Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-2
Temple
2-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple | 20 | 18 | 22 | 0 |
| Ball State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women?s Volleyball Rebounds With Sweep Of Temple
September 18, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - - The Ball State (9-2) women's volleyball team opened the second day of the Tar Heel Classic with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-22) sweep of Temple (2-9) Saturday afternoon at North Carolina's Carmichael Arena.
"We did what we had to do to win this afternoon," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "This was a survival match, where you have to come out, battle, and hopefully figure out a way to win. We were able to do that in all three games. It was not a thing of beauty by any means, but we got the job done."
Freshman outside attacker Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) carried a bulk of the offensive load for the Cardinals, tying for match-high honors with 10 kills in the contest, while adding four digs.
Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) added eight kills and a match-best three total blocks in the win, while freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) tallied six kills and seven digs.
In the backcourt, a pair of Cardinals finished the contest with double-digit digs, led by senior libero Alyssa Rio's (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) match-high 16. Junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) added 12 digs to go along with 22 assists for her third double-double of the season.
Ball State's defense continued to shine in the contest, limiting Temple to a .061 (32-25-114) rate of success in the contest. BSU's offense connected for a .121 (32-19-107) mark in the victory.
Elyse Burkert led the Owls and tied Heeres for match-high honors with 10 kills, while Ariel Pierre collected a team-high 15 digs.
Temple got off to a fast start in the opening frame, capitalizing on a pair of blocks and several BSU errors to build a 6-2 advantage. Behind three kills from Baker, the Cardinals battled back within two at 9-7. After the Owls tallied the next point, three straight errors allowed Ball State to tie the frame at 10.
McGinnis followed with three straight aces, to give BSU a 13-10 edge. Ball State tacked on the next point, extending the lead to four, only to have Temple battle back and take a 17-16 lead. With the score tied at 19, back-to-back Heeres kills and an Owls' attack error gave BSU the momentum. The Cardinals went on to win the set 25-20 on a McGinnis over pass which slipped between Temple's defenders.
The combatants battled to a 13-13 stalemate in the second game before a pair of Temple errors followed by a Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) ace and a block from Brandl and Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) gave BSU a 17-13 advantage. The Owls were able to battle back within two, at 18-16, only to have BSU score the next three points to move ahead 21-16.
One more run got Temple back within three at 21-18, but Owls' errors on three of the next for plays gave Ball State the 25-18 second-set victory.
Ball State stormed out to a 6-2 lead in the third set behind three kills and a block from Brandl. However, Temple would not go down without a fight, scoring seven of the next eight points to force a BSU timeout at 9-7. The Owls followed with two more points, and pulled ahead by as many as five at 14-9.
Three errors from Temple brought the Cardinals back within two at 14-12, while two aces from Baker evened the score at 14 leading to a timeout from the Owls. However, three BSU errors allowed Temple to regain the momentum, as they pulled back ahead by five at 19-14.
Ball State answered with the next five points, including an ace from Rio and a Brandl kill, to tie the score at 19. From there, the teams battled to a 22-22 tie before an ace from Sullivan and a Brandl kill off the block gave BSU match-point at 24-22. The Cardinals won the contest on the next play, as an attack error from Temple ended the frame at 25-22.
Ball State concludes play in the Tar Heel Classic later this afternoon with a 5:30 p.m. first serve versus Appalachian State.
