Saturday, November 2
Muncie, IND
7:00 PM
Ball State University
12-12,6-6MAC
3
vs
2
Buffalo
9-15,5-7MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Buffalo
25
21
25
14
13
2
Ball St.
21
25
18
25
15
3
Photo by: Don Rogers, Ball State University
Volleyball Tops Buffalo In Another Five-Set Thriller
November 02, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Visiting Buffalo entered Saturday's match versus the Ball State women's volleyball team as arguably the hottest team in the Mid-American Conference.
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Prior to facing the Cardinals (13-11; 7-5 MAC), the Bulls (9-15; 5-7 MAC) had knocked off each of the league's division leaders on the road. First was MAC West leader Central Michigan in five sets on Oct. 26 and then MAC East leader Akron in five on Halloween.
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That did not deter Ball State however, as the Cardinals battled from down two-sets-to-one to earn a second straight exhilarating five-set victory at Worthen Arena by as score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 15-13).
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"Our goal, especially tonight, was to focus on playing as hard as we can every single point.," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Whether you win that point or not, play as hard as you can on every single point, and you can live with the result. I am certainly glad we came out on top against a strong, talented Buffalo squad, and had enough fight in us to finish this off after playing two really tough matches this weekend."
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After struggling mightily in the third set, falling behind 20-13 before ultimately losing 25-18, the Cardinals hit the reset button in a big way in the beginning of the fourth.
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Freshman outside Natalie Mitchem to open the set with back-to-back kills, while freshman middle MyKel Ivy followed with some strong serving as Ball State scored the first eight points and never looked back on its way to an 11-point fourth-set victory.
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While Saturday's fifth set was not nearly as long as Thursday's 23-21 thriller versus Toledo, it was just as intense with the teams playing to a 12-12 stalemate. That is when senior setter Amber Seaman, who entered the match late in the third and set a commanding fourth, came up with a huge setter dump to push the Cardinals ahead.
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A kill from freshman outside Natalie Risi gave Ball State match point, at 14-12, and after a kill from Buffalo, Risi ended the match with her 15th smash of the contest. Risi ended up providing the set-winning kill in each of BSU's three set victories.
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Risi was not the lone offensive hero for the Cardinals, however, as junior outside Kia Holder provided a huge lift for Ball State's left sides, blasting a career-high 21 kills and adding a pair of big solo blocks. It was the second straight solid performance from the Valparaiso, Indiana, product who was second on the squad with 13 kills against the Rockets. Prior to this weekend, in which she scored 34 kills, Holder had just 31 kills in 11 matches on the year.
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"I think Kia has always had the capability to play like she did this weekend," Miller Phillips said. "In practice this week, she had her best week of practice by a mile and that's why she was in there starting. She's a very confident player, and that energy and her natural presence helped keep our team cool, calm and collected in these two five-setters."
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On the defensive side, senior libero Kate Avila had another solid night, collecting a match-high 22 digs. With the effort, she raised her career total to 2,086 which is four shy of moving her past Alyssa Rio's (2007-10) career total of 2,089 for second on Ball State's all-time charts.
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Risi added 18 digs to go along with her 15 kills for her seventh double-double of the season, while freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber collected 12 digs.
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Led by a combination of redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing and Seaman, the Cardinals finished the contest hitting .279 (70-22-172). Seaman had Ball State operating at a .377 (28-5-61) efficiency over the final two sets, and smashed a season-high five kills of her own.
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"Amber came in and was ready to compete," Miller Phillips said. "She is very competitive, and a fighter, and I think that showed tonight. She came in and really led us to the finish line."
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The Cardinals also held a 7-to-4 advantage in service aces, with three coming from Huber and two from Ivy.
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The Ball State defense, meanwhile, limited the Bulls to a .241 (63-22-170) attack percentage and out-dug the visitors 75-to-71. UB's Polina Prokudina led all players with 26 kills, while Paige Beck added a team-high 19 digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the road portion of its 2019 MAC schedule next weekend with a Friday match at Western Michigan (7 p.m.) and a Saturday contest at Northern Illinois (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT).
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
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- BallStateSports.com -
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Prior to facing the Cardinals (13-11; 7-5 MAC), the Bulls (9-15; 5-7 MAC) had knocked off each of the league's division leaders on the road. First was MAC West leader Central Michigan in five sets on Oct. 26 and then MAC East leader Akron in five on Halloween.
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That did not deter Ball State however, as the Cardinals battled from down two-sets-to-one to earn a second straight exhilarating five-set victory at Worthen Arena by as score of 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 15-13).
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"Our goal, especially tonight, was to focus on playing as hard as we can every single point.," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Whether you win that point or not, play as hard as you can on every single point, and you can live with the result. I am certainly glad we came out on top against a strong, talented Buffalo squad, and had enough fight in us to finish this off after playing two really tough matches this weekend."
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After struggling mightily in the third set, falling behind 20-13 before ultimately losing 25-18, the Cardinals hit the reset button in a big way in the beginning of the fourth.
Â
Freshman outside Natalie Mitchem to open the set with back-to-back kills, while freshman middle MyKel Ivy followed with some strong serving as Ball State scored the first eight points and never looked back on its way to an 11-point fourth-set victory.
Â
While Saturday's fifth set was not nearly as long as Thursday's 23-21 thriller versus Toledo, it was just as intense with the teams playing to a 12-12 stalemate. That is when senior setter Amber Seaman, who entered the match late in the third and set a commanding fourth, came up with a huge setter dump to push the Cardinals ahead.
Â
A kill from freshman outside Natalie Risi gave Ball State match point, at 14-12, and after a kill from Buffalo, Risi ended the match with her 15th smash of the contest. Risi ended up providing the set-winning kill in each of BSU's three set victories.
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Risi was not the lone offensive hero for the Cardinals, however, as junior outside Kia Holder provided a huge lift for Ball State's left sides, blasting a career-high 21 kills and adding a pair of big solo blocks. It was the second straight solid performance from the Valparaiso, Indiana, product who was second on the squad with 13 kills against the Rockets. Prior to this weekend, in which she scored 34 kills, Holder had just 31 kills in 11 matches on the year.
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"I think Kia has always had the capability to play like she did this weekend," Miller Phillips said. "In practice this week, she had her best week of practice by a mile and that's why she was in there starting. She's a very confident player, and that energy and her natural presence helped keep our team cool, calm and collected in these two five-setters."
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On the defensive side, senior libero Kate Avila had another solid night, collecting a match-high 22 digs. With the effort, she raised her career total to 2,086 which is four shy of moving her past Alyssa Rio's (2007-10) career total of 2,089 for second on Ball State's all-time charts.
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Risi added 18 digs to go along with her 15 kills for her seventh double-double of the season, while freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber collected 12 digs.
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Led by a combination of redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing and Seaman, the Cardinals finished the contest hitting .279 (70-22-172). Seaman had Ball State operating at a .377 (28-5-61) efficiency over the final two sets, and smashed a season-high five kills of her own.
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"Amber came in and was ready to compete," Miller Phillips said. "She is very competitive, and a fighter, and I think that showed tonight. She came in and really led us to the finish line."
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The Cardinals also held a 7-to-4 advantage in service aces, with three coming from Huber and two from Ivy.
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The Ball State defense, meanwhile, limited the Bulls to a .241 (63-22-170) attack percentage and out-dug the visitors 75-to-71. UB's Polina Prokudina led all players with 26 kills, while Paige Beck added a team-high 19 digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the road portion of its 2019 MAC schedule next weekend with a Friday match at Western Michigan (7 p.m.) and a Saturday contest at Northern Illinois (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT).
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For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
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- BallStateSports.com -
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Team Stats
UB
BSU
Kills
63
70
Errors
22
22
Attempts
170
172
Hitting %
.241
.279
Points
78
84
Assists
60
58
Aces
4
7
Blocks
11
7
Game Leaders
Kills
21
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's Volleyball
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