Volleyball Tops South Alabama in Five-Set Thriller

DAYTON, Ohio - - Led by Ellie Dunn's first career double-double, the Ball State women's volleyball team opened the 2018 season with a 3-2 (25-22, 19-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-11) victory over South Alabama Friday afternoon in the opening match of the Dayton Invitational at the Frericks Center.

Dunn led all players with a match-high 17 kills, while adding a career-high 10 digs to solidify her first career double-double. Freshman right side Reece Kral was second on the Ball State attack with six kills and hit for a team-best .545 (6-0-11) rate of success in her collegiate debut.

The Cardinals also received solid defensive contributions from junior libero Kate Avila and senior defensive specialist Carly Cappello who tied for match-high honors with 13 digs apiece. Cappello's 13 digs were a career high.

Head Coach Kelli Miller:
"It was a great, high intensity match. I was happy how our serving and passing stayed tough at the end of the match. I also thought we responded well to playing a variety of people in a variety of different roles. One of our team strengths is our depth and that showed through in today's match."

"Ellie has been working extremely hard on her backcourt game and I'm not surprised at all that she picked up a double-double today. She's putting in the focus and work to be a great six rotation player and she's just going to keep getting better."

"Our defense had to work really hard today, as South Alabama has several tough attackers. Carly came up with some big digs at crucial moments as well."

Inside the Numbers:
- Ball State pulled out the victory despite being out-hit .170 (60-34-153) to .157 (47-26-134) in the contest. Both teams recorded 51 digs in the match, while South Alabama held a slim 11-to-8 advantage in team blocks.

- Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn's match-leading 17 kills marked the 17th time in her career Dunn has paced the Cardinals in kills. It's also Dunn's 37th career match with double-figure kills.

- Junior libero Kate Avila continued to anchor the Ball State defense, tying for match-high honors with 13 digs. It's the 30th consecutive match, and the 59th time in her career, Avila has produced double-figure digs.

- Senior defensive specialist Carly Cappello also turned in a strong outing for the Ball State defense, finishing the match with a career high 13 digs. It marks just the third time in her career Cappello has notched double-figure digs.

- The one stat the Cardinals held the lead in Friday was service aces. Junior setter Amber Seaman led all players with three aces, raising her career total to 66 which leads Ball State's active players. Kate Avila and Carly Cappello each added a pair of aces in the win, while senior middle Meg Starling and senior defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner each tallied one.

- Meg Starling led Ball State at the net, tallying four total blocks (two solo and two assists).

Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes play in the Dayton Invitational Saturday with a 1 p.m. match versus the host Flyers and a 5 p.m. showdown with former Mid-American Conference rival and current Conference USA member Marshall.

Saturday's opening match at Dayton will be broadcast live on ESPN+ ($4.99 per month) at the following link: https://es.pn/2nWlQH3

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 -

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Team Stats

Ellie Dunn

Reece Kral

Meg Starling

Amber Seaman

Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Carly Cappello

Ellie Dunn

Reece Kral

Lauren Schreiner

Amber Seaman

Meg Starling

Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Carly Cappello

Ellie Dunn

Reece Kral

Lauren Schreiner

Amber Seaman

Meg Starling