Ball State University
5-6
East Tennessee State
4-8
Women?s Volleyball Rallies Past East Tennessee State
September 19, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
RICHMOND, Va. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opened play in the VCU Invitational with a 3-1 (12-25, 28-26, 25-14, 25-15) win over East Tennessee State Friday afternoon at the Siegel Center. The Cardinals return to action later tonight, when it battles Virginia at 5 p.m.
After hitting -.120 (6-9-25) in a 25-12 opening set loss, the Cardinals (5-6) offense came to life over the final three frames, producing at a clip of .337 (46-14-95) to secure a 3-1 victory over the Buccaneers (4-8).
“After a long couple of days, we came into today's match tired and flat, which showed in the first set,” Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “However, I am proud of the way the team responded by battling through the fatigue to win a close second set. From there, we were able to put together two of our finest individual sets of the season to beat ETSU. We received outstanding offensive performances from the young outside tandem of Mackenzie Kitchel and Sabrina Mangapora, as well as our junior gunslinger in the middle, Amanda Raker. All three played solid from the opening bell and were key contributors to the victory.”
Redshirt sophomore outside attacker Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Cincinnati) led all players with 14 kills in the match, while connecting for a .375 (14-2-32) attack percentage. Redshirt freshman outside attacker Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) continued her solid play, blasting 13 kills and adding a pair of blocks, while hitting .308 (13-5-26).
Rounding out a trio of Cardinals with double-digit kills was redshirt junior middle hitter Amanda Raker (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian/Butler) who tied a career high with 10 kills, while hitting a career-best .471 (10-2-17). Raker also tallied three total blocks in the victory.
Junior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) guided the come-from-behind win, dishing out 45 assists, while adding seven digs, four blocks and four kills, including the match-winner. In the backcourt, redshirt junior libero Alex Fuelling (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont/Morehead State) led all players with 19 digs.
Meredith Hardy paced the East Tennessee State attack with 11 kills, while Katie Muey collected a team-best 13 digs. Overall, the Bucs held a .264 (48-15-125) to .242 (52-23-120) attacking advantage in the match, as well as an 8.0-to-6.0 edge in total blocks. Ball State held the lead in the backcourt, out-digging ETSU 57-to-41.
ETSU took control of the opening set early, pulling out to a 5-1 lead to force a Ball State timeout. The Cardinals battled within two points, at 10-8, but would get no closer and ultimately lose the frame 25-12.
Ball State held an early 9-5 lead in the second set, only to see the Buccaneers battle back and even the score at 16. From there, the teams played to a 23-23 stalemate. After a Cardinals attack error gave ETSU a chance to pull ahead by two sets, Mangapora shifted the momentum to Ball State's side with a kill and solo stuff, making the score 25-24. ETSU's Wiley Khadijah and Mangapora would trade the next four kills, moving the score to 27-26, before a Kitchel attack found the floor to give Ball State a 28-26 set victory.
The Cardinals would build a 7-3 advantage early in the third frame, and never look back, winning the set 25-14 on an ETSU service error.
The teams played to a 7-7 tie in the fourth frame, before a Kitchel kill sparked an 8-1 run which gave Ball State control of the frame at 15-8. A Spadafora kill gave BSU its first match point, at 24-14, and after an ETSU marker Spadafora struck again to end the game at 25-15 and the match at 3-1 in favor of the Cardinals.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
