Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
9-9 (3-1MAC)
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Western Michigan
7-12 (3-1MAC)
Strong Play From Goodsel and Spadafora Not Enough in WVB Loss To WMU
October 04, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite strong play from freshman right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) and senior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll), the Ball State women's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 25-27, 27-25) loss to Western Michigan Saturday night in Worthen Arena.
While the loss knocked the Cardinals (9-9 / 3-1 Mid-American Conference) into a three-way tie for the top spot in the MAC West Division standings, Ball State head coach Steve Shondell was able to provide a silver lining to the setback, and that is history will not repeat itself for a third time. In each of the past two seasons, Ball State has swept the regular season series versus the Broncos (7-12 / 3-1 MAC), only to see WMU upset the Cardinals in the conference tournament.
“It was a typical Ball State versus Western Michigan match,” Shondell said. “The difference was, WMU came in on a mission tonight. They wanted to leave here in first place in the division. For the first two sets, they really took the game to us. We made some adjustments at halftime and came out in games three and four and went toe-to-toe with Western. It was really two great games. We put ourselves in position to win game number four, but unfortunately let a six-point lead get away and fell short in the end.”
Despite the setback, there were several performances of note for the Cardinals, starting with Spadafora who finished with 10 kills, 13 digs and 41 assists for her first career triple double. The effort marks Ball State's first triple double since Oct. 19, 2002, when then setter Stacie Baldwin produced 10 kills, 14 digs and 70 assists in a 3-2 victory over Eastern Michigan in Worthen Arena.
Goodsel also turned in her second all-around strong performance of the weekend with a career-high 15 kills and 12 digs for her second career double-double. In addition, sophomore right side Jessica Lindsey (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) came off the bench for the final two sets and sparked the Ball State offense with seven kills and a .500 (7-1-12) attack percentage.
Western Michigan looked ready to close the contest in three, easily winning the first two frames and reaching match-point in the third at 24-23. However, a kill and block assist from Goodsel kept the Cardinals alive and gave them a chance to close out the set leading 25-24. WMU saved off Ball State's first chance to win the match with a block, but back-to-back kills from Lindsey and Goodsel extended the match to a fourth frame.
The teams were deadlocked at 15-15 in the fourth set, before a kill from freshman middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) and some strong serving from Spadafora helped the Cardinals pull ahead 21-15. Spadafora also ended the rally with her 10th kill to secure Ball State's first triple double since 2002. Unfortunately, WMU battled back with a strong run of its own and took a 23-22 advantage. The teams then traded the next six points, before the Broncos were able to end the set (27-25) and the match (3-1) on a kill from Olivia Kofie.
One night after recording its best attack percentage in 67 matches, the Cardinals were limited to a .133 (58-34-180) rate of success by the Broncos. WMU finished the contest hitting .240 (53-17-150) as a team, behind 11 kills from Sydney LeMay and 10 from Bailey Schnell. LeMay also logged a match-best seven total blocks to help WMU hold a slim 12.0-to-11.0 edge in that category.
Ball State finished the contest with a 74-to-72 advantage in team digs, paced by senior libero Kati Vasalakis' (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) team-high of 21. WMU's Hailey Knecht led all players with 24 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road next weekend, when it closes out its first tour through the Mid-American Conference West Division with matches at Central Michigan (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Eastern Michigan (Saturday at 7:30 p.m.).
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
