Friday, October 19
Oxford, OH
7 p.m.
Ball State University
7-216-6; MAC
2
at
3
Miami University (OH)
8-116-5; MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball State
25
23
30
18
16
2
Miami
19
25
28
25
18
3
Volleyball Falls Two Points Short in Five Set Thriller at Miami
October 19, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, Ohio - - In a battle of two of the top three teams in the Mid-American Conference, the Ball State women's volleyball team fell two points short in overtime of the fifth set to Miami, suffering a 3-2 (19-25, 25-23, 28-30, 25-18, 18-16) setback Friday night at Millett Hall.
The Cardinals (16-6; 7-2 MAC) entered the contest with a perfect 13-0 record when winning the opening set and looked poised to earn another against the RedHawks (16-5; 8-1 MAC) after hitting .448 (15-2-29) to take the first set 25-19.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as Miami took three of the final four sets to snap Ball State's season-long six match winning streak.
The Cardinals would not go down without a fight, however, as they took the third frame 30-28 and rallied from down 14-12 in the fifth to tie the score at 16. However, the RedHawks survived the rally and scored back-to-back kills to earn their third straight win in the series and keep Ball State winless in Millett Hall since the 2010 season.
Individually, senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn had a big night for the Cardinals, blasting 20 kills and registering 18 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. It was the third time this year, and the fourth time in her career, Dunn has tallied at least 20 kills in a match.
From the middle, the Cardinals received 12 kills and a .333 (12-2-30) attack percentage from junior Sydnee VanBeek and 10 kills and a .381 (10-2-21) rate of success from redshirt senior Meg Starling.
Starling also led all players with seven total blocks (one solo and six assists), raising her career total to 204. Dunn was second on the team with five block assists, while VanBeek registered four total blocks (one solo and three assists). As a team, the Cardinals held a 12-to-8 advantage in blocks on the night.
The Cardinals also received strong offensive performances from redshirt senior outside Jessica Lindsey and freshman opposite Reece Kral who tallied eight and seven kills, respectively.
While Ball State could not keep up the offensive pace of the opening set, junior setter Amber Seaman did have the Cardinals operating at a .255 (62-20-165) efficiency at the end of the night. Ball State entered the contest leading the MAC with a .243 team attack percentage.
Seaman dished out assists on 48 of the Cardinals' 62 kills, while adding five kills of her own. She also served up two more aces, while earning three blocks and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Junior libero Kate Avila led the Ball State defense with 20 digs, while junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen added 15. Ball State out-dug Miami 80-to-73 as a team.
On the Miami side, Courtney Simons led four RedHawks in double figures with 16 kills, while setter Morgan Seaman, the younger sister of Ball State setter Amber Seaman, led the defense with 17 digs. Miami hit .222 on the night.
Head Coach Kelli Miller:
"Miami is a strong, well-rounded team and we were never really able to get into a good flow against them tonight. We played hard, but we were inconsistent throughout the match. We will need to improve on that moving forward."
"Ellie fought hard tonight. We really turned to her in big moments and she did not let us down. She's just going to keep getting better and better the more she's in those high-pressure situations."
"Now, we have to reset and prepare as normal for tomorrow. Tonight's match is over and we need to put our entire focus on preparing for Bowling Green and recovering our bodies so we are both mentally and physically ready to battle tomorrow."
Inside the Numbers:
- With her 48 assists on the night, junior setter Amber Seaman raised her career total to 2,917 to move past her predecessor Jenna Spadafora's (2012-15) career total of 2,876 assists for sixth on Ball State's career charts. Just the 11th player in program history to record 1,000 assists in a single season with 1,111 last year, Seaman's 10.13 career assists-per-set average ranks fifth on the program's all-time list and she is on pace to become only the fifth Cardinal to hand out over 4,000 career assists.
- Amber Seaman also served up two more aces Friday night to raise her career total to 96 which leaves her three shy of moving into the top 20 in program history. Seaman is looking to become just the 19th player to record 1000 career aces for the Cardinals.
- With her match-high 20 kills versus Miami, senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn raised her career total to 978 which is 11th in program history. Dunn needs just 22 more kills to become only the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
- With her match-high 20 digs versus Miami, junior libero Kate Avila extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 51 and raised her career total to 80. She also raised her career digs total to 1,496 which ranks sixth in program history.
- With her match-high seven total blocks on the night, redshirt senior middle Meg Starling raised her career total to 204. She needs just 25 more blocks to break into the top 20 in program history as Elaina Kakatolis (2006-09) currently sits in 20th at 249. In addition, Starlings' 46 career solo blocks are six shy of the top 20, with three players currently tied for 19th at 52.
Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday at 5 p.m. when it travels to Bowling Green to face the MAC East Division co-leading Falcons. The Cardinals are 3-0 all-time in matches played at BGSU's Stroh Center.
Follow The Cardinals:
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
The Cardinals (16-6; 7-2 MAC) entered the contest with a perfect 13-0 record when winning the opening set and looked poised to earn another against the RedHawks (16-5; 8-1 MAC) after hitting .448 (15-2-29) to take the first set 25-19.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be, as Miami took three of the final four sets to snap Ball State's season-long six match winning streak.
The Cardinals would not go down without a fight, however, as they took the third frame 30-28 and rallied from down 14-12 in the fifth to tie the score at 16. However, the RedHawks survived the rally and scored back-to-back kills to earn their third straight win in the series and keep Ball State winless in Millett Hall since the 2010 season.
Individually, senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn had a big night for the Cardinals, blasting 20 kills and registering 18 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. It was the third time this year, and the fourth time in her career, Dunn has tallied at least 20 kills in a match.
From the middle, the Cardinals received 12 kills and a .333 (12-2-30) attack percentage from junior Sydnee VanBeek and 10 kills and a .381 (10-2-21) rate of success from redshirt senior Meg Starling.
Starling also led all players with seven total blocks (one solo and six assists), raising her career total to 204. Dunn was second on the team with five block assists, while VanBeek registered four total blocks (one solo and three assists). As a team, the Cardinals held a 12-to-8 advantage in blocks on the night.
The Cardinals also received strong offensive performances from redshirt senior outside Jessica Lindsey and freshman opposite Reece Kral who tallied eight and seven kills, respectively.
While Ball State could not keep up the offensive pace of the opening set, junior setter Amber Seaman did have the Cardinals operating at a .255 (62-20-165) efficiency at the end of the night. Ball State entered the contest leading the MAC with a .243 team attack percentage.
Seaman dished out assists on 48 of the Cardinals' 62 kills, while adding five kills of her own. She also served up two more aces, while earning three blocks and 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
Junior libero Kate Avila led the Ball State defense with 20 digs, while junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen added 15. Ball State out-dug Miami 80-to-73 as a team.
On the Miami side, Courtney Simons led four RedHawks in double figures with 16 kills, while setter Morgan Seaman, the younger sister of Ball State setter Amber Seaman, led the defense with 17 digs. Miami hit .222 on the night.
Head Coach Kelli Miller:
"Miami is a strong, well-rounded team and we were never really able to get into a good flow against them tonight. We played hard, but we were inconsistent throughout the match. We will need to improve on that moving forward."
"Ellie fought hard tonight. We really turned to her in big moments and she did not let us down. She's just going to keep getting better and better the more she's in those high-pressure situations."
"Now, we have to reset and prepare as normal for tomorrow. Tonight's match is over and we need to put our entire focus on preparing for Bowling Green and recovering our bodies so we are both mentally and physically ready to battle tomorrow."
Inside the Numbers:
- With her 48 assists on the night, junior setter Amber Seaman raised her career total to 2,917 to move past her predecessor Jenna Spadafora's (2012-15) career total of 2,876 assists for sixth on Ball State's career charts. Just the 11th player in program history to record 1,000 assists in a single season with 1,111 last year, Seaman's 10.13 career assists-per-set average ranks fifth on the program's all-time list and she is on pace to become only the fifth Cardinal to hand out over 4,000 career assists.
- Amber Seaman also served up two more aces Friday night to raise her career total to 96 which leaves her three shy of moving into the top 20 in program history. Seaman is looking to become just the 19th player to record 1000 career aces for the Cardinals.
- With her match-high 20 kills versus Miami, senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn raised her career total to 978 which is 11th in program history. Dunn needs just 22 more kills to become only the 11th player in program history to reach 1,000 career kills.
- With her match-high 20 digs versus Miami, junior libero Kate Avila extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 51 and raised her career total to 80. She also raised her career digs total to 1,496 which ranks sixth in program history.
- With her match-high seven total blocks on the night, redshirt senior middle Meg Starling raised her career total to 204. She needs just 25 more blocks to break into the top 20 in program history as Elaina Kakatolis (2006-09) currently sits in 20th at 249. In addition, Starlings' 46 career solo blocks are six shy of the top 20, with three players currently tied for 19th at 52.
Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday at 5 p.m. when it travels to Bowling Green to face the MAC East Division co-leading Falcons. The Cardinals are 3-0 all-time in matches played at BGSU's Stroh Center.
Follow The Cardinals:
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
BSU
MIAMI
Kills
62
77
Errors
20
32
Attempts
165
203
Hitting %
.255
.222
Points
78.0
93.0
Assists
55
66
Aces
4
8
Blocks
12.0
8.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
RS / M
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballHomecoming // Cardinal Sinners! Presented by Gameday Spirit
Friday, October 17
Women's Volleyball // Midweek Hype Video
Friday, October 10
This Week in Ball State Sports Podcast // Mike Uremovich, Lindsey Green & Jeff Mitchell
Thursday, October 09
Women's Volleyball // Wise and VanOort Reaction
Monday, September 22