Ball State University
6-8
South Dakota
6-7
WVB's Best Offensive Effort of the Season Not Enough vs. South Dakota
September 20, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - - Despite its best offensive performance of the season, the Ball State women's volleyball team closed play in the Boiler Box Challenge with a hard-fought 3-2 (24-26, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 15-10) lost to South Dakota Saturday evening at Mackey Arena.
After giving 22nd-ranked Purdue almost all it could handle less than 24 hours earlier, the Cardinals (6-8) came out determined to leave the two-day tournament hosted by the Boilermakers with a victory. Unfortunately, after building a 2-1 lead against the Coyotes (6-7), the guests on the scoreboard were able to escape with a 3-2 victory carried by a strong defensive effort in the final set.
“There is an old saying in sports; defense wins championships,” Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “Tonight that was proven so true. Our team served, passed and attacked well, yet we came up short on the scoreboard because we failed to match the defense of our opponent. Lessons have been learned from every match, whether you win or lose, and tonight we learned no matter how well we play on offense, we must still dig balls to win.”
Offense was the name of the game Saturday evening, as four Cardinals finished the match with double-figure kills to help the team record a season-high 71 total kills. In addition, Ball State's .249 (71-28-173) attack percentage was its best mark of the year.
Freshman outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) led the Ball State offense with a career-high 18 kills, which also ties as the Cardinals' second-best individual effort of the season. Dunn also finished the contest with a .205 (18-9-44) attack percentage.
Three other Ball State attackers, senior middle Kelly Hopkins (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo), redshirt junior Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove/Cincinnati) and freshman right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) finished the match with 13 kills apiece. For Hopkins, it was her third solid effort of the two-day tournament, as she also hit .385 (13-3-26) and logged six total blocks against South Dakota. Hopkins finished the Boiler Box Challenge with team-highs of 30 kills, a .433 (30-4-60) attack percentage and 10 total blocks.
For Kitchel, the 13 kills marked her third double-digit attacking effort since returning from injury at the Washington State Cougar Challenge last weekend. Goodsel's 13 kills were a career-best mark, while her .300 (13-4-30) attack percentage was the second-best mark over her first 12 career matches.
On the defensive end of the court, senior libero Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) led all players with a match-high 26 digs, while the team as a whole managed to out-dig the Coyotes 61-to-59. Unfortunately, in the fifth set it was South Dakota making all the defensive plays, as it tallied seven digs and four total blocks compared to four digs and no blocks for the Ball State defense.
Not to be overlooked was the play of Ball State senior setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) who finished the match with her fifth double-double of the season by dishing out a season-high 58 assists and adding 12 digs. She also led all players with a career-high seven block assists.
While the Cardinals were able to out-dig South Dakota for the match, the Coyotes finished the match with a .277 (69-23-166) attack percentage to beat Ball State's .249 effort. Both teams finished the night with seven total blocks, while USD held a slim 5-to-3 edge in service aces. South Dakota's Sydney Dimke led all players with 23 kills, while Lauren Mattison collected a team-best 13 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball will now turn its attention to Mid-American Conference play, as it opens the 2015 league season with road matches at Toledo (Thursday at 7 p.m.) and Akron (Saturday at 5 p.m.) this week.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
