Ball State University
1-0
Gardner-Webb
0-1
WVB Opens Season With Sweep Of Gardner-Webb
August 25, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After a dominating first set victory, the Ball State women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-8, 25-20, 25-20) sweep of Gardner-Webb to open play in the 2012 Active Ankle Challenge Friday evening at Worthen Arena.
"It's great to get that first match under your belt," said Ball State head coach Steve Shondell. "There's a lot of excitement and adrenaline pumping. For our younger players, it was great to be able to come out with a great crowd behind us to get our first win."
The Cardinals used the momentum from the Worthen Arena crowd to put the Runnin' Bulldogs on their heels early in the opening set. After a kill from senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland) gave BSU its first point of the 2012 season, some strong serving, including a pair of aces, from junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) pushed the Ball State advantage to 7-0.
"Jacqui had a long rehab coming off of her injury last season," said Shondell. "Looking at her tonight though, you could not tell she had come back from an injury. She played really solid for us."
The Cardinals carried the momentum the rest of the opening frame, as they posted a 25-8 victory capped by a kill from redshirt freshman outside hitter Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley). Senior defensive specialist Lauren Schlaker (Oswego, Ill./Oswego East) made a pair of spectacular diving digs in the final rally to help set up the final point.
With Ball State trailing 11-10 in the second stanza, a pair of kills from Bates and junior middle hitter Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) sparked a 6-0 BSU run, giving the hosts the edge at 16-11. GWU would cut the advantage to 22-20 down the stretch, but kills from senior transfer Lisa Scott (McLean, Va./Langley/Maryland) and Bates helped close the set out at 25-20.
"Lisa was looking forward to coming out tonight," said Shondell. "After not playing for nearly two years, it took her until the third set to really settle back in the game. We are excited to have her as a part of our program. I expect some big things from her this season as she gets more relaxed and back into the flow of the game."
The third set was another back-and-forth battle early, as the combatants played to a 13-13 stalemate. A kill from Bates would break the matches' final tie, while a block and kill from Scott gave Ball State a 16-13 advantage. BSU built a five-point edge at 20-15 off of Seidel's third ace of the match, while another Benson kill gave the Cardinals set point at 24-18. Three rallies later, a Gardner-Webb attack error secured the set (25-20) and the match (3-0) for Ball State.
"We cannot bask in this win for too long because we have things we need to work on moving forward," said Shondell when looking forward to tomorrow's matches versus VCU and Illinois State. "It was great to get a win here with a fantastic crowd behind us and with all of the excitement in the arena, but we need to be ready to battle two very good opponents tomorrow."
Bates ended the night with a match-high 15 kills, while posting a .429 (15-3-28) attack percentage. She also collected three digs to go along with three block assists.
Along with her three aces, Seidel led the Ball State offense to a .267 (38-14-90) hitting mark for the night, while posting a .800 (4-0-5) mark herself. She dished out 29 assists and collected 10 digs to earn her third career assist/dig double-double.
Junior outside hitter Kylee Baker (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) also turned in a strong performance in the backcourt and from the service line with 14 digs and three aces. Junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led all players with 15 digs.
As a whole, the Ball State defense limited the Gardner-Webb attack to a .000 (24-24-106) hitting mark for the night. Carol Solano and Tyler Cockrell led the Runnin' Bulldogs with seven kills each. Anna Pashkova added a team-high nine digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team continues play in the 2012 Active Ankle Challenge Saturday with matches versus VCU (11 a.m.) and Illinois State (7 p.m.). The two squared off in the tournament's first match Friday afternoon with VCU earning a 3-1 (26-24, 24-26, 25-20, 25-16) win.
