Saturday, November 12
Muncie, Ind.
7:00 PM
Ball State University
13-17 (9-7MAC)
2
vs
3
Northern Illinois
23-5 (15-1MAC)
1
2
3
4
5
F
NIU
25
23
25
23
15
3
Ball State
13
25
14
25
12
2
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Women’s Volleyball Battles MAC Co-Champion NIU to the Brink
November 12, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Led by another strong effort on defense, the Ball State women's volleyball team gave Mid-American Conference Co-Champion Northern Illinois all it could handle in a 3-2 (25-13, 23-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-12) loss to end the regular season Saturday night in Worthen Arena.
The battle of the top two teams in the MAC West Division saw the Cardinals (13-17; 9-7 MAC) and Huskies (23-5; 15-1 MAC) combine for 34.5 total blocks and 195 total digs in a down-to-the-wire finish.
"I am very proud of our effort on defense tonight," first-year head coach Kelli Miller said. "Northern Illinois has the top offense in the MAC, and our defense did a great job making tough plays and keeping us in tonight's match. When we play defense like we did the last two nights, it really frustrates opponents and gives us a great opportunity to come out with a victory. Unfortunately, we fell a few points short tonight, but if we can carry our defensive momentum into the MAC Tournament, we have a chance to beat anyone we face."
After trailing 8-3 early in the fifth set, the tenacious Ball State defense led a rally which tied the score at 11 on a solo block from redshirt sophomore middle Avery Devoe (Canton, Mass./Canton). Devoe, who finished the match with four total blocks and five kills, would tally another solo block three points later keeping the Cardinals within one at 13-12. Unfortunately, NIU scored the final two points to take the match 3-2.
With the loss, the Cardinals enter the 2016 MAC Tournament hosted by the Huskies (Nov. 17-20) as the fifth seed and will battle eighth-seeded Western Michigan in Thursday's 6 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (CT) first-round match. The winner will take on fourth-seeded Bowling Green who earned the final tournament bye with a 3-0 sweep of Akron Saturday.
In addition to being the final regular season match, Saturday's contest served as senior day for Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) who tied her career-high with five total blocks. She also scored six kills and earned a pair of digs in her final match at Worthen Arena.
"Mackenzie is one of a kind," Miller said about the team's lone senior. "She is someone who works hard every day and is a leader in every way. She is whatever her teammates need her to be. If she needs to be tough, she can be tough. If she needs to pat someone on the back, she will pat someone on the back. More importantly, she knows the times to do that because she has taken the time to develop relationships with each player. That is a tough thing to do especially when you are the lone senior and almost everyone else is new. She took the time this summer to develop those relationships and it has really helped her. She just gives her absolute all to the program."
Reigning MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week freshman middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) continued her strong play, closing out the weekend by blasting 11 kills and leading the Ball State defense with six total blocks. Ball State's leading point scorer in each of the last three matches, VanBeek also served up one of the team's eight aces.
In the backcourt, freshman libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) led all players with 31 digs to raise her season and career total to 518 which makes her just the eight player in program history to eclipse 500 digs in a season. She has tallied double-digit digs in a team-high 28 matches this season, and produced 30-or-more digs three times.
Classmate Hannah Smith (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) was second on the squad with 13 digs, while sophomore right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) added 12 in just three sets of play.
Offensively, redshirt junior outside Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) led the Cardinals with 14 kills on a night which saw the Huskies defense also shine with 20.5 total blocks and 101 total digs.
Another bright spot for the Cardinals came midway through the fifth set, when sophomore defensive specialist Carly Cappello (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll Institute) blasted back-to-back service aces for the second consecutive match to cut the NIU lead from 8-4 to 8-6. Ball State would get another point on her run, before eventually tying the score at 11.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
Ball State volleyball fans can purchase single match tickets (Adult - $6 / Youth - $4) by calling (888-BSU-TICKET) or visiting the Ball State's Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena.
- BallStateSports.com -
The battle of the top two teams in the MAC West Division saw the Cardinals (13-17; 9-7 MAC) and Huskies (23-5; 15-1 MAC) combine for 34.5 total blocks and 195 total digs in a down-to-the-wire finish.
"I am very proud of our effort on defense tonight," first-year head coach Kelli Miller said. "Northern Illinois has the top offense in the MAC, and our defense did a great job making tough plays and keeping us in tonight's match. When we play defense like we did the last two nights, it really frustrates opponents and gives us a great opportunity to come out with a victory. Unfortunately, we fell a few points short tonight, but if we can carry our defensive momentum into the MAC Tournament, we have a chance to beat anyone we face."
After trailing 8-3 early in the fifth set, the tenacious Ball State defense led a rally which tied the score at 11 on a solo block from redshirt sophomore middle Avery Devoe (Canton, Mass./Canton). Devoe, who finished the match with four total blocks and five kills, would tally another solo block three points later keeping the Cardinals within one at 13-12. Unfortunately, NIU scored the final two points to take the match 3-2.
With the loss, the Cardinals enter the 2016 MAC Tournament hosted by the Huskies (Nov. 17-20) as the fifth seed and will battle eighth-seeded Western Michigan in Thursday's 6 p.m. (ET) / 5 p.m. (CT) first-round match. The winner will take on fourth-seeded Bowling Green who earned the final tournament bye with a 3-0 sweep of Akron Saturday.
In addition to being the final regular season match, Saturday's contest served as senior day for Mackenzie Kitchel (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) who tied her career-high with five total blocks. She also scored six kills and earned a pair of digs in her final match at Worthen Arena.
"Mackenzie is one of a kind," Miller said about the team's lone senior. "She is someone who works hard every day and is a leader in every way. She is whatever her teammates need her to be. If she needs to be tough, she can be tough. If she needs to pat someone on the back, she will pat someone on the back. More importantly, she knows the times to do that because she has taken the time to develop relationships with each player. That is a tough thing to do especially when you are the lone senior and almost everyone else is new. She took the time this summer to develop those relationships and it has really helped her. She just gives her absolute all to the program."
Reigning MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week freshman middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) continued her strong play, closing out the weekend by blasting 11 kills and leading the Ball State defense with six total blocks. Ball State's leading point scorer in each of the last three matches, VanBeek also served up one of the team's eight aces.
In the backcourt, freshman libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) led all players with 31 digs to raise her season and career total to 518 which makes her just the eight player in program history to eclipse 500 digs in a season. She has tallied double-digit digs in a team-high 28 matches this season, and produced 30-or-more digs three times.
Classmate Hannah Smith (Selma, Ind./Wapahani) was second on the squad with 13 digs, while sophomore right side Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) added 12 in just three sets of play.
Offensively, redshirt junior outside Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) led the Cardinals with 14 kills on a night which saw the Huskies defense also shine with 20.5 total blocks and 101 total digs.
Another bright spot for the Cardinals came midway through the fifth set, when sophomore defensive specialist Carly Cappello (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll Institute) blasted back-to-back service aces for the second consecutive match to cut the NIU lead from 8-4 to 8-6. Ball State would get another point on her run, before eventually tying the score at 11.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
Ball State volleyball fans can purchase single match tickets (Adult - $6 / Youth - $4) by calling (888-BSU-TICKET) or visiting the Ball State's Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena.
- BallStateSports.com -
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Team Stats
NIU
BSU
Kills
63
51
Errors
23
38
Attempts
189
199
Hitting %
.212
.065
Points
90.5
73.0
Assists
60
47
Aces
7
8
Blocks
20.5
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MH/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMH
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