Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-12 (3-4MAC)
Ohio
17-3 (7-0MAC)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball State | 19 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 16 | 2 |
| Ohio | 25 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 3 |
Volleyball Falls One Point Shy in Five-Set Thriller at Ohio
October 17, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team was one point away from putting an end to one of the most impressive winning streaks in Mid-American Conference history Friday night, but Ohio was able to survive three match points to pull out a nail-biting 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16) victory at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.
“Tonight we demonstrated the kind of team we have the potential to be,” sixth-year Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “We had three match points on the 27th-ranked team in the country on their home court where they have not lost a conference match in nearly three years. It was a great effort by our team tonight, but unfortunately, we could not come up with a play when we needed it most. Ohio fought off every match point demonstrating why they have now won 31 consecutive MAC matches.”
The Cardinals (9-12 / 3-4 MAC) entered the match as the last MAC program to score a regular season win over the Bobcats (17-3 / 7-0 MAC), with a 3-2 (25-21, 17-25, 25-22, 13-25, 15-10) victory on the same court in Athens Oct. 19, 2013. Nearly two years later, Ball State found itself back at the Convocation Center looking to put an end to Ohio's 30-match MAC regular season winning streak since the defeat.
After the teams traded victories in the first four sets, Ball State looked poised to do just that when kills from senior middle Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and freshman right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area), followed by back-to-back Bobcats errors, helped turn a 13-10 Cardinals deficit into a match-point for the team from Muncie. Unfortunately, Ohio received a clutch kill from Shelby Walker and was able to keep the match alive. Ball State would have two more match points, each following Goodsel kills, only to see the Bobcats survive each one.
Ohio would get its first chance to close the match at 17-16, following an Abby Gilleland solo block. Unfortunately, Ball State did not have the luck the Bobcats had on the previous three match points, as OU's Mallory Salis was able to find the court with a match-winning kill to secure Ohio's 31st consecutive MAC regular season victory.
Senior outside Alex Fuelling (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont /Morehead State) led the Ball State offense with 14 kills, while adding 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Senior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) added her ninth double-double of the year with 40 assists and 16 digs, while also hitting a team-best .600 with six kills on 10 swings and no errors.
Following Fuelling in the kills column for the Cardinals were Goodsel and Hopkins with 13 and 10, respectively. In the backcourt, senior libero Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) led Ball State with 21 digs to raise her career total to 1,088, which is 32 shy of breaking into the top 10 in program history.
Overall, Ball State held a 72-to-70 advantage in digs and was also aided by 21 Bobcats' service errors, compared to just eight for the Cardinals. Ohio connected for a .243 (66-23-177) rate of success on offense, while limiting Ball State to a .163 (59-29-166) attack percentage. Both teams finished the match with eight total blocks, while the Bobcats also held a slim 6-to-4 edge in aces.
Ali Lake led the Ohio offense with 18 kills, including a pair of tallies late in the fifth set to hold off Ball State's second and third chances to end the match. Meanwhile, her teammate Meredith Ashy led all players with 22 digs and added a match-best three service aces.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday evening, when it travels to Kent State for a 7 p.m. first serve.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
