Ball State University
Omaha
Volleyball Drops Pair of Friday Matches in Omaha
September 03, 2016 | Women's Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. - - Despite another round of strong performances, the Ball State women's volleyball team opened play in the Omaha Classic presented by Akserben Suites with losses to tournament host Omaha and Drake Friday afternoon at Baxter Arena.
After dropping the first set in Friday's opener versus Omaha (1-4), the Cardinals (0-6) battled back to take sets two and three. Unfortunately, the host Mavericks rallied back to win the final two sets and end the match with a score 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-13).
Despite trailing 8-3 and 14-9 in the final set, the Cardinals never surrendered and battled back within one at 14-13. Redshirt junior outside hitter Sabrina Mangapora (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) started the rally with a kill and junior middle hitter Meg Starling (Hopkinsville, Ky./University Heights) followed with a solo block. Freshman setter Amber Seaman (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf) then serve up back-to-back aces to cut the Mavericks' advantage to one. However, the comeback attempt was halted and the match ended on Mackenzie Horkey's match-best 27th kill.
Three Cardinals finished the opener with double-figure kills, led by a career-high 20 from Mangapora. Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel (Corry, Pa./Corry Area) tied her career high with 15 kills and added 12 digs for her fourth career double-double. Rounding out Ball State's top attackers was senior outside hitter Mackenzie Kitchel (Center Grove, Ind./Greenwood) who scored a season-best 10 kills and added four total blocks (two solo and two assists).
As a team, the Ball State offense finished the contest with a season-best .220 (57-18-177) attack percentage, including a season-high .381 (17-1-42) mark in the second set.
Freshman libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) continued to shine in the Ball State backcourt, pacing all players with a career-high 26 digs. She also tallied a .963 reception percentage after successfully passing 25 of the team-high 26 Omaha serves she faced. Sophomore defensive specialist Carly Cappello (Whiting, Ind./Bishop Noll Institute) also had a solid outing on defense, tying her career high with 11 digs and passing all 10 serves she faced.
At the net, redshirt sophomore Meg Starling (Hopkinsville, Ky./University Heights) led all players with a career-high five total blocks (one solo and four assists).
In Friday's nightcap, the Cardinals ran into a hot Drake team which improved to 5-1 on the year with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-18) victory. Goodsel continued her strong play, tying for match-high honors with 11 kills. With the effort, Goodsel logged double-figure kills in back-to-back matches for just the third time in her career, while her 26 total kills on the day tied her career-best mark for two consecutive matches.
In addition to her effort on offense, Goodsel finished the match with eight digs and a team-high four total blocks (one solo and three assists).
In her first extended action of the year on defense, junior Bailey Baumer (Batesville, Ind./Batesville) led the Ball State defense with 15 digs, while Avila collected double-digit digs for the fifth consecutive match with 11. Avila also earned her third perfect passing match of the year, going 14-for-14 in serve receive.
Mangapora rounded out her day with nine kills and a perfect reception percentage on a match-high 17 attempts.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Omaha Classic presented by Akserben Suites tomorrow with a 1 p.m. ET / Noon CT first serve versus South Dakota. The Cardinals will be looking to avenge a 3-2 loss to the Coyotes in the only previous meeting Sept. 19, 2015 at the Purdue Boiler Box Challenge.
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 (Adult - $6 / Youth - $4) or season tickets (Adult - $39 / Youth - $25) by calling (888-BSU-TICKET) or visiting the Ball State's Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena.
- BallStateSports.com -
