Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-8 (3-0MAC)
Northern Illinois
6-9 (2-1MAC)
WVB Claims Top Spot in MAC West with Sweep of Northern Illinois
October 03, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball offense was firing on all cylinders Friday night at Worthen Arena, using a season-best .370 (51-14-100) attack percentage to knock of Mid-American Conference West Division rival Northern Illinois 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) and take sole possession of the top spot in the division standings.
For the Cardinals (9-8 / 3-0 MAC), it was the team's best attack percentage since Sept. 14, 2013, or 67 matches ago, when it connected for a .376 (43-8-93) rate of success against Illinois-Chicago.
Ball State senior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) kept the Huskies (6-9 /2-1 MAC) defense guessing all night, dishing out 40 assists and helping three teammates reach double-digit kills, led by freshman outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) with 12. Also notching double-digit kills for the Cardinals attack were freshman right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) and senior middle Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) with 11 and 10, respectively.
“It was really important for us to protect our home court against a Northern Illinois team which was predicted to win our division,” sixth-year Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “Any time you beat NIU, it's a great win because they are at the top of the league every year. They are always well-coached and tough to beat. With that said, they were missing two of their best players, so we knew we needed to take advantage of the situation tonight.”
With Northern Illinois clinging to a 7-6 lead in the opening set, a pair of strong service runs from senior outside Alex Fuelling (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont/Morehead State) and senior libero Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) helped the Cardinals rally off nine of the next 10 points to pull ahead 15-8. While the Huskies battled within five late in the set, at 24-19, Ball State took an early 1-0 lead in the match thanks to one of Goodsel's five kills in the frame. Overall, Ball State's offense set the tone early in the match, connecting for a .481 (18-5-47) hitting effort in the first frame, including a 1.000 (5-0-5) mark from Goodsel.
The Cardinals were trailing by three at the 17-14 mark of the fourth set, only to have three straight kills from freshman middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) swing the momentum back to the home squad and even the score at 17. Ball State continued to play strong down the stretch, with a kill from Hopkins pushing the score to 24-20. After one last NIU point, a little luck helped the Cardinals close the set as a Goodsel overpass off the NIU serve fell between three Huskies defenders.
The third frame was another close battle early, as the teams played to an 8-8 stalemate. However, two kills from Dunn and one from Goodsel helped the Cardinals build a six-point lead at 16-10. NIU would get no closer than two points (19-17) the rest of the way, as Dunn's team-leading 12th kill eventually ended the frame at 25-21 and helped Ball State sweep the Huskies.
Fuelling, who has been limited to a backcourt-only role while recovering from injury, and Vasalakis tied for match-high honors with 10 digs. Ball State's freshmen trio of Dunn, Holland and Goodsel each logged a pair of solo blocks and finished the match with career-high attack percentages. Goodsel paced all players in the match at .588 (11-1-17), while Holland hit .353 (9-3-17) and Dunn hit .348 (12-4-23).
Overall, the Cardinals defense limited Northern Illinois to a .179 (34-17-95) attack percentage and held a 38-to-31 lead in digs and a 7.0-to-3.0 advantage in total blocks. NIU's T'ara Austin led all players with 18 kills, while Anna Brereton earned a team-best eight digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team will host Western Michigan in another pivotal MAC West Division showdown Saturday night in Worthen Arena. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
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