Friday, November 15
Muncie, IND
7:00 PM
Ball State University
16-11,10-5MAC
3
vs
1
Eastern Michigan
9-17,5-10MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
25
17
19
23
1
Ball St.
23
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Hamaker Leads Volleyball’s Rally Past Eastern Michigan
November 15, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- After dropping the opening set and falling behind 10-4 in the second, Ball State women's volleyball head coach Kelli Miller Phillips did just what she had done numerous times over the course of the season; turned to perhaps the deepest bench in the Mid-American Conference.
And just like they have on many of those occasions, the moves paid off. The Cardinals (16-11; 10-5 MAC) followed the slow start with a 14-2 run to gain control not only in the set, but for the remainder of the match in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-23) victory over Eastern Michigan Friday night at Worthen Arena.
While the rally was a team effort, it was definitely sparked by the play of freshman opposite Allison Hamaker who blasted seven kills in the second set alone and finished the night tied with junior outside Kia Holder for team-high honors with 13.
"Allison was absolutely huge in set two," Phillips said. "She was on fire. Everything she was hitting was going down. She just gave us a renewed energy. She's always a very positive, high-emotion player and it gave our team such a tremendous spark when we were in a lull. Her numbers were huge, and she completely changed the mentality on the court."
Friday's win over the Eagles (10-17; 5-10 MAC) was big in many ways for the Cardinals, first and foremost, because it sets up a senior night battle with Central Michigan (21-6; 11-4 MAC) for a third consecutive MAC West Division title.
In addition, with Akron (16-10; 9-6 MAC) losing at Kent State Friday night, the Cardinals have climbed into fourth in the overall league standings and are in a position to earn a first round bye into next week's MAC Championship.
With several key matches set for tomorrow night, the Cardinals also have the potential to tie for the league's regular season title with a win and a Miami (16-10; 11-4 MAC) loss to Western Michigan.
"Tomorrow is senior night, and I know our four seniors are going to be ready to go," Phillips said. "It's going to have some high emotion, but our focus is still on just getting better. Regardless of who we are playing, and what the situation is, we just need to be ourselves. We are not going to put much of an emphasis on doing anything different, we just need to continue to trust that what we do is good enough. Just work to get that one percent better, compete hard and let the chips fall where they may."
Turning back to the win over the Eagles, the Cardinals also received double-digit kills from freshman middle Marie Plitt, who found the floor 10 times. Freshman outside Natalie Risi and senior middle Sydnee VanBeek chipped in eight each, while freshman outside Natalie Mitchem added six.
Ball State also turned in a tremendous effort in the backcourt, with four players logging double-digit digs to help the Cardinals out-dig EMU 91-to-85. Senior libero Kate Avila led the way with 26 digs, followed by Risi with 18 and freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber with 16.
The fourth player with double-digit digs, senior setter Amber Seaman with 13. She also handed out 20 assists for her fourth double-double of the season and combined with freshman setter Esther Grussing to lead the Cardinals to a .218 (59-20-179) attack percentage.
In addition to her team-high 26 digs, which raised her career total to 2,142, Avila helped Ball State turn up the service pressure with a career-high tying four aces. Overall, the Cardinals served up eight aces in the match.
"Service pressure is what we've really been focusing on down the stretch and it payed off tonight," Phillips concluded. "We know we are not the best blocking team, so we have to find ways besides offense to score points. One of those ways is with our serve. Kate's four aces were huge tonight, but the service pressure from our entire team made the difference in the match."
First serve for Saturday's MAC West Division title match versus Central Michigan is set for 7 p.m. inside Worthen Arena. Ball State football fans can get into the match for free by showing their mobile ticket or ticket stub from the Cardinals 3:30 p.m. kickoff also against the Chippewas.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
And just like they have on many of those occasions, the moves paid off. The Cardinals (16-11; 10-5 MAC) followed the slow start with a 14-2 run to gain control not only in the set, but for the remainder of the match in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-23) victory over Eastern Michigan Friday night at Worthen Arena.
While the rally was a team effort, it was definitely sparked by the play of freshman opposite Allison Hamaker who blasted seven kills in the second set alone and finished the night tied with junior outside Kia Holder for team-high honors with 13.
"Allison was absolutely huge in set two," Phillips said. "She was on fire. Everything she was hitting was going down. She just gave us a renewed energy. She's always a very positive, high-emotion player and it gave our team such a tremendous spark when we were in a lull. Her numbers were huge, and she completely changed the mentality on the court."
Friday's win over the Eagles (10-17; 5-10 MAC) was big in many ways for the Cardinals, first and foremost, because it sets up a senior night battle with Central Michigan (21-6; 11-4 MAC) for a third consecutive MAC West Division title.
In addition, with Akron (16-10; 9-6 MAC) losing at Kent State Friday night, the Cardinals have climbed into fourth in the overall league standings and are in a position to earn a first round bye into next week's MAC Championship.
With several key matches set for tomorrow night, the Cardinals also have the potential to tie for the league's regular season title with a win and a Miami (16-10; 11-4 MAC) loss to Western Michigan.
"Tomorrow is senior night, and I know our four seniors are going to be ready to go," Phillips said. "It's going to have some high emotion, but our focus is still on just getting better. Regardless of who we are playing, and what the situation is, we just need to be ourselves. We are not going to put much of an emphasis on doing anything different, we just need to continue to trust that what we do is good enough. Just work to get that one percent better, compete hard and let the chips fall where they may."
Turning back to the win over the Eagles, the Cardinals also received double-digit kills from freshman middle Marie Plitt, who found the floor 10 times. Freshman outside Natalie Risi and senior middle Sydnee VanBeek chipped in eight each, while freshman outside Natalie Mitchem added six.
Ball State also turned in a tremendous effort in the backcourt, with four players logging double-digit digs to help the Cardinals out-dig EMU 91-to-85. Senior libero Kate Avila led the way with 26 digs, followed by Risi with 18 and freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber with 16.
The fourth player with double-digit digs, senior setter Amber Seaman with 13. She also handed out 20 assists for her fourth double-double of the season and combined with freshman setter Esther Grussing to lead the Cardinals to a .218 (59-20-179) attack percentage.
In addition to her team-high 26 digs, which raised her career total to 2,142, Avila helped Ball State turn up the service pressure with a career-high tying four aces. Overall, the Cardinals served up eight aces in the match.
"Service pressure is what we've really been focusing on down the stretch and it payed off tonight," Phillips concluded. "We know we are not the best blocking team, so we have to find ways besides offense to score points. One of those ways is with our serve. Kate's four aces were huge tonight, but the service pressure from our entire team made the difference in the match."
First serve for Saturday's MAC West Division title match versus Central Michigan is set for 7 p.m. inside Worthen Arena. Ball State football fans can get into the match for free by showing their mobile ticket or ticket stub from the Cardinals 3:30 p.m. kickoff also against the Chippewas.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
EMU
BSU
Kills
55
59
Errors
22
20
Attempts
176
179
Hitting %
.188
.218
Points
68
74
Assists
54
56
Aces
5
8
Blocks
8
7
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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