Thursday, October 31
Muncie, IND
7:00 PM
Ball State University
12-11,6-5MAC
3
vs
2
Toledo
7-16,0-11MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Toledo
25
15
28
23
21
2
Ball St.
17
25
26
25
23
3
Volleyball Eeks Out Hard-Fought Halloween Win Over Toledo
October 31, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- The Ball State women's volleyball team gave the fans who showed up for the first-ever "Chirp or Treat" Spooktacular quite a show Thursday night in Worthen Arena, surviving six Toledo set points in the fifth set to earn a hard-fought 3-2 (17-25, 25-15, 26-28, 25-23, 23-21) victory.
With the win, the Cardinals (12-11; 6-5 Mid-American Conference) snapped a season-long three match losing streak and kept the Rockets (7-16, 0-11 MAC) winless in league play.
At no point was the victory easy, however, as Toledo won the opening set to put the pressure on Ball State early and then rallied from down 7-4 in the fifth to earn a pair of match points at 14-12.
The Cardinals would not be scared away, scoring the next two points and forcing a back-and-forth battle from there. Ball State had its first match point at 18-17, but failed to capitalize. The teams then played to a 21-21 stalemate, before freshman outside Natalie Risi ended the battle with a huge kill and a service ace.
"We just kept fighting tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "I thought both teams played really scrappy, at a high level and it could have went either way. I'm just glad we continued to fight, continued to believe and got the two points we needed at the end."
While the ace to win it might have been Risi's biggest play of the night, she also turned in another dominating performance on the offensive front, topping her career-high from the previous contest versus Bowling Green (Oct. 26) with a match-high 27 blasts against the Rockets. She also secured 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, while serving up three total aces.
Risi was not the only Cardinal with double-digit kills Thursday. In fact, five Ball State players finished the night in double figures. Junior outside Kia Holder was second on the team with 13 kills, senior middle Sydnee VanBeek added 12, junior opposite Reece Kral collected 11 and freshman middle Marie Plitt spooked up 10.
It's the second time this season Ball State has had five players with 10-or-more kills, and both matches involved redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing who dished out a career-high 64 assists against Toledo.
Overall, Grussing had the Cardinals offense connecting at a .252 (75-24-202) clip and earned her third career double-double by adding 14 digs.
Senior libero Kate Avila led the Ball State backcourt with 29 digs, while freshmen defensive specialists Maggie Huber and Chloe Rickenbach added 16 and 14, respectively. Ball State's backcourt play helped limit the Rockets to a .222 (67-24-194) team attack percentage.
"We knew coming in Toledo was going to give us a fight," Miller Phillips added "They have been in so many close matches. But, I think for us, it's just that breathe of relief that 'okay we've got this'. Sometimes, it's hard to get over that hump and we have a lot of young players continuing to belief that we can do it. I think tonight showed us the amount of fight we have in us. The amount of girt and the belief we have in ourselves. We just need to take it one point at a time."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its season-long four-match homestand Saturday with a schedule 7 p.m. first serve versus Buffalo, its remaining opponent from the MAC East Division.
Earlier this month, the Ball State women's volleyball program teamed up with the Side-Out Foundation for a Dig Pink extravaganza. Fans can still help the Cardinals make an impact in the battle against breast cancer by donating to the cause at: https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/16469#/.
All funds raised for Side-Out go toward 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.
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 (12-11; 6-5 Mid-American Conference) snapped a season-long three match losing streak and kept the Rockets (7-16, 0-11 MAC) winless in league play.
At no point was the victory easy, however, as Toledo won the opening set to put the pressure on Ball State early and then rallied from down 7-4 in the fifth to earn a pair of match points at 14-12.
The Cardinals would not be scared away, scoring the next two points and forcing a back-and-forth battle from there. Ball State had its first match point at 18-17, but failed to capitalize. The teams then played to a 21-21 stalemate, before freshman outside Natalie Risi ended the battle with a huge kill and a service ace.
"We just kept fighting tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "I thought both teams played really scrappy, at a high level and it could have went either way. I'm just glad we continued to fight, continued to believe and got the two points we needed at the end."
While the ace to win it might have been Risi's biggest play of the night, she also turned in another dominating performance on the offensive front, topping her career-high from the previous contest versus Bowling Green (Oct. 26) with a match-high 27 blasts against the Rockets. She also secured 11 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, while serving up three total aces.
Risi was not the only Cardinal with double-digit kills Thursday. In fact, five Ball State players finished the night in double figures. Junior outside Kia Holder was second on the team with 13 kills, senior middle Sydnee VanBeek added 12, junior opposite Reece Kral collected 11 and freshman middle Marie Plitt spooked up 10.
It's the second time this season Ball State has had five players with 10-or-more kills, and both matches involved redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing who dished out a career-high 64 assists against Toledo.
Overall, Grussing had the Cardinals offense connecting at a .252 (75-24-202) clip and earned her third career double-double by adding 14 digs.
Senior libero Kate Avila led the Ball State backcourt with 29 digs, while freshmen defensive specialists Maggie Huber and Chloe Rickenbach added 16 and 14, respectively. Ball State's backcourt play helped limit the Rockets to a .222 (67-24-194) team attack percentage.
"We knew coming in Toledo was going to give us a fight," Miller Phillips added "They have been in so many close matches. But, I think for us, it's just that breathe of relief that 'okay we've got this'. Sometimes, it's hard to get over that hump and we have a lot of young players continuing to belief that we can do it. I think tonight showed us the amount of fight we have in us. The amount of girt and the belief we have in ourselves. We just need to take it one point at a time."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its season-long four-match homestand Saturday with a schedule 7 p.m. first serve versus Buffalo, its remaining opponent from the MAC East Division.
Earlier this month, the Ball State women's volleyball program teamed up with the Side-Out Foundation for a Dig Pink extravaganza. Fans can still help the Cardinals make an impact in the battle against breast cancer by donating to the cause at: https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/16469#/.
All funds raised for Side-Out go toward 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.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
UT
BSU
Kills
67
75
Errors
24
24
Attempts
194
202
Hitting %
.222
.252
Points
87
90
Assists
61
71
Aces
10
7
Blocks
10
8
Game Leaders
Kills
27
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOPP / MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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