Sunday, November 24
Bowling Green, OH
4:30 p.m.
Ball State University
20-11,11-5MAC
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No. 3 Bowling Green
19-12,11-5MAC
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Ball St.
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Bowling Green
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MAC CHAMPIONS, Volleyball Tops BGSU in MAC Championship Match
November 24, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The ninth straight win for the Ball State women's volleyball team is sending the Cardinals to their ninth NCAA tournament.
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Ball State blitzed Bowling Green 15-5 in the decisive fifth set of Sunday's MAC Tournament championship match to win the tournament for the seventh time overall and the first time since 2002. Now the Cardinals are going dancing for the first time since 2011.
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BSU (20-11) overcame a Bowling Green squad (19-12) that itself had won five in a row and did it in a hostile environment on the Falcons' home court at the Stroh Center, winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 15-5).
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"I think the biggest difference was just our belief," Ball State fourth-year head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Even when we had a little bit of a struggle, we never thought for a moment we weren't going to win this match. We were full of confidence the whole time, and this was a full team effort. I'm so proud of our team."
Natalie Risi, Natalie Mitchem and Kia Holder blasted 12 kills apiece to pace Ball State offensively, with Holder hitting at a blistering .432 clip (12-1-26) and Risi adding 15 digs for a double-double.
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Kate Avila racked up 29 digs, and the BSU setting tandem of Amber Seaman and Esther Grussing combined for 51 assists. Grussing added 10 digs to her 22 assists for a double-double of her own, while Seaman piled up three of the team's eight aces.
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"That's something we take pride in, and that's hard in pressure situations to serve with toughness," Phillips said. "That's a big part of our game, getting points at the service line, and we did it tonight in a high-pressure situation."
For their play over the last three days, Holder was named the MAC Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player, while Avila and Mitchem were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team.
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The two teams could not have been any closer entering the match. They came in with identical records both overall (19-11) and in MAC play (11-5), the Cardinals seeded fourth and the Falcons third after both finished just a game out of the regular season title.
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Their only meeting this season went the distance in Muncie with Bowling Green emerging 15-13 in the fifth set. That match was on Oct. 26, nearly a full month ago, and it was Ball State's last loss. The Cardinals avenged it Sunday with everything on the line.
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This one went five sets again. Ball State was unfazed after Bowling Green won the first set by taking the final four points. The Cardinals cruised to sets two and three before the Falcons came back to force a fifth.
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But this fifth set wasn't close. The Cardinals stormed out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. When Bowling Green couldn't corral Marie Plitt's attack on the final play, BSU stormed the court in celebration.
Now this team, featuring its mixture of experience (four seniors) and youth (an astounding 10 freshmen), is going dancing.
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"Every single player on our team has just played the perfect role we needed from them," Phillips said. "These seniors have led us all the way. They have bought in to making sure everyone feels comfortable, that we're all on the same page. Half our team is brand new this year, and they just took the bull by the horns and wanted it so much. I could not say enough about how awesome those four are."
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Ball State will now wait a week to learn its destination for the first round of the NCAA tournament. The selection show will be televised Sunday, Dec. 1 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
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Ball State blitzed Bowling Green 15-5 in the decisive fifth set of Sunday's MAC Tournament championship match to win the tournament for the seventh time overall and the first time since 2002. Now the Cardinals are going dancing for the first time since 2011.
Â
BSU (20-11) overcame a Bowling Green squad (19-12) that itself had won five in a row and did it in a hostile environment on the Falcons' home court at the Stroh Center, winning 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 25-18, 18-25, 15-5).
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"I think the biggest difference was just our belief," Ball State fourth-year head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Even when we had a little bit of a struggle, we never thought for a moment we weren't going to win this match. We were full of confidence the whole time, and this was a full team effort. I'm so proud of our team."
?? Head Coach Kelli Miller Phillips on @BallStateWVB championship performance! #MACtion pic.twitter.com/0UNyd63xCY
— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 25, 2019
Natalie Risi, Natalie Mitchem and Kia Holder blasted 12 kills apiece to pace Ball State offensively, with Holder hitting at a blistering .432 clip (12-1-26) and Risi adding 15 digs for a double-double.
Â
Kate Avila racked up 29 digs, and the BSU setting tandem of Amber Seaman and Esther Grussing combined for 51 assists. Grussing added 10 digs to her 22 assists for a double-double of her own, while Seaman piled up three of the team's eight aces.
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"That's something we take pride in, and that's hard in pressure situations to serve with toughness," Phillips said. "That's a big part of our game, getting points at the service line, and we did it tonight in a high-pressure situation."
For their play over the last three days, Holder was named the MAC Volleyball Championship Most Valuable Player, while Avila and Mitchem were named to the MAC All-Tournament Team.
Â
The two teams could not have been any closer entering the match. They came in with identical records both overall (19-11) and in MAC play (11-5), the Cardinals seeded fourth and the Falcons third after both finished just a game out of the regular season title.
Â
Their only meeting this season went the distance in Muncie with Bowling Green emerging 15-13 in the fifth set. That match was on Oct. 26, nearly a full month ago, and it was Ball State's last loss. The Cardinals avenged it Sunday with everything on the line.
Â
This one went five sets again. Ball State was unfazed after Bowling Green won the first set by taking the final four points. The Cardinals cruised to sets two and three before the Falcons came back to force a fifth.
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But this fifth set wasn't close. The Cardinals stormed out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back. When Bowling Green couldn't corral Marie Plitt's attack on the final play, BSU stormed the court in celebration.
MAC CHAMPIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/DIDbYSUSI9
— Ball State Volleyball ?? (@BallStateWVB) November 24, 2019
Now this team, featuring its mixture of experience (four seniors) and youth (an astounding 10 freshmen), is going dancing.
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"Every single player on our team has just played the perfect role we needed from them," Phillips said. "These seniors have led us all the way. They have bought in to making sure everyone feels comfortable, that we're all on the same page. Half our team is brand new this year, and they just took the bull by the horns and wanted it so much. I could not say enough about how awesome those four are."
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Ball State will now wait a week to learn its destination for the first round of the NCAA tournament. The selection show will be televised Sunday, Dec. 1 at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
ADVANCE & DANCE!
— #MACtion (@MACSports) November 25, 2019
All the good vibes in the @BallStateWVB lockerroom! #MACtion pic.twitter.com/pnerc9wEi0
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Team Stats
BSU
BGSU
Kills
63
56
Errors
23
27
Attempts
178
183
Hitting %
.225
.158
Points
80
68
Assists
60
49
Aces
8
3
Blocks
9
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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