Ball State University
9-7, 2-1MAC
Northern Illinois
11-8, 2-1MAC
Errors Costly In Women?s Volleyball Loss At NIU
September 29, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. - - Despite another solid offensive performance from senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland), the Ball State women's volleyball team could not overcome 27 unforced errors in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-17) loss at Northern Illinois Friday evening.
The Cardinals fall to 9-7 (2-1 Mid-American Conference) with the loss, while the Huskies improve to 11-8 (2-1 MAC) with the victory.
Bates would tie for match-high honors with 19 kills, while posting a solid .395 (19-2-43) hitting mark to go along with five digs, an ace and a solo block.
Junior opposite hitter Lauren Grant (Eagan, Minn./Eastview/Cincinnati) also had a strong attacking night for the Cardinals, blasting 10 kills and hitting .381 (10-2-21).
In guiding the Cardinals to another all-around strong offensive night, junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) handed out 40 assists and posted 10 digs for her eighth assist/dig double-double of the year. Overall, she guided the Ball State offense to a .240 (46-16-125) hitting mark for the match.
Junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) would tie for match-high honors with 14 digs, including eight in the first set.
However, the story of the match for BSU was its 27 unforced errors which included 16 service errors, seven blocking errors and four ball handling errors.
The Northern Illinois finished the night hitting .280 (55-18-132) as a team, with Meghan Romo tying Bates for match-high honors with 19 kills. MacKenzie Roddy added 15 markers for the Huskies, while Justine Schepler tied for match-high honors with 14 digs.
With the score of the first set tied at 10, two kills and an ace from Bates helped the Cardinals take the first big lead of the night at 16-11. Following an NIU timeout, the Cardinals pushed the advantage to six points, at 18-12, thanks in part to a kill from freshman setter/outside hitter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll). The Huskies would claw their way back into the set, cutting the BSU edge to one point at 23-22, but a kill from Spadafora and an ace from Fredrich allowed BSU to escape with the set 25-22.
Ball State pulled out to a slim 6-4 lead in the second set, only to have NIU score the next four points to take its first lead since the opening point of the match at 8-6. The Huskies would add their fifth consecutive point after a BSU timeout, and play to a 16-10 lead causing the Cardinals to call for their second break. The hosts would go on to win the set 25-19.
The Huskies took control of the third set early, forcing the Cardinals to call timeout trailing 9-4. Ball State answered with five of the next six points, including a pair of kills from Bates, to battle back within one at 10-9. The Cardinals would go on to take their first lead of the set four rallies later, at 12-11, thanks to a Bates kill and back-to-back NIU attack errors.
With Ball State trailing 20-17 moments later, a pair of Bates kills would bring the Cardinals back within one. Despite to more kills from Bates, giving her nine total for the set, five BSU errors allowed the Huskies to win the frame 25-21.
The teams battled to a 6-6 stalemate in the fourth set before three straight kills from Roddy and a blast from Sarah Angelos gave Northern Illinois a 10-6 lead and the momentum in the set. Ball State was able to battle back within two points, at 14-12, only to see the Huskies score the next four and win the set 25-17.
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes its first MAC road trip of the 2012 season tomorrow, when it travels to Western Michigan for a 5 p.m. first serve versus the Broncos.
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