Saturday, October 5
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Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Volleyball’s Offense Stays Hot in 3-1 Win Over Western Michigan
October 05, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Freshman opposite Allison Hamaker blasted a career-high 19 kills and the Ball State offense remained smoking hot in a 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 22-25, 25-18) victory over Mid-American Conference West Division rival Western Michigan Saturday night in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (9-7; 3-1 MAC), who have won 12 straight league matches in Worthen Arena dating back to the 2017 season, finished the night with a .224 (63-22-183) team attack percentage and closed out the weekend hitting at a .283 (113-31-289) clip.
"I think we came out playing really aggressive," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "That was a focus of ours, to make sure we were in attack mode from the very beginning. I thought our service pressure was strong and that helped our blocking presence. I also thought our offense was clicking the majority of the night, and for the most part, we were in a good rhythm."
In addition to her career-high 19 kills, Hamaker led Ball State's attackers with a .500 (19-4-30) hitting percentage. She was not the only freshman to score in double figures, however, as outsides Natalie Risi and Natalie Mitchem added 15 and 13 kills, respectively.
"Allison had another level of go to her, and she was really fired up," Phillips said about her leading attacker. "She knows we need her to hit at a high level. She did a great job of being aggressive and hitting smart shots. She's getting more and more confident every match she's out there and we need that. I thought we had a lot of hitters doing a really good job, but Allison was definitely on fire tonight."
Leading the offense to its second consecutive solid performance was senior setter Amber Seaman who dished out 48 assists, scored four kills of her own, collected nine digs and served up two of the team's three aces.
Defensively, senior libero Kate Avila led the Cardinals with 22 digs, raising her career total to 1,934. She is now three digs shy of passing Catie Fredrich's (2010-13) career mark of 1,936 for third on Ball State's career charts. In addition, freshmen defensive specialists Maggie Huber and Chloe Rickenbach were credited with 16 digs apiece, helping the Cardinals to an 84-78 edge in the category.
"Amber did a really good job of getting the ball where we needed it," Phillips said. "I also thought our backcourt made a lot of good hustle plays. Overall we had several people with double-digit digs, and I thought we executed the game plan really well from a backcourt standpoint."
In addition to out-digging the Western Michigan defense, the Cardinals were able to limit the Bronco's offense to a .172 (50-21-169) rate of success and slow down the league's leading attacker Rachel Bontrager; holding her to 17 kills and a .137 (17-10-51) attacking mark.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road for its next four conference matches, starting Friday (Oct. 11) with a 6 p.m. showdown at MAC-leading Central Michigan. The Chippewas enter the contest with a 14-2 (4-0 MAC) record and on a nine-match winning streak.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
The Cardinals (9-7; 3-1 MAC), who have won 12 straight league matches in Worthen Arena dating back to the 2017 season, finished the night with a .224 (63-22-183) team attack percentage and closed out the weekend hitting at a .283 (113-31-289) clip.
"I think we came out playing really aggressive," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "That was a focus of ours, to make sure we were in attack mode from the very beginning. I thought our service pressure was strong and that helped our blocking presence. I also thought our offense was clicking the majority of the night, and for the most part, we were in a good rhythm."
In addition to her career-high 19 kills, Hamaker led Ball State's attackers with a .500 (19-4-30) hitting percentage. She was not the only freshman to score in double figures, however, as outsides Natalie Risi and Natalie Mitchem added 15 and 13 kills, respectively.
"Allison had another level of go to her, and she was really fired up," Phillips said about her leading attacker. "She knows we need her to hit at a high level. She did a great job of being aggressive and hitting smart shots. She's getting more and more confident every match she's out there and we need that. I thought we had a lot of hitters doing a really good job, but Allison was definitely on fire tonight."
Leading the offense to its second consecutive solid performance was senior setter Amber Seaman who dished out 48 assists, scored four kills of her own, collected nine digs and served up two of the team's three aces.
Defensively, senior libero Kate Avila led the Cardinals with 22 digs, raising her career total to 1,934. She is now three digs shy of passing Catie Fredrich's (2010-13) career mark of 1,936 for third on Ball State's career charts. In addition, freshmen defensive specialists Maggie Huber and Chloe Rickenbach were credited with 16 digs apiece, helping the Cardinals to an 84-78 edge in the category.
"Amber did a really good job of getting the ball where we needed it," Phillips said. "I also thought our backcourt made a lot of good hustle plays. Overall we had several people with double-digit digs, and I thought we executed the game plan really well from a backcourt standpoint."
In addition to out-digging the Western Michigan defense, the Cardinals were able to limit the Bronco's offense to a .172 (50-21-169) rate of success and slow down the league's leading attacker Rachel Bontrager; holding her to 17 kills and a .137 (17-10-51) attacking mark.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to the road for its next four conference matches, starting Friday (Oct. 11) with a 6 p.m. showdown at MAC-leading Central Michigan. The Chippewas enter the contest with a 14-2 (4-0 MAC) record and on a nine-match winning streak.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
WMU
BSU
Kills
50
63
Errors
21
22
Attempts
169
183
Hitting %
.172
.224
Points
61
68
Assists
46
60
Aces
1
3
Blocks
10
2
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
19
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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