Saturday, November 3
Ypsilanti, MI
7 p.m.
Ball State University
19-8 (10-4MAC)
2
at
3
Eastern Michigan University
16-12 (8-6MAC)
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball State
17
17
25
25
9
2
Eastern Michigan
25
25
23
17
15
3
Photo by: Kyle Crawford
Volleyball’s Comeback at EMU Falls a Few Points Short
November 03, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
YPSILANTI, Mich. - - After dropping the first two sets, the Ball State women's volleyball team pulled out the next two, but could not overcome a strong Eastern Michigan attack in the fifth frame of a 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 23-25, 17-25, 15-9) Mid-American Conference setback Saturday night at the Convocation Center.
In a battle of the league's top two offenses, the Cardinals (19-8; 10-4 MAC) did not have much of an answer for the Eagles (16-12; 8-6 MAC) in the opening two sets, as EMU hit a combined .462 (32-2-65) to win the first two frames.
Ball State's defense found life in the next two sets, helping the Cardinals even that match at two frames apiece. However, Eastern Michigan's offense found its rhythm once again in the fifth, connecting for a .524 (12-1-21) rate of success to pull out the victory.
Overall, the league's top offense in Ball State was held to a .214 (55-24-145) attack percentage, while the MAC's second-best offense in EMU hit .331 (71-19-157).
Freshman opposite Reece Kral was the Cardinals' top attacker, tying her career high with 14 kills while hitting at a .458 (14-3-24) clip. She was not the only BSU player in double figures, however, as senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn added 13 kills and redshirt senior outside Jessica Lindsey chipped in 10.
"Eastern Michigan was really hot offensively, and we didn't have much of an answer for them tonight," head coach Kelli Miller said. "On our side of the net, I thought Reece turned in a good offensive performance and was someone we could really count on tonight. Overall, we just have to keep getting better. We have to get back in the gym, study the film, work hard and continue to stay with the process."
Defensively, junior libero Kate Avila led the team with 15 digs to extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 56 and raise her career total to 85. She also raised her career digs total to 1,581 to pass Amanda McCormick's (2005-06) career total of 1,579 for fifth on BSU's career charts.
Junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen was the only other BSU defender with double-digit digs, adding 10. At the net, junior middle Sydnee VanBeek tallied a team-high four total blocks. She also scored nine kills and served up one of BSU's four aces.
Jordan Smith led four Eagles in double figures with a match-high 18 kills, while Alyssa LaFace collected a match-high 18 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team will close the road portion of its 2018 schedule Thursday (Nov. 8) with a 7 p.m. first serve at Toledo. The Cardinals return home next Saturday (Nov. 10) for the regular season finale and senior night versus Akron.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
In a battle of the league's top two offenses, the Cardinals (19-8; 10-4 MAC) did not have much of an answer for the Eagles (16-12; 8-6 MAC) in the opening two sets, as EMU hit a combined .462 (32-2-65) to win the first two frames.
Ball State's defense found life in the next two sets, helping the Cardinals even that match at two frames apiece. However, Eastern Michigan's offense found its rhythm once again in the fifth, connecting for a .524 (12-1-21) rate of success to pull out the victory.
Overall, the league's top offense in Ball State was held to a .214 (55-24-145) attack percentage, while the MAC's second-best offense in EMU hit .331 (71-19-157).
Freshman opposite Reece Kral was the Cardinals' top attacker, tying her career high with 14 kills while hitting at a .458 (14-3-24) clip. She was not the only BSU player in double figures, however, as senior outside attacker Ellie Dunn added 13 kills and redshirt senior outside Jessica Lindsey chipped in 10.
"Eastern Michigan was really hot offensively, and we didn't have much of an answer for them tonight," head coach Kelli Miller said. "On our side of the net, I thought Reece turned in a good offensive performance and was someone we could really count on tonight. Overall, we just have to keep getting better. We have to get back in the gym, study the film, work hard and continue to stay with the process."
Defensively, junior libero Kate Avila led the team with 15 digs to extend her streak of matches with double-digit digs to 56 and raise her career total to 85. She also raised her career digs total to 1,581 to pass Amanda McCormick's (2005-06) career total of 1,579 for fifth on BSU's career charts.
Junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen was the only other BSU defender with double-digit digs, adding 10. At the net, junior middle Sydnee VanBeek tallied a team-high four total blocks. She also scored nine kills and served up one of BSU's four aces.
Jordan Smith led four Eagles in double figures with a match-high 18 kills, while Alyssa LaFace collected a match-high 18 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team will close the road portion of its 2018 schedule Thursday (Nov. 8) with a 7 p.m. first serve at Toledo. The Cardinals return home next Saturday (Nov. 10) for the regular season finale and senior night versus Akron.
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
EMU
Kills
55
71
Errors
24
19
Attempts
145
157
Hitting %
.214
.331
Points
67.0
85.0
Assists
49
65
Aces
4
4
Blocks
8.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Women's VolleyballRS / M
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballMH
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