Ball State University
3-0
SIU-Edwardsville
1-2
Women?s Volleyball Takes Home SIUE Cougar Classic Title
August 29, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - - Behind a solid offensive and defensive performance from junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.), the Ball State (3-0) women's volleyball team captured the 2010 SIUE Cougar Classic title with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) victory over host SIU-E Edwardsville (1-2) Saturday evening at the Vadalabene Center.
With the win, the Cardinals swept their way to the tournament title after topping The Citadel 3-0 (30-15, 30-16, 30-17) Friday and Indiana State 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-18) in Saturday's morning session.
"SIU-Edwardsville gave us the toughest match of the tournament," said head coach Steve Shondell who improved to 3-0 in his collegiate coaching career. "They were digging everything we hit and we were having trouble getting the ball to the floor which was frustrating us a little bit. We really wanted to go home 3-0, and I think that also put some pressure on us. I am very proud of the way we handled the pressure tonight, and I think we learned a lot about our team over the weekend."
Brandl paced all players with 12 kills in the contest, while adding a season-best six total blocks (one solo and five assists). She also added two digs and a service ace, while racking up a .429 (12-3-21) attack percentage.
"Kelsey did what we needed her to do tonight," said Shondell. "She has to be a player who steps up for us in big matches and at crunch time. I give her a lot of credit for her solid play tonight."
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) added her first double-double of the season with a team-best 13 digs to go along with 24 assists. Overall, she led the Cardinals to a .233 (38-14-103) attacking mark, while adding two kills of her own.
Freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) added nine kills and a .259 (9-2-27) hitting mark in the contest, while senior right side Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) and freshman middle blocker Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) collected five kills each.
In addition to McGinnis' double-digit effort in the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) added 12 digs in the victory.
As a team, the Ball State defense limited SIU-Edwardsville to a .090 (33-23-111) attack percentage, including a .000 (9-9-29) rate of success in the final set. Lexi Cibulka led SIUE with nine kills, while Karie Downing collected a match-high 15 digs.
Despite a pair of kills from Heeres, the Cardinals found themselves in an early 4-3 hole in the opening set. However, back-to-back kills from Phillips sparked a 6-0 run from the guests, giving Ball State a 9-5 edge. Brandl added a solo block and block assist, joined by freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.), in the run.
The hosts answered with an 8-4 run, knotting the score at 13 on a kill from Brianne Graunke. From there, the teams battled to a 20-20 deadlock before kills from McGinnis and Brandl forced SIUE to utilize a timeout trailing 22-20. Three rallies later, another Brandl kill gave the Cardinals the first set-point at 24-21.
A kill from SIUE's Julia Whitfield and a BSU attack error cut the lead to one at 24-23 and led to a Ball State timeout. The break was enough to rattle the Cougars' server, who deposited the ball into the middle of the net giving the Cardinals a 25-23 opening-set victory.
Errors cost SIU-Edwardsville early in the second frame, as five miscues helped Ball State build an early 6-2 edge and forced a Cougars timeout. The hosts would battle back for the second consecutive set, taking a brief 12-11 lead on a kill from Jessica Hemann.
Ball State answered with the next four points, reclaiming the lead at 15-12. Moments later, kills from Phillips and Marx led to SIUE's second timeout with the Cardinals holding a 17-13 advantage. A pair of kills from Brandl helped Ball State extend the lead to a set-high seven points at 23-16, while another Brandl maker ended the frame at 25-20.
The Cardinals rattled off the first four points in the third game behind an ace from Rio and kills from both Brandl and Heeres. The Cougars clawed back into the frame, taking a 9-8 edge after back-to-back BSU setting miscues.
The guests from Muncie answered back once again, as two blocks and a kill from Baker move the score to 12-9. SIU-Edwardsville would get no closer than two points the rest of the frame, as an 8-3 run extended the BSU edge to six at 18-12. A Marx kill gave the Cardinals match-point at 24-18, while a SIUE attack error ended the set at 25-18.
Next on the slate for the Ball State women's volleyball team is the 2010 Active Ankle Challenge, with the Cardinals hosting Tennessee State, Robert Morris and Oakland. Tournament play begins at Friday with Oakland battling Robert Morris at 5 p.m. and Ball State taking on Tennessee State at 7:30 p.m.
