Saturday, November 4
Akron, OH
5 p.m.
Ball State University
17-10, 9-5MAC
3
at
0
University of Akron
6-20, 2-12MAC
1
2
3
F
BSU
25
25
29
3
Akron
23
23
27
0
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Volleyball Rallies Late in Each Set to Sweep Akron
November 04, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
AKRON, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team rallied late in each set, including overcoming a 24-16 deficit in the third, to sweep Akron 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 29-27) Saturday evening in Mid-American Conference play at Rhodes Arena.
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Trailing 22-18 in the opening set, the Cardinals (17-10; 9-5 MAC) rallied to win 25-23 on a service ace from sophomore setter Amber Seaman (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf).
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Down 23-21 in the second stanza, Ball State scored four straight points, bookended by kills from junior outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland), to win 25-23.
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Behind 24-16 in the third frame, a kill from junior middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) set up a seven-point service run by junior defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) to even the score at 24. While the Zips (6-20; 2-12 MAC) had one more chance to end it at 25-24, the Cardinals countered and went on to claim the set, 29-27, on a kill from freshman outside Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) to complete the sweep.
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"It was a great comeback win for us tonight on the road," head coach Kelli Miller said after the match. "Our service pressure played a huge role tonight, keeping Akron off balance. We also made some tough defensive played to extend rallies late in each set. We definitely weren't sharp tonight, but we found a way to get the win and I am happy with the fight our team showed at the end."
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In addition to the strong service run at the end of the match, the Cardinals also strung together a seven-point run midway through the second set off the serve of sophomore libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown). Avila, who led all players with 17 digs, also put together a late run in the opening set to tie the score at 22 with one of her three aces on the night.
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Seaman also served up three aces and tied Avila with a team-high 18 service attempts, constantly keeping pressure on the Akron defense. She also passed a milestone early in the night, as her second assist in the opening set made her just the 11th player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists. Seaman finished the night with 38 assists, raising her career total to 2,036.
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As a team, the Cardinals finished the night with a .234 (49-19-128) attack percentage, led by Dunn's match-high 16 kills. After being limited to just one kill in the opening set, Dunn blasted seven in the second and eight in the third, while connecting for a .316 (16-4-38) rate of success for the contest.
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Holland also had a strong attacking night, blasting eight kills and hitting a season-best .615 (8-0-13). She also tallied a team-high three total blocks (two solo and one assists). Sophomore middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) rounded out Ball State's top attackers with nine kills.
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Overall, the Ball State defense held a 46 to 37 edge in team digs, while limiting the Akron attack to a .192 (43-19-125) rate of success. Jessica Kloehn led the Zips with 10 kills, while Taylor Sharrits collected a team-high 16 digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes out the 2017 regular season next weekend with a pair of critical league matches at Northern Illinois (Friday, 6 p.m. CT) and Western Michigan (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET).
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
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- BallStateSports.com -
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Trailing 22-18 in the opening set, the Cardinals (17-10; 9-5 MAC) rallied to win 25-23 on a service ace from sophomore setter Amber Seaman (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf).
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Down 23-21 in the second stanza, Ball State scored four straight points, bookended by kills from junior outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland), to win 25-23.
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Behind 24-16 in the third frame, a kill from junior middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) set up a seven-point service run by junior defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) to even the score at 24. While the Zips (6-20; 2-12 MAC) had one more chance to end it at 25-24, the Cardinals countered and went on to claim the set, 29-27, on a kill from freshman outside Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) to complete the sweep.
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"It was a great comeback win for us tonight on the road," head coach Kelli Miller said after the match. "Our service pressure played a huge role tonight, keeping Akron off balance. We also made some tough defensive played to extend rallies late in each set. We definitely weren't sharp tonight, but we found a way to get the win and I am happy with the fight our team showed at the end."
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In addition to the strong service run at the end of the match, the Cardinals also strung together a seven-point run midway through the second set off the serve of sophomore libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown). Avila, who led all players with 17 digs, also put together a late run in the opening set to tie the score at 22 with one of her three aces on the night.
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Seaman also served up three aces and tied Avila with a team-high 18 service attempts, constantly keeping pressure on the Akron defense. She also passed a milestone early in the night, as her second assist in the opening set made her just the 11th player in program history to reach 2,000 career assists. Seaman finished the night with 38 assists, raising her career total to 2,036.
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As a team, the Cardinals finished the night with a .234 (49-19-128) attack percentage, led by Dunn's match-high 16 kills. After being limited to just one kill in the opening set, Dunn blasted seven in the second and eight in the third, while connecting for a .316 (16-4-38) rate of success for the contest.
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Holland also had a strong attacking night, blasting eight kills and hitting a season-best .615 (8-0-13). She also tallied a team-high three total blocks (two solo and one assists). Sophomore middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) rounded out Ball State's top attackers with nine kills.
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Overall, the Ball State defense held a 46 to 37 edge in team digs, while limiting the Akron attack to a .192 (43-19-125) rate of success. Jessica Kloehn led the Zips with 10 kills, while Taylor Sharrits collected a team-high 16 digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes out the 2017 regular season next weekend with a pair of critical league matches at Northern Illinois (Friday, 6 p.m. CT) and Western Michigan (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET).
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
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- BallStateSports.com -
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Team Stats
BSU
AKR
Kills
49
43
Errors
19
19
Attempts
128
125
Hitting %
.234
.192
Points
62.0
58.0
Assists
45
36
Aces
7
8
Blocks
6.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH
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