Friday, November 8
Kalamazoo, MI
7:00 PM
Ball State University
14-11, 8-5MAC
3
at
1
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Western Michigan University
13-12, 4-9MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
17
25
25
25
3
Western Michigan
25
18
18
18
1
Photo by: Bobby Ellis (Ball State Creative Services)
Offense Soars as Volleyball Rallies Past Western Michigan
November 08, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- For the third straight match, the Ball State women's volleyball team found itself down early after dropping the opening set Friday night to Western Michigan in an important Mid-American Conference showdown at University Arena.
And for the third straight match, it turned out not to be a problem as the Cardinals (14-11; 8-5 MAC) hit the reset button and rallied to win the next three frames for a 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18) victory over the Broncos (13-12; 4-9 MAC).
"After set one, we had to reset our focus on our serving and passing game," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "One we settled in and started passing better, we were able to run our offense more effectively and put pressure on Western Michigan."
In another all-around solid match for the Ball State offense, four Cardinals finished the night with double-digit kills led by freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi with 18. It's the fourth consecutive match in double figures for BSU's top attacker this season, who also added 10 digs for her fourth straight, and eighth overall, double-double.
In addition to Risi's firepower, freshman middle Marie Plitt turned in an outstanding performance with 13 kills and a .500 (13-1-24) attack percentage. Plitt was nearly flawless in the match, with her lone error coming late in the fourth set. It's the third time in the last four matches Plitt has score double-figure kills.
"Marie was seeing the block well and hitting smart shots," Phillips said. "I thought she looked sharp and had a great energy that our team really fed off of tonight."
Ball State also received a pair of strong performances from sophomore opposite Reece Kral and junior outside attacker Kia Holder who smashed 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Both have also played important roles on Ball State's offense as of late with Holder scoring 45 kills over the last three matches and Kral earning 43 over the last five.
"Kia and Reece have added physicality and experience to our lineup," Phillips said. "Kia is playing smart, disciplined volleyball and that's making a world of difference for her and our team."
Another big performance came from senior setter Amber Seaman who dished out 41 assists and guided the offense to a .241 (49-16-137) attack percentage over the final three sets. With the 41 assists, Seaman raised her career total to 3,997 to move three shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to hand out 4,000 career assists.
Speaking of milestones, with her first dig in the second set, senior libero Kate Avila moved into second on Ball State's career digs chart. She ended the night with 13 digs, raising her career total to 2,099 as she moved past Alyssa Rio's (2007-10) mark of 2,089.
"Kate continues to get better and better, which I love to see," Phillips concluded. "She's not satisfied with where she is, and wants to finish playing her best volleyball … and I know she's on the verge of doing just that."
Overall, freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber led the Ball State backcourt with a career-high 26 digs. It's the first time in her career Huber has collected 20-or-more digs, and it's her 12th consecutive match in double figures.
As a team, the Cardinals were able to out-hit the Broncos .228 (59-21-167)-to-.160 (46-21-156) and held a slim 77-to-76 edge in digs. Both teams tallied nine total blocks, with six of Ball State's coming from senior middle Sydnee VanBeek, including four solo blocks.
The win, coupled with a Bowling Green loss at Buffalo earlier in the day, has Ball State back within striking distance of a first-round bye in the upcoming MAC Volleyball Championships as it pulled even with the Falcons, who fell to 8-5 in the MAC, in the battle for the fourth seed. BGSU does hold the tiebreaker, however, virtue of a head-to-head win over the Cardinals.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the road portion of the 2019 regular season Saturday, with a 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT first serve at Northern Illinois' Victor E. Court.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
And for the third straight match, it turned out not to be a problem as the Cardinals (14-11; 8-5 MAC) hit the reset button and rallied to win the next three frames for a 3-1 (17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-18) victory over the Broncos (13-12; 4-9 MAC).
"After set one, we had to reset our focus on our serving and passing game," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "One we settled in and started passing better, we were able to run our offense more effectively and put pressure on Western Michigan."
In another all-around solid match for the Ball State offense, four Cardinals finished the night with double-digit kills led by freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi with 18. It's the fourth consecutive match in double figures for BSU's top attacker this season, who also added 10 digs for her fourth straight, and eighth overall, double-double.
In addition to Risi's firepower, freshman middle Marie Plitt turned in an outstanding performance with 13 kills and a .500 (13-1-24) attack percentage. Plitt was nearly flawless in the match, with her lone error coming late in the fourth set. It's the third time in the last four matches Plitt has score double-figure kills.
"Marie was seeing the block well and hitting smart shots," Phillips said. "I thought she looked sharp and had a great energy that our team really fed off of tonight."
Ball State also received a pair of strong performances from sophomore opposite Reece Kral and junior outside attacker Kia Holder who smashed 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Both have also played important roles on Ball State's offense as of late with Holder scoring 45 kills over the last three matches and Kral earning 43 over the last five.
"Kia and Reece have added physicality and experience to our lineup," Phillips said. "Kia is playing smart, disciplined volleyball and that's making a world of difference for her and our team."
Another big performance came from senior setter Amber Seaman who dished out 41 assists and guided the offense to a .241 (49-16-137) attack percentage over the final three sets. With the 41 assists, Seaman raised her career total to 3,997 to move three shy of becoming the fifth player in program history to hand out 4,000 career assists.
Speaking of milestones, with her first dig in the second set, senior libero Kate Avila moved into second on Ball State's career digs chart. She ended the night with 13 digs, raising her career total to 2,099 as she moved past Alyssa Rio's (2007-10) mark of 2,089.
"Kate continues to get better and better, which I love to see," Phillips concluded. "She's not satisfied with where she is, and wants to finish playing her best volleyball … and I know she's on the verge of doing just that."
Overall, freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber led the Ball State backcourt with a career-high 26 digs. It's the first time in her career Huber has collected 20-or-more digs, and it's her 12th consecutive match in double figures.
As a team, the Cardinals were able to out-hit the Broncos .228 (59-21-167)-to-.160 (46-21-156) and held a slim 77-to-76 edge in digs. Both teams tallied nine total blocks, with six of Ball State's coming from senior middle Sydnee VanBeek, including four solo blocks.
The win, coupled with a Bowling Green loss at Buffalo earlier in the day, has Ball State back within striking distance of a first-round bye in the upcoming MAC Volleyball Championships as it pulled even with the Falcons, who fell to 8-5 in the MAC, in the battle for the fourth seed. BGSU does hold the tiebreaker, however, virtue of a head-to-head win over the Cardinals.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the road portion of the 2019 regular season Saturday, with a 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT first serve at Northern Illinois' Victor E. Court.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State women's volleyball, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateWVB and @VBCoachMiller on Twitter.
- BallStateSports.com -
Team Stats
BSU
WMU
Kills
59
46
Errors
21
21
Attempts
167
156
Hitting %
.228
.160
Points
70.0
58.0
Assists
54
41
Aces
2
3
Blocks
9.0
9.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOPP / MB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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