Friday, September 15
Muncie, IN
7 p.m.
Ball State University
8-4
3
vs
2
Duquesne University
4-8
1
2
3
4
5
F
Duquesne
25
25
22
19
11
2
Ball State
20
21
25
25
15
3
Volleyball Dukes its Way Past Duquesne in Five Sets
September 15, 2017 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Down two sets and trailing 21-20 in the third, the Ball State women's volleyball team turned the tide again with its serving to remain undefeated at home with a thrilling 3-2 (20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-11) victory over Duquesne Friday night at Worthen Arena.
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The Cardinals (8-4) battled back to even the score of the third set at 22-22 before a kill from sophomore middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) sent sophomore libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) to the service line. Avila followed with back-to-back aces, part of her career-high four on the night, to give Ball State the 25-22 third set win over the Dukes (4-8) and the momentum in the match.
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"Kate has been a very steady server for us, and she came up with some great serves to get us back into tonight's match," second-year head coach Kelli Miller said. "She was able to hit the short zone at the right time and really shifted the momentum to our side of the court. Overall, our serving presence made another huge difference, keeping the pressure on Duquesne late in the match."
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After a sluggish opening two sets, the Cardinals turned to senior setter McCallen Kennedy (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Preparatory School) who breathed some new life into the Ball State offense which connected for a .352 (38-6-91) rate of success over the final three sets.
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The biggest numbers came in the final set, when Kennedy guided the offense to a .429 (10-1-21) mark, with kills for 10 of Ball State's 15 points. Kennedy finished the night with a season-high 31 assists, while securing eight digs, two block assists and a pair of kills.
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"Our intensity really picked up in the third set," Miller said. "We were just sluggish in the first two sets. When you're playing sluggish volleyball, you're going to get beat by good teams like Duquesne. I give our team a lot of credit, however as we had a lot of people come off the bench and help us out. They all did a great job of filling in and stepping up."
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Junior middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) led the Ball State attack with a career-high 16 kills and finished the night tied for match-high honors with six total blocks (one solo and five assists). Her biggest kill of the night was her last, as she slammed the match-ending kill off the Worthen Arena hardwood floor to send the Ball State faithful into jubilation. Holland also hit .500 (16-1-30) on the night.
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Overall, four Cardinals finished the night with double-digit kills, including a career-high 10 from freshman outside hitter Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township). In addition, Holder secured three digs and was credited with her first career block, a solo stuff to give Ball State a 10-8 advantage in the fifth frame.
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Redshirt junior middle Meg Starling (Hopkinsville, Ky./University Heights) continued her solid play, chipping in 12 kills and hitting .556 (12-2-18). She also served up a pair of aces and collected five total blocks (one solo and four assists). Rounding out Ball State's double-digit attackers was junior outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) who blasted 12 kills to go along with four blocks (one solo and three assists) and three digs.
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VanBeek also had a strong performance, with eight kills and five block assists.
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In the backcourt, Avila was the only Ball State player to reach double figures with 19 digs. She also logged her first kill of the season to go along with her career-high four service aces.
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Duquesne's Maria Mosbacher led all players with 21 kills on the night, while Molly Davet collected a match-high 22 digs. Overall, the Ball State defense held the Dukes attack to a .224 (66-29-165) rate of success for the match.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Ball State & Butler Tournament tomorrow night (Saturday) with a scheduled 7 p.m. first serve at history Hinkle Fieldhouse.
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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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Ball State volleyball fans can purchase season or individual match tickets now by calling (888-BSU-TICKET), visiting the Ball State's Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena or ordering online at: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/bsuathletics/EN/link/buy/details/17WVB
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- BallStateSports.com -
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The Cardinals (8-4) battled back to even the score of the third set at 22-22 before a kill from sophomore middle Sydnee VanBeek (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) sent sophomore libero Kate Avila (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) to the service line. Avila followed with back-to-back aces, part of her career-high four on the night, to give Ball State the 25-22 third set win over the Dukes (4-8) and the momentum in the match.
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"Kate has been a very steady server for us, and she came up with some great serves to get us back into tonight's match," second-year head coach Kelli Miller said. "She was able to hit the short zone at the right time and really shifted the momentum to our side of the court. Overall, our serving presence made another huge difference, keeping the pressure on Duquesne late in the match."
Â
After a sluggish opening two sets, the Cardinals turned to senior setter McCallen Kennedy (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Preparatory School) who breathed some new life into the Ball State offense which connected for a .352 (38-6-91) rate of success over the final three sets.
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The biggest numbers came in the final set, when Kennedy guided the offense to a .429 (10-1-21) mark, with kills for 10 of Ball State's 15 points. Kennedy finished the night with a season-high 31 assists, while securing eight digs, two block assists and a pair of kills.
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"Our intensity really picked up in the third set," Miller said. "We were just sluggish in the first two sets. When you're playing sluggish volleyball, you're going to get beat by good teams like Duquesne. I give our team a lot of credit, however as we had a lot of people come off the bench and help us out. They all did a great job of filling in and stepping up."
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Junior middle Emily Holland (Madison, Ind./Madison) led the Ball State attack with a career-high 16 kills and finished the night tied for match-high honors with six total blocks (one solo and five assists). Her biggest kill of the night was her last, as she slammed the match-ending kill off the Worthen Arena hardwood floor to send the Ball State faithful into jubilation. Holland also hit .500 (16-1-30) on the night.
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Overall, four Cardinals finished the night with double-digit kills, including a career-high 10 from freshman outside hitter Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township). In addition, Holder secured three digs and was credited with her first career block, a solo stuff to give Ball State a 10-8 advantage in the fifth frame.
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Redshirt junior middle Meg Starling (Hopkinsville, Ky./University Heights) continued her solid play, chipping in 12 kills and hitting .556 (12-2-18). She also served up a pair of aces and collected five total blocks (one solo and four assists). Rounding out Ball State's double-digit attackers was junior outside Ellie Dunn (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) who blasted 12 kills to go along with four blocks (one solo and three assists) and three digs.
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VanBeek also had a strong performance, with eight kills and five block assists.
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In the backcourt, Avila was the only Ball State player to reach double figures with 19 digs. She also logged her first kill of the season to go along with her career-high four service aces.
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Duquesne's Maria Mosbacher led all players with 21 kills on the night, while Molly Davet collected a match-high 22 digs. Overall, the Ball State defense held the Dukes attack to a .224 (66-29-165) rate of success for the match.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Ball State & Butler Tournament tomorrow night (Saturday) with a scheduled 7 p.m. first serve at history Hinkle Fieldhouse.
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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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Ball State volleyball fans can purchase season or individual match tickets now by calling (888-BSU-TICKET), visiting the Ball State's Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena or ordering online at: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/bsuathletics/EN/link/buy/details/17WVB
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- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
DUQ
BSU
Kills
66
64
Errors
29
18
Attempts
165
166
Hitting %
.224
.277
Points
82.0
85.0
Assists
64
62
Aces
8
7
Blocks
8.0
14.0
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
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