Volleyball Drops Homestand Opener to Miami

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After playing six of its first eight Mid-American Conference matches on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team looked to start off a season-long four match homestand on a high note.

Unfortunately, three-time defending league regular season champion Miami had other plans, snapping the Cardinals' (11-10; 5-4 MAC) 12-match MAC homecourt winning streak by a score of 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 26-24) Friday night in Worthen Arena.

The RedHawks (12-8; 7-2 MAC), who own the MAC's longest active winning streak at five matches, came out firing on all cylinders and easily took the opening two sets.

Ball State was able to regroup after the long break, however, and even pulled ahead by four, at 21-17, late in the third set. After Miami rallied to tie the score at 23, a RedHawks service error gave the Cardinals a chance to force a fourth set. BSU could not capitalize though, and Miami won the final three points to secure the match victory.

Sophomore Reece Kral played a large role in the Cardinals third-set rally attempt, smashing six of her team-high 10 kills in the final frame. She also finished the night hitting a career-best .562 (10-1-16), including a .714 (6-1-7) effort in the third.

Unfortunately, the Miami defense limited the Ball State offense as a whole to a .137 (38-20-131) rate of success in the match, while connecting at a .282 (47-14-117) clip itself.

Aside from Kral's offensive performance, freshman middle Marie Plitt and freshman outside Natalie Mitchem added eight kills apiece in the loss.

In the backcourt, freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber led the Cardinals with 12 digs, while senior defensive specialist Kate Avila was credited with 11. With the 11 digs, Avila moved within three of becoming just the third player in program history to reach the 2,000 career mark. She ended the night with 1,997 career digs.

The Ball State women's volleyball team will have another tough task ahead of itself Saturday night, as it welcomes 2018 MAC co-champion Bowling Green to Worthen Arena for another 7 p.m. first serve. It will also be Dig Pink night for the program, as it looks to raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

As part of Dip Pink night, the Cardinals will wear pink warm-ups, socks and shoelaces before and during the match. Fans can make an impact in the battle and donate to the cause BY CLICKING HERE. All funds raised go to the Side-Out Foundation and will be used towards a clinical trial specifically for patients with stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research.

Ball State fans can also get into the match for FREE by showing their ticket to Saturday afternoon's Ball State football game versus Ohio. Kickoff for that contest is set for 2 p.m. at Scheumann Stadium.

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

Reece Kral

Marie Plitt

Natalie Mitchem

Sydnee VanBeek

Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Maggie Huber

Reece Kral

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt

Players Mentioned

Kate Avila

Maggie Huber

Reece Kral

Natalie Mitchem

Marie Plitt