Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
11-2, 1-0MAC
Northern Illinois
14-2, 0-1MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 25 | 18 | 17 | 25 | 16 | 3 |
| Northern Illinois | 20 | 25 | 25 | 23 | 14 | 2 |
Women's Volleyball Battles Back To Top NIU; 3-2
September 25, 2010 | Women's Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team rallied to win the final two sets to pull out a thrilling 3-2 (25-20, 18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 16-14) victory at Northern Illinois Friday evening in the Mid-American Conference opener for both squads.
"It was an incredible match tonight," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "The team showed tremendous guts, heart and character while willing their way to victory. It was one of the most amazing comebacks I have been involved with as a coach, and a great team win over a tough NIU squad. Tonight was one of the greatest matches I have coached at any level."
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 11-2 (1-0 MAC) on the season, and remain a perfect 3-0 in five-set matches. The Huskies fall to 14-2 (0-1 MAC) with the loss.
Ball State's Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) led four Cardinals in double-figure kills with 19, to go along with a .567 (19-2-30) attack percentage. She also combined on three of BSU's four blocks on the night, while adding a pair of digs.
Freshmen outside attackers Whitney Heeres (Flushing, Mich./Flushing Senior H.S.) and Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) finished the contest with 13 and 11 kills, respectively, while junior middle blocker Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) added 10.
As a team, the Cardinals finished the match with a .218 (64-27-170) attack percentage, as junior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) led the team with 43 assists. McGinnis also tallied seven digs and a pair of kills in the win.
In the backcourt, senior libero Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) collected a match-best 28 digs to help limit the potent NIU attack to a .242 (59-19-165) hitting mark. She also served up a team-high three aces. As a team, Ball State out-dug Northern Illinois 80 to 71.
The Huskies' Lauren Wicinski led all players with 28 kills on the night, while adding 11 digs for a double-double. NIU's Kristin Hoffman (52 assists and 12 digs) and also Allison McGlaughlin (14 kills and 13 digs) also turned in double-doubles in a losing effort. Maddie Hughes paced Northern Illinois' backrow with 18 digs.
After Brandl opened the 2010 MAC season with a kill for the Cardinals, the teams played to a 3-3 tie before a kill and ace from Wicinski gave the hosts Huskies a 5-3 advantage in the opening set. NIU followed with a 4-1 run to extend its lead to five at 9-4. The edge remained five at the 12-7 mark, before two kills from Brandl and two from Boyd helped tie the score at 12.
Following a BSU service error, kills from Baker and Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) helped the Cardinals regain the lead at 15-14. With the score tied at 17, an NIU attack error and another Boyd kill force a Huskies timeout at 19-17.
Rio served up an ace out of the break, while Heeres added a kill to up the BSU advantage to four at 21-17. Back-to-back Brandl kills gave Ball State a 23-18 lead, while another Heeres kill helped BSU reach set-point at 24-19. Two rallies later, Brandl followed with the set-winning kill at 25-20.
While Rio started the second set with an ace, the Huskies answered with the next three points, pulling ahead 3-1. NIU continued to pull away, extending its lead to six at the 8-2 mark. With the Cardinals trailing 14-10, a Heeres kill and solo block helped Ball State rally back within one at 14-13.
Kills from Baker and Boyd helped the Cardinals stay within one point, at 17-16, however three-straight Huskies points led to a Ball State timeout at 20-16. With BSU trailing 22-18, three straight kills from Wicinski gave Northern Illinois the 25-18 second-set victory.
Heeres opened the third set with a kill for the Cardinals, while freshman setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.) followed with an ace to give BSU a 2-0 lead. After a Boyd kill gave Ball State a 3-1 edge, the Huskies responded with the next seven points, including three straight blocks, to force an early timeout from BSU.
NIU extended its advantage to nine points at the 15-6 mark, before back-to-back Heeres kills and a Seidel smash led to the Huskies first timeout at 15-9. Ball State battled back within four points, at 18-14, following a Boyd marker, only to have Northern Illinois post seven of the final 10 points to win the frame 25-17.
The teams played to a 7-7 stalemate to open the fourth set, before back-to-back Wicinski kills gave the hosts a 9-7 edge. Trailing 11-8, kills from Heeres and Baker brought the Cardinals within one at 11-10, while a block from Brandl and Seidel tied the score one rally later. The score remained tied at 13, before a 5-2 Huskies run led to a Ball State timeout at 18-15.
Ball State used a kill from McGinnis and an NIU attack error move back within one at 18-17. After falling behind by three again at 20-17, the Cardinals scored four of the next five points to tie the score at 21.
A McGlaughlin kill and a NIU block stopped the guests' momentum, however, and forced BSU to utilize its second timeout at 23-21. Brandl responded with a kill out of the break, while back-to-back NIU ball handling errors gave the Cardinals set-point at 24-23. Following a Huskies' timeout, an NIU attack error led to a 25-23 fourth-set victory for Ball State.
Boyd opened the fifth frame with a kill off the block, while a Rio ace moved the score to 2-0 in favor of Ball State. NIU responded with two Wicinski kills, surrounding a Hughes ace, to take a 3-2 edge. With the score tied at four, NIU posted three of the next four points to claim a 7-5 advantage.
However, kills from Baker and Boyd tied the score at seven. After a Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) service ace gave Ball State a slim 8-7 edge at the court switch, Baker followed with another kill forcing a Huskies timeout at 9-7.
Another Baker kill and an NIU service error led to Northern Illinois' second timeout at 11-9. A 3-1 run by the Huskies out of the break knotted the score at 12 and led to BSU's first timeout of the set. An ace from Hoffman followed, giving the Huskies a 13-12 advantage. However, a Brandl kill and block assists (joined by Seidel) gave BSU the first match-point at 14-13.
While a Meghan Romo ace kept Northern Illinois alive, knotting the score at 14, another Brandl smash gave Ball State its second match-point at 15-14. An errant swing by an NIU attacker followed, giving Ball State a hard-fought 16-14 set win, and a 3-2 match victory.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action tomorrow night (Saturday) with a 7 p.m. first serve at Western Michigan, who opened league play with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) sweep of Toledo Friday night.
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