Saturday, November 10
Muncie, IN
7 p.m.
Ball State University
21-8 (12-4MAC)
3
vs
2
University of Akron
11-16 (3-13MAC)
1
2
3
4
5
F
Akron
21
16
25
25
11
2
Ball State
25
25
17
23
15
3
Photo by: Kyle Crawford
Volleyball Celebrates Senior Night with 3-2 Win over Akron
November 10, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After breezing through the opening two sets, the Ball State women's volleyball team needed everyone it had Saturday night to secure a 3-2 (25-21, 25-16, 17-25, 23-25, 15-11) senior night victory over Akron in the Mid-American Conference regular season finale at Worthen Arena.
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A total of 13 different players say action in the match, including all seven seniors who helped the Cardinals improve to 21-8 (12-4 MAC) on the year and secure the No. 3 seed in next week's MAC Tournament hosted by Miami. The Zips ended their season with an 11-16 (3-13 MAC) record.
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Leading the way offensively for Ball State was senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn who tied for match-high honors with 15 kills in her final match inside Worthen Arena.
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In her second senior night, redshirt senior Jessica Lindsey finished second on the squad with 11 kills. Lindsey elected to graduate with her original class last season, but eventually returned to the team after enrolling in graduate school at Ball State.
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Redshirt senior middle Meg Starling also had a strong night, securing seven kills and adding six blocks. Other senior contributions in the win included three kills and a pair of blocks from middle Emily Holland, three kills from right side Avery Devoe, 11 digs from defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner and a kill from Carly Cappello who entered the match in the front row in the second set and also saw time as a serving specialist.
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Aside from the senior contributions, junior setter Amber Seaman ran the offense at a .204 (58-28-147) clip, handing out 49 assists to go along with seven digs and six kills. She also served up an ace and finished the night with a career-high tying six total blocks (2 solo and 4 assists).
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Junior middle Sydnee VanBeek had the hot hand in the fifth set, scoring four of her eight kills in the frame, including the kill to end the match. She also led Ball State with a pair of aces and secured three total blocks.
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Freshman opposite Reece Kral turned in the best overall night at the net, recording a match-best and career-high seven total blocks (2 solo and 5 assists). She also smashed four kills.
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Rounding out Ball State's top contributors was junior libero Kate Avila who collected a match-high 20 digs.
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Akron's Ashley Richardson and Elya Karsner tied Dunn for match-high honors with 15 kills apiece, while Taylor Sharrits collected a team-high 15 digs.
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Overall, the Ball State defense limited Akron to a .165 (55-29-158) attack percentage by collecting 57 digs and 16 total blocks.
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Head Coach Kelli Miller:
"This group of seniors has worked hard since the day they arrived on campus. They have been team focused, and when you have a core group of players like that for four years, you can trust them to put the program first, to put their teammates first. That makes everything so much better."
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"This senior class works hard. They believe in trying to make the program better and I couldn't ask for a better group of girls."
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"Akron has some good servers and I thought they played a pretty low error game. That allowed them to stay in the match and win a lot of rallies. They knew this was their last match and they came to play and leave it all out on the court for their seniors."Â
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"Our blocking was probably the strongest area tonight. I still felt we were inconsistent at times, but our numbers were good and I thought we did a nice job maintaining the game plan when it came to our blocking discipline."
By The Numbers:
- Ball State's 21 wins are the most in the MAC this season and tie as the 19th-best single season total in program history. They are also the most wins for Ball State since the 2013 season, when the Cardinals went 24-8 on the year
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- The Cardinals earned their second-straight MAC West Division Championship and the ninth in program history with a 12-4 league mark this season … Current head coach Kelli Miller has had a hand in four of those titles, winning two as a head coach (2017 & 2018) and helping earn a pair as an assistant coach (2010 & 2013).Â
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- With her match-high 20 digs vs. Akron, junior libero Kate Avila extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 58 and raised her career total to 87. She also upped her career digs total to 1,628 which ranks fifth in program history and is 25 shy of passing Sara Obras' (2002-05) career total of 1,652 for fourth on the all-time list.
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Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Oxford, Ohio for the 2018 MAC Tournament hosted by Miami. By securing the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Cardinals earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 6 Northern Illinois vs. No. 7 Ohio in the 7 p.m. quarterfinal match Friday night.
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Follow The Cardinals:
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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A total of 13 different players say action in the match, including all seven seniors who helped the Cardinals improve to 21-8 (12-4 MAC) on the year and secure the No. 3 seed in next week's MAC Tournament hosted by Miami. The Zips ended their season with an 11-16 (3-13 MAC) record.
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Leading the way offensively for Ball State was senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn who tied for match-high honors with 15 kills in her final match inside Worthen Arena.
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In her second senior night, redshirt senior Jessica Lindsey finished second on the squad with 11 kills. Lindsey elected to graduate with her original class last season, but eventually returned to the team after enrolling in graduate school at Ball State.
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Redshirt senior middle Meg Starling also had a strong night, securing seven kills and adding six blocks. Other senior contributions in the win included three kills and a pair of blocks from middle Emily Holland, three kills from right side Avery Devoe, 11 digs from defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner and a kill from Carly Cappello who entered the match in the front row in the second set and also saw time as a serving specialist.
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Aside from the senior contributions, junior setter Amber Seaman ran the offense at a .204 (58-28-147) clip, handing out 49 assists to go along with seven digs and six kills. She also served up an ace and finished the night with a career-high tying six total blocks (2 solo and 4 assists).
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Junior middle Sydnee VanBeek had the hot hand in the fifth set, scoring four of her eight kills in the frame, including the kill to end the match. She also led Ball State with a pair of aces and secured three total blocks.
Â
Freshman opposite Reece Kral turned in the best overall night at the net, recording a match-best and career-high seven total blocks (2 solo and 5 assists). She also smashed four kills.
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Rounding out Ball State's top contributors was junior libero Kate Avila who collected a match-high 20 digs.
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Akron's Ashley Richardson and Elya Karsner tied Dunn for match-high honors with 15 kills apiece, while Taylor Sharrits collected a team-high 15 digs.
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Overall, the Ball State defense limited Akron to a .165 (55-29-158) attack percentage by collecting 57 digs and 16 total blocks.
Â
Head Coach Kelli Miller:
"This group of seniors has worked hard since the day they arrived on campus. They have been team focused, and when you have a core group of players like that for four years, you can trust them to put the program first, to put their teammates first. That makes everything so much better."
Â
"This senior class works hard. They believe in trying to make the program better and I couldn't ask for a better group of girls."
Â
"Akron has some good servers and I thought they played a pretty low error game. That allowed them to stay in the match and win a lot of rallies. They knew this was their last match and they came to play and leave it all out on the court for their seniors."Â
Â
"Our blocking was probably the strongest area tonight. I still felt we were inconsistent at times, but our numbers were good and I thought we did a nice job maintaining the game plan when it came to our blocking discipline."
By The Numbers:
- Ball State's 21 wins are the most in the MAC this season and tie as the 19th-best single season total in program history. They are also the most wins for Ball State since the 2013 season, when the Cardinals went 24-8 on the year
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- The Cardinals earned their second-straight MAC West Division Championship and the ninth in program history with a 12-4 league mark this season … Current head coach Kelli Miller has had a hand in four of those titles, winning two as a head coach (2017 & 2018) and helping earn a pair as an assistant coach (2010 & 2013).Â
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- With her match-high 20 digs vs. Akron, junior libero Kate Avila extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 58 and raised her career total to 87. She also upped her career digs total to 1,628 which ranks fifth in program history and is 25 shy of passing Sara Obras' (2002-05) career total of 1,652 for fourth on the all-time list.
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Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Oxford, Ohio for the 2018 MAC Tournament hosted by Miami. By securing the No. 3 seed in the tournament, the Cardinals earned a first-round bye and will play the winner of No. 6 Northern Illinois vs. No. 7 Ohio in the 7 p.m. quarterfinal match Friday night.
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Follow The Cardinals:
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
AKR
BSU
Kills
55
58
Errors
29
28
Attempts
158
147
Hitting %
.165
.204
Points
74.0
81.0
Assists
53
55
Aces
7
7
Blocks
12.0
16.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
6
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MH/OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
RS / M
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
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