Ball State University
4-3
Pepperdine
6-1
Freshmen Play Well in WVB Loss to Pepperdine
September 05, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team closed play in the Lipscomb Invitational with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-7) loss to Pepperdine Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena.
In what has been a very busy start to the 2015 season, the Cardinals (4-3) went with a relatively young lineup versus the Waves (6-1), including having five freshman on the court at several points throughout the match.
“This afternoon we competed well offensively, but were never able to match Pepperdine's defensive intensity,” Ball State head coach Steve Shondell said. “They were able to take advantage of our block all afternoon, and found numerous holes in our backcourt defense. With that said, we played many young players who gained some valuable experience against an excellent Pepperdine team.”
Leading the way for Ball State's offense in the tournament finale were freshman outside hitter Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) and redshirt freshman middle blocker Meg Starling (Hopkinsville, Ky./University Heights) with seven kills apiece. Dunn also boasted a career-best .429 (7-1-14) attack percentage, while Starling's seven kills and .385 attack percentages were both career-highs.
“Two bright spots for us today were freshmen Ellie Dunn and Meg Starling,” Shondell added. “Both girls carried our offense the first two sets and showed great promise for the future.”
In the backcourt, senior libero Kati Vasalakis (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) led the Cardinals with 15 digs.
Pepperdine finished Saturday's contest hitting .406 (50-9-101) versus the Cardinals, while limited Ball State to a .110 (29-18-100) rate of success. The Waves also held a 47-to-37 advantage in digs and a 5.0-to-2-0 advantage in blocks.
Tarah Wylie led the Pepperdine offense with 14 kills, while teammate Lara Dykstra came up with a match-best 19 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action next Friday, when it opens play in the Washington State Cougar Challenge with matches versus Utah Valley (10 a.m. PT) and host Washington State (7:30 p.m. PT). The Cardinals close the tournament the next day versus Morehead State (4 p.m. PT).
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @SteveShondell on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
