Saturday, August 25
Dayton, OH
1 p.m.
Ball State University
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University of Dayton
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Ball State
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29
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Dayton
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Volleyball Ends Opening Weekend with Sweep of Marshall
August 25, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
DAYTON, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team closed opening weekend with a dominating 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-15) victory over Marshall Saturday evening in its final match of the Dayton Invitational at the Frericks Center.
With the win, the Cardinals finished the first weekend of competition with a 2-1 record. For their efforts over the course of the two-day event, senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn and junior setter Amber Seaman were named to the Dayton Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Dunn dominated from the attack line, recording double-digit kills in all three matches and leading all players in kills in Ball State's wins over South Alabama and Marshall. She finished the weekend with a 3.83 kills-per-set average and a .336 (46-10-107) attack percentage. On defense, Dunn logged back-to-back double-doubles to open the tournament and averaged 2.33 digs per set.
Seaman helped guide the Ball State offense to a .231 (147-54-403) attack percentage for the weekend by averaging 9.75 assists per set. She also served up a team-high five aces, logged five total blocks and registered 20 digs.
In the evening win over The Herd, Ball State hit a season-best .385 (48-11-96), held a 47-to-32 advantage in team digs and pick up its third consecutive win from the service line with six aces compare to three for Marshall.
In Saturday's opener versus tournament host Dayton, the Cardinals managed just 16 kills over the first two sets. Ball State's offense took off in the third frame, however, as the team's passing picked up and helped the attack connect for 21 kills and a .360 (21-3-50) attack percentage to pull out a 29-27 victory.
The Cardinals continued their hot hitting in the fourth, but despite battling to overtime for the second straight set, Ball State could not force a fifth frame and dropped the match 3-1 (19-25, 17-25, 29-27, 26-28).
Head Coach Kelli Miller:
- "Today was definitely a grind. Playing two matches basically back-to-back is never easy, but we showed a lot of toughness and fight today. Our ball control really picked up late versus Dayton and that continued through the Marshall match which allowed our offense to hit for a high percentage."
- "Ellie played really well all weekend. She carried a heavy load for us and played really smart volleyball. Amber also played well. She was composed, made good decisions and found our hot hitters at the right times. They both deserved all-tournament honors."
- "This weekend was truly a full team effort. Everyone played an important role and we needed the focus and energy from every player to help us come out 2-1 this weekend."
Inside the Numbers Marshall:
- Ball State hit a season-best .385 (48-11-96) in the victory. It was the team's best attack percentage in a match since a .396 (45-7-96) effort in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) win over Buffalo on Sept. 30, 2017.
- Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn paced the Ball State offense for the third straight match, and the 19th time in her career, with 13 kills and a season-high .571 (13-1-21) attack percentage.
- Senior opposite Jessica Lindsey became the third different Cardinal to register double-digit kills in a match this season with her season-high 10 against The Herd. It marks the sixth time Lindsey has register 10-or-more kills in a match in her career, with four of the six coming over her last 10 matches.
- Junior libero Kate Avila led all players with 14 digs in Saturday's nightcap. It's the 32nd consecutive match, and the 61st time in her career, Avila has registered double-digit digs. She finished the first weekend of the season with a team-high 55 digs and a 4.58 digs-per-set average.
- Senior middle Meg Starling turned in another impressive effort against Marshall, blasting eight kills on 11 attempts with no errors for a career-best .727 attack percentage. The attack percentage currently ties as the 11th-best single match total for a player with 11-to-14 attempts in a match in program history.
- Junior Anna Jensen and freshman Cathryn Starck each served up a pair of aces in the win, helping Ball State hold a 6-to-3 advantage in the category for the night. Ball State out-aced all three opponents this weekend, holding a 21-to-10 edge over the three matches.
- Sydnee VanBeek turned in another solid outing, collecting nine kills and leading all players with three total blocks. She also served up her first ace of the season in the win.
- Ciara Debell led Marshall with six kills, while Amber Weber was credited with a team-high nine digs.
Inside the Numbers Dayton:
- After being limited to 16 kills and a .082 (16-10-73) attack percentage in the opening two sets, the Cardinals were able to find their offensive rhythm over the final two, connecting at a .290 (36-7-100) clip. Ball State scored 21 kills in its third-frame victory, connecting for a .360 (21-3-50) rate of success.
- Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn paced the Ball State offense for the second straight match, and the 18th time in her career, smashing 16 and connecting for a .395 (16-1-38) attack percentage. She also tied her career high from the previous day with 10 digs for her second career double-double.
- In addition to recoding her second career double-double, Ellie Dunn served up her first three career aces in the match to help the Cardinals out-ace Dayton 6-to-2 on the afternoon.
- Junior middle Sydnee VanBeek became the second Ball State player to register double-digit kills on the season, collecting a season-high 12 in the loss. The effort marks the 11th time in her career VanBeek has tallied double-figure kills and is two shy of her career high of 14 set versus Kent State (Oct. 13, 2017).
- Junior libero Kate Avila led a trio of Cardinals with double-figure digs, collecting a season-high 28 over the four sets.
It's the 31th consecutive match, and the 60th time in her career, Avila has produced double-figure digs. The 28 digs are also the seventh highest single match total of Avila's career.
- In her collegiate debut, freshman defensive specialist Cathryn Starck led Ball State's passers with a perfect reception percentage on 25 attempts. Starck was credited with a career-high nine digs in the match, including three in the third set and fourth in the fourth frame.
- Another key contributor on defense was junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen who was credited with 10 digs. It marks the third time in her career Jensen has reached double digits in the category. Jensen also went a perfect 11-for-11 in serve receive.
- Lauren Bruns led four Flyers in double figures with a match-best 24 kills, while Margo Wolf collected a match-high 38 digs.
Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road next weekend for three matches at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Tournament hosted by Missouri State.
The Cardinals open the two-day event Friday (Aug. 31) with a 5:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. CT matchup versus Grambling State. Ball State will then play Oral Roberts (11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT) and the host Bears (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT) on Saturday (Sept. 1).
Prior to joining the Ball State staff, current Cardinals assistant coach Fritz Rosenberg was an assistant coach at Missouri State (2011-13). As part of Melissa Stokes' staff at MSU, Rosenberg helped guide the Bears to a 59-35 record, a pair of 20-win seasons and a trip to the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.
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 -
With the win, the Cardinals finished the first weekend of competition with a 2-1 record. For their efforts over the course of the two-day event, senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn and junior setter Amber Seaman were named to the Dayton Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Dunn dominated from the attack line, recording double-digit kills in all three matches and leading all players in kills in Ball State's wins over South Alabama and Marshall. She finished the weekend with a 3.83 kills-per-set average and a .336 (46-10-107) attack percentage. On defense, Dunn logged back-to-back double-doubles to open the tournament and averaged 2.33 digs per set.
Seaman helped guide the Ball State offense to a .231 (147-54-403) attack percentage for the weekend by averaging 9.75 assists per set. She also served up a team-high five aces, logged five total blocks and registered 20 digs.
In the evening win over The Herd, Ball State hit a season-best .385 (48-11-96), held a 47-to-32 advantage in team digs and pick up its third consecutive win from the service line with six aces compare to three for Marshall.
In Saturday's opener versus tournament host Dayton, the Cardinals managed just 16 kills over the first two sets. Ball State's offense took off in the third frame, however, as the team's passing picked up and helped the attack connect for 21 kills and a .360 (21-3-50) attack percentage to pull out a 29-27 victory.
The Cardinals continued their hot hitting in the fourth, but despite battling to overtime for the second straight set, Ball State could not force a fifth frame and dropped the match 3-1 (19-25, 17-25, 29-27, 26-28).
Head Coach Kelli Miller:
- "Today was definitely a grind. Playing two matches basically back-to-back is never easy, but we showed a lot of toughness and fight today. Our ball control really picked up late versus Dayton and that continued through the Marshall match which allowed our offense to hit for a high percentage."
- "Ellie played really well all weekend. She carried a heavy load for us and played really smart volleyball. Amber also played well. She was composed, made good decisions and found our hot hitters at the right times. They both deserved all-tournament honors."
- "This weekend was truly a full team effort. Everyone played an important role and we needed the focus and energy from every player to help us come out 2-1 this weekend."
Inside the Numbers Marshall:
- Ball State hit a season-best .385 (48-11-96) in the victory. It was the team's best attack percentage in a match since a .396 (45-7-96) effort in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) win over Buffalo on Sept. 30, 2017.
- Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn paced the Ball State offense for the third straight match, and the 19th time in her career, with 13 kills and a season-high .571 (13-1-21) attack percentage.
- Senior opposite Jessica Lindsey became the third different Cardinal to register double-digit kills in a match this season with her season-high 10 against The Herd. It marks the sixth time Lindsey has register 10-or-more kills in a match in her career, with four of the six coming over her last 10 matches.
- Junior libero Kate Avila led all players with 14 digs in Saturday's nightcap. It's the 32nd consecutive match, and the 61st time in her career, Avila has registered double-digit digs. She finished the first weekend of the season with a team-high 55 digs and a 4.58 digs-per-set average.
- Senior middle Meg Starling turned in another impressive effort against Marshall, blasting eight kills on 11 attempts with no errors for a career-best .727 attack percentage. The attack percentage currently ties as the 11th-best single match total for a player with 11-to-14 attempts in a match in program history.
- Junior Anna Jensen and freshman Cathryn Starck each served up a pair of aces in the win, helping Ball State hold a 6-to-3 advantage in the category for the night. Ball State out-aced all three opponents this weekend, holding a 21-to-10 edge over the three matches.
- Sydnee VanBeek turned in another solid outing, collecting nine kills and leading all players with three total blocks. She also served up her first ace of the season in the win.
- Ciara Debell led Marshall with six kills, while Amber Weber was credited with a team-high nine digs.
Inside the Numbers Dayton:
- After being limited to 16 kills and a .082 (16-10-73) attack percentage in the opening two sets, the Cardinals were able to find their offensive rhythm over the final two, connecting at a .290 (36-7-100) clip. Ball State scored 21 kills in its third-frame victory, connecting for a .360 (21-3-50) rate of success.
- Senior outside hitter Ellie Dunn paced the Ball State offense for the second straight match, and the 18th time in her career, smashing 16 and connecting for a .395 (16-1-38) attack percentage. She also tied her career high from the previous day with 10 digs for her second career double-double.
- In addition to recoding her second career double-double, Ellie Dunn served up her first three career aces in the match to help the Cardinals out-ace Dayton 6-to-2 on the afternoon.
- Junior middle Sydnee VanBeek became the second Ball State player to register double-digit kills on the season, collecting a season-high 12 in the loss. The effort marks the 11th time in her career VanBeek has tallied double-figure kills and is two shy of her career high of 14 set versus Kent State (Oct. 13, 2017).
- Junior libero Kate Avila led a trio of Cardinals with double-figure digs, collecting a season-high 28 over the four sets.
It's the 31th consecutive match, and the 60th time in her career, Avila has produced double-figure digs. The 28 digs are also the seventh highest single match total of Avila's career.
- In her collegiate debut, freshman defensive specialist Cathryn Starck led Ball State's passers with a perfect reception percentage on 25 attempts. Starck was credited with a career-high nine digs in the match, including three in the third set and fourth in the fourth frame.
- Another key contributor on defense was junior defensive specialist Anna Jensen who was credited with 10 digs. It marks the third time in her career Jensen has reached double digits in the category. Jensen also went a perfect 11-for-11 in serve receive.
- Lauren Bruns led four Flyers in double figures with a match-best 24 kills, while Margo Wolf collected a match-high 38 digs.
Up Next:
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road next weekend for three matches at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Tournament hosted by Missouri State.
The Cardinals open the two-day event Friday (Aug. 31) with a 5:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. CT matchup versus Grambling State. Ball State will then play Oral Roberts (11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT) and the host Bears (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT) on Saturday (Sept. 1).
Prior to joining the Ball State staff, current Cardinals assistant coach Fritz Rosenberg was an assistant coach at Missouri State (2011-13). As part of Melissa Stokes' staff at MSU, Rosenberg helped guide the Bears to a 59-35 record, a pair of 20-win seasons and a trip to the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament.
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
UD
Kills
52
73
Errors
17
19
Attempts
173
177
Hitting %
.202
.305
Points
64.0
85.0
Assists
47
68
Aces
6
2
Blocks
6.0
10.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
16
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballMH
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