Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
8-1
IPFW
5-6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 25 | 23 | 25 | 22 | 15 | 3 |
| IPFW | 21 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 12 | 2 |
Women?s Volleyball Wins Five-Set Battle At IPFW
September 15, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - - The Ball State (8-1) women's volleyball team used a solid team effort to score a thrilling 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) victory at IPFW's (5-6) Hilliard Gates Sports Center Tuesday evening in Fort Wayne.
"It was a hard-fought battle, a real grind the whole way through," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "I told the girls before we started, this match was going to come down to who wanted it the most. We really wanted this match badly, and IPFW made us work all the way until the end. It is a huge win for us. IPFW is a very good team and I am happy we were able to pull this through heading into a tough tournament at North Carolina this weekend."
In the victory, junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeview, Minn./Lakeview North H.S.) paced all players with a career-high tying 20 kills, while adding a .351 (20-7-37) attack percentage.
Also turning in a career-night for the Cardinals was freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) who finished the night with her second double-double of the year, logging career-highs of 18 kills and 14 digs.
Fellow freshman outside hitter Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) added 12 kills in the match to go along with a career-best three solo blocks.
In the back row, freshman defensive specialist Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) notched a career-best 27 digs, while senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) added 26 digs.
Muncie Central graduate Tessa McGill finished the night with an IPFW single-match record 47 digs, breaking the previous school record of 43 set by Jamie Schwartz in a five-set match versus Oakland (Oct. 2, 2009) late in the fourth set.
Maya Steenhuysen led the Mastodons with 16 kills, while Stephanie Lamberti added nine kills and 24 digs to fall just shy of a double-double.
In all, there were 209 total digs in the contest, with IPFW edging out Ball State 108 to 101. The BSU defense was able to limit the Mastodons to a .115 (50-28-191) rate of success on offense, while posting a .164 (67-32-214) mark of their own.
Despite two kills and an ace from Brandl, the Cardinals were forced to call an early timeout in the opening set after four straight Mastodon points broke a 6-6 tie and gave the hosts a 10-6 edge. After BSU's Baker and IPFW's Haley Emenhiser traded kills on the next four rallies, a pair of IPFW errors followed by a kill and solo block from Heeres, tied the score at 12.
From there, the teams played to a 21-21 stalemate, with neither leading by more than one point during the stretch. Another Heeres kill broke the tie, while two IPFW attack errors, surrounding a Mastodons' timeout, gave the Cardinals set point. Heeres followed with her second solo block of the set, giving Ball State the 25-21 opening-frame victory.
Three kills from Brandl and a pair each from Baker and Heeres helped Ball State establish a 10-8 lead in the second game, only to see the Mastodons post four-straight points after a timeout to take a 12-10 advantage. Ball State tied the score two points later and battled IPFW to an 18-18 tie.
A solo block from the Mastodons' Ali Hook and a BSU attack error gave the hosts a two-point edge at 20-18 and led to a Ball State break. A kill from IPFW's Stephanie Lamberti upped the lead to three at 21-18. Kills from Boyd and Heeres forced an IPFW timeout two points later, but the teams traded the final seven points allowing the Mastodons to escape with a 25-23 second-set victory. Ball State's final three points of the frame came off the arm of Brandl.
The Cardinals found themselves in an early 5-2 hole in the third frame, and continued to trail by three at 8-5. However, a kill from Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) and three Ball State blocks - including solo stuffs from Brandl and freshman setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.) - helped the Cardinals rally back and take a 12-9 lead.
A kill from Seidel several rallies later helped the visitors from Muncie extend the advantage to four points at 15-11. This time it was IPFW's turn to rally, as they posted the next four points tying the set at 15. A Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) kill shifted the momentum back to the Cardinals, as they rattled off seven of the next eight points to take control of the game at 22-16. BSU went on to win the set 25-20 on a Mastodons' attack error.
IPFW scored the first four points of the fourth set, causing an early Ball State timeout. The Cardinals were forced to use their second timeout several rallies later, after IPFW took a 12-7 lead. Ball State came out of the break on fire, however, as two kills from Baker helped Ball State pull within one at 12-11.
Heeres' third solo block of the night would tie the set at 12 on the next rally, but the hosts went on to score 10 of the next 13 points (22-15) and reach set point at 24-18. The Cardinals scored three straight to cut the advantage to 24-21 and force an IPFW timeout. During the 24-21 rally, the Mastodons' McGill collected her 44th dig of the night to become the program's single-match digs leader, breaking the previous record of 43 set by Jamie Schwartz in a five-set match versus Oakland Oct. 2, 2009.
Ball State's Baker brought the Cardinals one point closer after the timeout with a service ace, but a kill from IPFW's Lamberti ended the game at 25-22 and force a deciding fifth frame.
A block assist from Seidel and Brandl followed by a Heeres kill gave the Cardinals a brief 2-0 lead in the fifth set. IPFW battle back to tie the set at three, and the score remained tied at 5-5. However, kills from Phillips and Seidel sparked a 5-1 run from the guests, leading to an IPFW timeout at 10-6.
The Mastodons scored the next two points, before being forced to use their second timeout trailing 12-9 after a Brandl smash to the hardwood. The hosts scored the next two points, leading to Ball State's first timeout at 12-11. Brandl broke IPFW's momentum with a soft kill off the block at 13-11, while Phillips provided the match-winner at 15-12.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. for the Tar Heel Classic hosted by North Carolina. The Cardinals open the tournament with a 7:30 p.m. showdown with the host Tar Heels.
