogs would fight back and tie the score at 11 after back-to-back kills from Mercer, only to have a Heeres kill spark a 7-1 Ball State run moving the score to 18-12. The Cardinals added seven of the final 11 points, including four more kills from Baker, to win the game 25-16. Through the first two sets, Baker tallied 12 kills compared to 13 for the entire Bulldogs team.
With Ball State trailing 6-5 early in the third set, a kill and ace from Baker helped the Cardinals charge ahead 8-6. The lead remained two points at the 11-9 mark, before three kills and a pair of blocks from BSU moved the score to 16-9. Moments later, Mindy Marx's (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) first career kill pushed the score to 20-15 in favor of the Cardinals.
Brandl scored kills on the next three rallies, while Heeres' seventh marker of the night gave Ball State match-point at 24-15. BSU completed the three-set sweep of the Bulldogs three points later on a service error from The Citadel.
The Ball State women's volleyball team continues play in the 2010 SUIE Cougar Classic Saturday, with matches versus Indiana State (10 a.m. CT) and host SIU-Edwardsville (7 p.m. CT).
