Ball State University
IPFW
Women?s Volleyball Stomps Mastodons In Four
August 28, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Behind a dominant middle attack, the Ball State women's volleyball team extended its homecourt winning streak to 17 matches with a 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 19-25, 25-13) victory over in-state rival IPFW in the championship match of the 2011 Ball State Active Ankle Challenge Sunday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
"You like to win your own tournament and it was really important for us to accomplish that task this weekend," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "I thought it was a typical Ball State, IPFW match. It's a great rivalry and both teams really slugged it out. We were fortunate to rally back from down 24-22 and win the second set, which was a pivotal point in the match. It was also nice to see our team answer the third game loss with a great effort in the fourth set."
Ball State's current 17-match homecourt winning streak is the second-longest in program history, trailing only the 42-match winning streak from Sept. 9, 1999 - Nov. 20, 2001.
Ball State senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) paced the Cardinals for the second straight match with 14 kills, while racking up a career-high tying four service aces. She also collected three blocks and three digs to help BSU improve to 2-0 on the young season.
Sophomore middle attacker Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) celebrated her 20th birthday with a strong outing of her own, collecting a career-high tying 12 kills and adding three block assists.
For her efforts in the three-day tournament, Brandl was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Marx and sophomore libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) also earned recognition on the all-tournament team. Joining the trio of Cardinals on the all-tournament team were Emily Spencer and Jessie Manwaring of IPFW and Laura Purcell from Loyola-Chicago.
In the backcourt, three Cardinals finished the match with double-figure digs led by sophomore outside hitter Kylee Baker's (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North H.S.) 16. Fredrich added 15 digs, while senior defensive specialist Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) tallied 11.
Baker would go on to post seven kills on offense, while senior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) dished out a team-best 31 assists.
Spencer led the IPFW attack with a tournament-high 21 kills as the Mastodons fell to 1-1 on the year. Manwaring added 12 kills, while Muncie Central Graduate Tessa McGill collected a tournament-best 23 digs.
For the match, the Cardinals held a .159 (47-25-138) to .118 (48-30-152) hitting edge, while out-digging the Mastodons 66-59. BSU also held a 6-4 advantage in aces, while both teams finished the contest with nine team blocks.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Tuesday, with in makes the hour trip down I-69 for another in-state battle, this time taking on IUPUI who went 0-4 at the NIU Invitational this weekend.
