Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
7-1
Wright State
4-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 16 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 1 |
| Wright State | 25 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women?s Volleyball Suffers 3-1 Setback At Wright State
September 11, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
DAYTON, Ohio - - The Ball State (7-1) women's volleyball team saw its seven-match winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20) setback at Wright State's (4-6) C.J. McLin Gymnasium.
Freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) paced the Ball State attack with 16 kills while hitting for a team-best .300 (16-4-40) rate of success.
Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S) added 13 kills, while leading the Cardinals with four total blocks (one solo and three assists).
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) added her second double-double of the season with 41 assists and 14 digs, while smashing seven kills and adding three block assists.
In the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) paced all players with 28 digs, while Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) added 10.
The Raiders limited the Cardinals to a season-low .180 (60-27-183) attack percentage in the contest, while hitting for a .233 (55-18-159) rate of success on offense.
Heidi Splinter paced three Raiders in double-figure kills with a match-best 17. Shaunda Sandifer added 14 markers, while Jessica Woods tallied 10. Woods also led Wright State with 26 digs.
A pair of kills from Heeres helped Ball State pull out to a 3-1 lead in the opening frame. The Raiders answered with a 3-1 run of their own, tying the set at four. WSU continued to carry the momentum from there, as two kills from Sandifer helped give the hosts an 11-6 advantage.
Ball State would cut the gap to three, at 13-10, thanks in part to another Heeres kill and a block from McGinnis and Brandl. Unfortunately, the Raiders would score 12 of the final 18 points to win the frame 25-16, handing BSU its first set loss of the season.
The second set was a back-and-fourth battle early, as the teams played to an 8-8 stalemate. A Brandl kill surrounded by a pair of WSU attack errors, helped the Cardinals pull ahead by three at 11-8. BSU extended its lead to four points, at 15-11, on a solo block from Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.), only to have the hosts rally back and tie the score at 17.
Wright State would capitalize on a pair of BSU errors, claiming a brief 19-17 edge. However, a kill from Baker and back-to-back WSU errors helped BSU recapture the lead at 20-19. After a Wright State timeout, Heeres gave the Cardinals a 21-19 edge with another kill.
While the Raiders tied the score over the next two plays, a McGinnis setter dump and a service ace from Rio moved the score to 23-21. A WSU service error gave BSU set point, at 24-22, while an overpass kill from Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley) ended the game at 25-23 in favor of the Cardinals.
Three kills from Splinter and two from Sandifer helped Wright State charge out to a 9-4 lead in the third game. Led by three kills from Heeres, the Cardinals battled back to tie the score at 11, only to have WSU answer with the next three points.
With the Cardinals trailing 14-11, three kills from Boyd helped BSU rally back and tie the score at 16. From there, the teams battled to a 23-23 tie before a kill and ace from Splinter ended the game at 25-23 in favor of the hosts.
Kills from Heeres and Boyd gave BSU the first two points of the fourth set, but WSU rattled off the next six points forcing an early timeout from the guests. With the Cardinals trailing 12-6, three kills from McGinnis, as well as a kill and solo block from Heeres, helped BSU battle back within two at 13-11.
Unfortunately, four straight Raider points extended the lead back to six at 17-11. Ball State was able to battle back within two at 20-18 after a Baker kill, but Wright State scored five of the final seven points to win the frame 25-20. Splinter combined with former Ball State player Ashley Heyman for the match-winning block assist.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Tuesday, when it travels up I-69 for a 7 p.m. showdown with IPFW.
