Ball State University
6-6
Virginia
6-4
Three In A Row, Women?s Volleyball Sweeps Virginia
September 20, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
RICHMOND, Va. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team picked up its third straight win Friday evening, defeating Virginia 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24) in its second match of the VCU Invitational at the Siegel Center.
The Cardinals, who improve to 6-6 overall this season with the win, will play host VCU at 11 a.m. Saturday to close out the two-day tournament. The Cavaliers fall to 6-4 with the loss, and will play a pair of matches tomorrow.
“To win three close sets against a national power like Virginia was a great accomplishment for our young volleyball team,” Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “We battled hard from behind in sets one and three, and this is a sign we are maturing as a team and learning how to stay poised and compete from behind. I am very proud of what our team has accomplished during this very modest three-match winning streak.”
A trio of Cardinals tied for match-high honors with 10 kills, with redshirt junior middle hitter Hayley Benson (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) pacing the group with a .500 (10-2-16) attack percentage. Benson also collected a match-high four total blocks, including three of the solo variety.
Redshirt junior middle hitter Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and redshirt freshman outside hitter Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) were the other two Ball State players to tag double-digit kills, and finished the contest hitting .412 (10-3-17) and .308 (10-2-26), respectively.
In the backcourt, redshirt junior Alex Fuelling (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont/Morehead State) continued her solid play as Ball State's libero, earning a match-best 15 digs to help the Cardinals hold a 43-to-35 edge in team digs.
Tori Janowski led the Virginia offense with nine kills, while Karlie Suber collected a team-high 11 digs. Overall, the Cardinals held a .260 (40-15-96) to .245 (36-12-98) attacking advantage for the match, and also out-block the Cavaliers 6.0-to-3.0.
In the opening set, the teams played to a 16-16 tie before a 4-1 run gave Virginia a 20-17 edge. Ball State responded with a kill from Benson and back-to-back markers from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Cincinnati) to tie the score at 20. With Virginia holding a slim 23-22 lead, a pair of kills from Hopkins, surrounding a Mangapora blast to the hardwood, allowed Ball State to rattle off the final three points and win the set 25-23.
With the Cardinals trailing 12-11 in the second set, a Virginia service error and a pair of kills from Mangapora helped BSU turn around the momentum and pull ahead 15-12. Ball State led by seven, at 21-14, only to see the hosts on the scoreboard battle back within one, at 23-22. However, back-to-back Virginia errors allowed the Cardinals to close out the set 25-22.
It was Virginia's turn to build a big lead in the third set, as they used a seven-point run to turn a 12-10 hole into a 17-12 advantage. Ball State bounced back to tie the score at 19, only to see the Cavaliers answer with four straight points as they looked to extend the match. Ball State was able to capitalize on three Virginia errors, however, and tie the score at 23.
A kill from Janowski gave the Cavaliers the first set point, but Hopkins promptly answered with a kill. Ball State junior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) then closed out the match with back-to-back service aces to cap the set at 26-24.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
