Ball State University
11-11, 4-5MAC
Bowling Green
13-8, 8-1MAC
Perfect No More, WVB Blocks Out MAC Leader BGSU
October 20, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - - Behind a career-high 13 blocks from senior middle hitter Lisa Scott (McLean, Va./Langley/Maryland), the Ball State women's volleyball team stunned Mid-American Conference leader Bowling Green with a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23) victory Friday night at the Stroh Center.
With the win, the Cardinals hand the Falcons their first MAC and home losses of the season while improving to 11-11 (4-5 MAC). BGSU drops to 13-8 (8-1 MAC) with the loss.
"This was a win we have needed for quite some time," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. " It was a marquee win against a great opponent in Bowling Green. To win this match on the road was huge for this team, and getting most of our players back in the lineup had a positive effect on our morale."
Overall, the Ball State defense recorded a season-high 21.0 total blocks, with three different players recording career-high blocking totals.
"This was the best blocking performance we have had in a long time," added Shondell. "Our ability to force their all-conference attacker Danielle Tonyan into 12 errors was a tremendous factor in the match. We had a great team blocking effort tonight, but I give a lot of credit to Kara for doing a phenomenal job defending Tonyan."
Scott finished the contest with 12 block assists and one solo stuff for a career-high 13 total blocks. Her 12 block assists tie as the fourth-most in a match in program history, while her 13 total blocks tie for ninth in BSU annals. Scott also blasted eight kills, while recording a pair of digs.
Senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland) added a career-high eight block assists in the victory, falling just shy of a triple-double as she also posted 12 kills and 12 digs.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) was the third BSU player to post career-high blocking numbers with six block assists, while adding a eight kills.
Junior outside hitter Lauren Grant (Eagan, Minn./Eastview/Cincinnati) paced the Ball State attack with a season-high tying 14 kills to go along with a .481 (14-1-27) hitting mark, three total blocks (one solo and two assists) and a career-best three service aces.
Junior middle hitter Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) added a season-high seven block assists, while junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) recorded three block assists. Marx added six kills to her stat line, while Seidel dished out 44 assists and posted 14 digs for her 11th double-double of the year.
Junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the Ball State backcourt with 21 digs, while freshman defensive specialist Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) added a career-high tying 11.
Overall, the Ball State offense connected for a .214 (50-17-154) rate of success while the defense limited the BGSU attack to a .172 (60-31-169) hitting mark.
Tonyan led the Falcons with 18 kills, while Lindsay Butterfield scored 16 and Paige Penrod scored 14. Penrod also led all players with 27 digs.
The Falcons jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the opening set, only to see Ball State battle back and even the score at 9-9 on a kill from Bates. With the score knotted at 13-13, back-to-back kills from Scott and Seidel helped Ball State rattle off the next five points and force a BGSU timeout at 17-14. A block assists from Bates and Marx would give Ball State set-point, at 24-17, while a Falcons' service error three rallies later ended the frame at 25-19.
Once again, the Falcons dominated the early portion of the second set, scoring the first four points and playing to a 5-1 edge. Ball State would battle back within two, at 15-13 after back-to-back Scott kills, only to have BGSU reclaim a four-point lead at 17-13.
Grant would step up with a pair of kills and a solo block to bring the Cardinals within one point, at 18-17, only to see Bowling Green respond with four of the next five points to pull ahead 22-18. However, three BGSU errors and a pair of BSU blocks allowed the Cardinals to score the next five points and claim its first lead of the set at 23-22. Unfortunately, it was Ball State's only lead of the set as the Falcons scored the final three points, winning the frame 25-23 on an ace.
Ball State rattled the Bowling Green attack early in the third frame, as five blocks all including Scott helped the Cardinals surge ahead 8-2. Back-to-back service aces from Grant would give the Cardinals an eight-point edge at 15-7, and from there, BSU cruised to a 25-18 set victory which was capped by a kill from Benson.
With Ball State holding a slim 3-2 lead in the fourth set, a four-point BGSU run gave the hosts some momentum and a 6-3 edge. The Falcons held a four-point lead at the 16-12 mark, only to see back-to-back kills and a block from Marx pull BSU within one at 16-15. Another block assist from Marx and Bates tied the score at 17, while a Fredrich ace gave BSU the lead at 19-18.
Kills from Bates, Grant and Scott would give Ball State a 23-21 advantage, while a BGSU service error gave the Cardinals match-point. After a kill from the Falcons' Tonyan, Grant would blast a match-winning marker off the Bowling Green block.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday, when it travels to Oxford, Ohio, to battle the Miami RedHawks in a 5 p.m. first serve at Millett Hall.
