Ball State University
16-12 (10-5MAC)
Toledo
1-27 (0-15MAC)
WVB Sweeps Toledo, Secures No. 4 Seed In MAC Tourny
November 14, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
TOLEDO, Ohio - - With a dominating 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15) sweep at Toledo Thursday night, the Ball State women's volleyball team secured the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament, which runs Nov. 21-24 at defending league regular season champion Ohio.
The Cardinals (16-12/10-5 MAC), who close the 2014 regular season Saturday with a 7 p.m. first serve against Akron at Worthen Arena, will open the tournament next Saturday (Nov. 22) at 5:30 p.m. versus the winner of next Friday's (Nov. 21) 5:30 p.m. match between the No. 5 and No. 8 seeds, who will be determined based on this weekend's matches.
“After a heartbreaking loss a week ago, our team bounced back with a rare road sweep against a very young Toledo team,” Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “Although we were not as sharp as we would have liked, we still played well enough to hold Toledo under 20 points in all three games. We were also pleased to secure a first-round bye in the MAC tournament next week in Athens, Ohio.”
Overall, the Cardinals used a complete team effort to defeat the Rockets (1-27/0-15 MAC) with five attackers recording at least six kills, including redshirt freshman Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) and redshirt junior middle attacker Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) who tied for match-high honors with nine apiece.
In the backcourt, junior libero Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) turned in another solid performance by pacing all players with 17 digs. Her effort, along with sophomore Nikki Box's (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) 10 digs, helped the Ball State defense limit the Toledo attack to a .046 (26-21-109) rate of success.
Junior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) led the Ball State offense to a .340 (45-12-97) attack percentage, while also logging seven digs, three kills and a service ace.
Rachel Vidourek led Toledo with eight kills, while Alyssa Ehrhardt and Maggie Johnston tied for team-high honors with 12 digs.
After falling behind 6-4 in the opening set, the Cardinals put together a 7-1 run to take control at 11-7. Ball State extended its lead to eight points, at 19-11 on a kill from redshirt junior middle attacker Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley), before winning the frame 25-17 on a marker from Hopkins.
Ball State turned a 5-4 lead in the second set into an 11-5 advantage thanks to 6-1 run which was capped by a Spadafora kill. The Cardinals took a 10-point lead at 19-8, before winning the set 25-18 on a kill from redshirt junior transfer Jill Hopper (Muncie, Ind./Yorktown/Florida Gulf Coast).
The score of the third game was tied at 6-6 before the Cardinals scored the next two points, and went on to build a six-point lead at 14-8. Ball State controlled play from there, eventually winning the set 25-15 on a Toledo service error.
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