Ball State University
4-0
Evansville
5-1
Women's Volleyball Scores Pair Of Friday Wins
September 03, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
VALPARAISO, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team posted wins over Evansville (3-2) and Valparaiso (3-0) on the opening day of the 2011 Marriott Volley Brawl hosted by Valparaiso Friday at the ARC.
The Cardinals, who improve to 5-0 on the year with the pair of wins, opened the day with a 3-2 (26-24, 25-15, 18-25, 24-26, 15-10) victory over the Purple Aces (5-1) and followed with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) win over the host Crusaders (4-2).
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes play in the 2011 Marriott Volley Brawl Saturday, with matches versus Murray State (2 p.m. CT) and Texas A&M (7 p.m. CT).
BALL STATE VERSUS VALPARAISO RECAP:
VALPARAISO, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team concluded the opening day of the 2011 Marriott Volley Brawl with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-19) sweep of tournament host Valparaiso Saturday evening at the ARC.
The victory moves the Cardinals to 5-0 on the season, while the Crusaders, who are coached by Ball State alum Carin Avery, drop to 4-2.
Senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S./Cincinnati) turned in her second solid performance of the tournament, leading all players with 11 kills. She also turned in a match-best .556 (11-1-18) hitting percentage, while serving up a pair of aces.
Junior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community H.S./Maryland) also turned in a strong offensive performance, blasting double-digit kills for the first time in her brief Ball State career with 10 markers. She also hit for a .533 (10-2-15) rate of success while adding five digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven H.S.) added six kills and a career-high and match-best six total blocks. Marx's effort at the net helped the Cardinals limit the Crusaders to a .093 hitting mark for the night.
In the backcourt, sophomore libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) added a match-best 20 digs.
Senior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) guided the Ball State offense to a .215 rate of success, handing out 38 assists to go along with six digs and a pair of aces. With her 92 assists on the opening day of the tournament, McGinnis upped her career total to 3534 is now just two shy of passing Angie Parrell's (2004-07) career total of 3,535 for fourth on BSU's all-time list.
Katie Britton led the Crusaders with eight kills in the match, while Taylor Root added a team-best 19 digs.
In addition to out-hitting the Crusaders, Ball State held a slim 54-53 edge in digs and a 5-1 advantage in service aces.
BALL STATE VERSUS EVANSVILLE RECAP:
VALPARAISO, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opened play in the 2011 Marriott Volley Brawl with a 3-2 (26-24, 25-15, 18-25, 24-26, 15-10) victory over Evansville Friday afternoon at Valparaiso's ARC.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 4-0 on the season, while handing the Purple Aces their first loss and dropping them to 5-1.
In the victory, senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S./Cincinnati) carried the offense with a season-high and match-best 20 kills, while adding a pair of service aces. The 20-kill effort marks the fourth time in her Ball State career that Brandl has posted 20-or-more kills in a match.
Sophomore outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) added her second straight double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs, while fellow sophomore outside hitter Whitney Heeres added 11 markers.
Senior setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) guided the Cardinals to a .239 hitting mark, recording her second double-double of the year with 54 assists and 18 digs.
Sophomore libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls H.S.) added a season-high and match-best 19 digs, while sophomore setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East H.S.) posted a career-high 16 digs to go along with three aces.
Three Purple Aces tallied double-digit kills in the match, paced by Lauren Seyller's 13. Kaisi Nixon scored 11 kills, while Brooke Maher added 10. Maher also brought up a team-best 15 digs.
BSU's defense limited the Purple Aces to a .151 hitting mark in the contest, while holding an 85-67 advantage in team digs. Both squads served up three aces.
