Ball State University
16-2, 5-0MAC
Central Michigan
9-7, 2-3MAC
Women's Volleyball Sweeps Central Michigan
October 08, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - - Behind double-digit kill efforts from sophomore Kylee Baker and senior Kelsey Brandl, the Ball State women's volleyball team powered its way to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14) league win over Central Michigan Friday evening to spoil the official opening of CMU's McGuirk Arena.
With the victory, BSU extends its current winning streak to seven matches and has now won its last 15 Mid-American Conference regular season matches. BSU also improves to 16-2 (5-0 MAC) which is the best record in program history through the first 18 matches.
Coupled with a Western Michigan loss at Northern Illinois last night (Thursday), the Cardinals now hold a two-match lead in the MAC West Division, with NIU and WMU tied for second with 3-2 league marks. Central Michigan falls to 9-7 (2-3 MAC) with the loss tonight.
"We turned in another solid team effort against a strong CMU squad tonight," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "We served really tough and never let Central Michigan get into their offense. Individually, I thought Lauren Grant turned in a really good performance tonight."
Ball State dominated play on both offense and defense, hitting for a combined .303 (44-14-99) rate of success, while racking up 12.0 team blocks for the second consecutive match. Of the 12.0 blocks, seven were solo stuffs, including a career-high four solo blocks from sophomore transfer Grant.
In all, Grant finished the night with a career-high six total blocks, while adding a career-best six kills. Baker was the matches' top attacker with 11 kills, while Brandl added 10 markers and a .667 (10-0-15) hitting effort.
Both Baker and Brandl would play a big role at the net as well, with Brandl collecting five total blocks (two solo and three assists) and Baker posting three (one solo and two assists). Baker also served up a pair of aces and collected six digs, while Brandl added an ace.
Senior setter Brittany McGinnis guided the Ball State offense to its seventh above .300 performance of the season, while earning her fourth double-double of the year with 34 assists and 10 digs.
Reigning MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week sophomore libero Catie Fredrich led all players with a match-high 12 digs. She also continued her solid play from behind the service line with a pair of aces, while not recording an error in 20 attempts.
Val DeWeerd led the Chippewas attack with eight kills, while Lindsey Dulude and Danielle Gotham added seven apiece. Jenna Coated collected a team-high 11 digs.
The Cardinals limited the CMU attack to a .144 (33-19-97) mark for the match, while holding a 40-34 lead in team digs and a 12.0-5.0 advantage in team blocks. The Cardinals also tallied six aces compared to none for Central Michigan.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it visits Eastern Michigan to wrap up its first tour through the league's west division. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
