Ball State University
4-5
Northern Colorado
7-1
WVB?s Rally Falls Short At Northern Colorado
September 08, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
GREELEY, Colo. - - Despite a career-high 24 kills from senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./ Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland), the Ball State (4-5) women's volleyball team could not rally past tournament host Northern Colorado (7-1), suffering a 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22) loss to the Bears in its second match of the Northern Colorado Classic Saturday afternoon.
The Cardinals conclude play in the Northern Colorado Classic later this evening with a 5 p.m. MT first serve against Tulsa.
Of Bates match-high and career-best 24 kills, nine came in the final set as she tried to carry the Cardinals' rally. Bates also finished the match with eight digs and a pair of solo blocks, while hitting .291 (24-8-55).
Senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott (McLean, Va./Langley/Maryland) also had a strong match, tying her Ball State career-high with nine kills while hitting for a .364 (9-1-22) rate of success. She also tallied four total blocks (one solo and three assists).
Junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) paced the Ball State backcourt with 18 digs, while junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) logged her sixth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 10 digs.
Andrea Spaustat led the Northern Colorado attack with 21 kills and a .429 (21-6-35) attack percentage, while Tambre Haddock added 15 kills. Merideth Johnson led the Bears with 26 kills.
Overall, the offenses were pretty evenly matched with UNC holding a slim .245 (60-22-155) to .240 (57-21-150) hitting edge. Both teams collected nine total blocks, while the Bears held a 61-53 advantage in team digs.
An early four-point run helped the Bears pull out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set. The Cardinals would battle back and eventually tie the score at 13 on a kill from junior middle hitter Mindy Marx (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven). The score remained even at the 16-16 mark, but an 8-1 UNC run gave the hosts set point. Ball State would score the next three points, before dropping the set 25-20.
With the Cardinals trailing 15-12 in the second set, three consecutive UNC errors and back-to-back BSU blocks gave the guests a 17-15 edge. Ball State used another Bears' miscue to extend its lead to three at 18-15. Unfortunately, the hosts battled back to tie the score at 19. From there, the teams battled to a 23-23 stalemate before back-to-back Ball State hitting errors ended the set at 25-23 in favor of UNC.
The teams battled to a 7-7 stalemate to open the third set before a 5-1 run, including a pair of kills from Marx, gave Ball State a 12-8 edge and forced an UNC timeout. The Bears would rally within one, at 16-15, only to have BSU answer with the next two points. A huge solo block from Scott several rallies later forced Northern Colorado' s second timeout at 22-19.
The teams traded service errors following the timeout, while a kill from UNC's Spaustat pushed the score to 23-21. Ball State would not be denied the set, however, as back-to-back kills from junior opposite attacker Lauren Grant (Eagan, Minn./Eastview/Cincinnati) and redshirt freshman outside hitter Marquita Marshall (Muncie, Ind./Central) ended the set at 25-21 and forced a fourth game.
Four quick kills from Bates helped the Cardinals pull out to a 5-2 edge in the fourth set, while a Fredrich overpass found the floor between three UNC defenders to move the score to 6-2. Ball State maintained a five-point lead at the 16-11 mark following another Bates kill, only to see the Bears claw within two at 19-17.
A Seidel solo block on the next play moved the advantage back to three, at 20-17, and led to a UNC timeout. Unfortunately, Northern Colorado would continue its rally by scoring eight of the final 10 points to win the frame 25-22 and the match 3-1.
