Saturday, November 9
DeKalb, IL
7 PM ET / 6 PM CT
Ball State University
15-11,9-5MAC
3
at
0
Northern Illinois
8-20,5-9MAC
1
2
3
F
Ball St.
26
25
25
3
Northern Ill.
24
21
22
0
Volleyball Sweeps NIU to Lock Up MAC Tournament Berth
November 09, 2019 | Women's Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. -- Ball State women's volleyball senior defensive specialist Anna Jensen set the tone early with back-to-back service aces to open Saturday's match at Northern Illinois.
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The Cardinals (15-11; 9-5 Mid-American Conference) never looked back from there, ending the road portion of the 2019 regular season with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of the Huskies (8-20; 5-9 MAC) at Victor E. Court.
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"We really focused on starting strong tonight and Anna came in focused and confident," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "She can really pinpoint her serve and that set a great tone for the rest of the team."Â
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In running its current winning streak to a season-long four matches, the Cardinals secured a berth in the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championships which will be held Nov. 21-24 at Bowling Green's Stroh Center. Ball State is also still in the hunt for at least a first-round bye, ending the weekend tied with both current third seed BGSU (9-5 MAC) and current fourth seed Akron (9-5 MAC).
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Not only would Jensen finish the match with a career-high four service aces, she also collected a career-best 20 digs to help the Ball State backcourt earn a 61-to-57 victory in the category for the match. She was also credited with her fourth career kill and earned a .955 (21-for-22) reception percentage.
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It was also another solid night for the Ball State offense which connected for a .250 (47-15-128) rate of success, as senior setter Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing split time in the contest.Â
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Seaman set the opening half of the match, handing out 14 assists, including her 4,000th career helper at the 8-5 mark of the first frame. She's just the fifth player in program history to reach 4,000 career assists and finished the night with 4,011.
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"Amber has been a huge part of our program's success throughout her career and will continue to play an integral piece down the stretch," Phillips said. "She plays hard and is not afraid of any opponent. Her fight and energy are contagious and our team feeds off that well."
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Grussing set the second half of the match, handing out 24 assists. Both setters added a block assist, while Seaman collected two kills and Grussing scored one.
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Speaking of kills, freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi reached double figures for the fifth consecutive match with a match-high 17. She also hit .310 (17-4-42) and earned six digs, an ace and a perfect reception percentage in 16 attempts.
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Ball State's middle duo of senior Sydnee VanBeek and freshman Marie Plitt added seven kills apiece, with VanBeek also leading all players with five total blocks. She also connected for a .412 (7-0-17) rate of success.
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Rounding out the Cardinals top contributors was senior libero Kate Avila with 17 digs. She now has 2,116 career digs and is 158 shy of passing program legend Stephanie Keller's (2001-04) career total of 2,273 for the program record.
In addition to out-digging the Huskies, the Ball State defense limited NIU to a .211 (45-18-128) attack percentage for the night.Â
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"Tonight we used our depth again and were able to adjust defensively at different times throughout the match which I think is a big strength of our," Phillips concluded. "We must continue to stay focused, build on our fundamentals and what we've been doing well, and keep getting better next week in practice."
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the regular season next weekend with a pair of home matches starting Friday at 7 p.m. versus Eastern Michigan.Â
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On Saturday, the Cardinals battle current MAC West Division leader Central Michigan in what could be a matchup for the division title as the Chippewas have lost two straight and enter next week with a 10-4 league record. The match, which will also serve as senior day for Ball State, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
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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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The Cardinals (15-11; 9-5 Mid-American Conference) never looked back from there, ending the road portion of the 2019 regular season with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 25-22) sweep of the Huskies (8-20; 5-9 MAC) at Victor E. Court.
Â
"We really focused on starting strong tonight and Anna came in focused and confident," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "She can really pinpoint her serve and that set a great tone for the rest of the team."Â
Â
In running its current winning streak to a season-long four matches, the Cardinals secured a berth in the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championships which will be held Nov. 21-24 at Bowling Green's Stroh Center. Ball State is also still in the hunt for at least a first-round bye, ending the weekend tied with both current third seed BGSU (9-5 MAC) and current fourth seed Akron (9-5 MAC).
Â
Not only would Jensen finish the match with a career-high four service aces, she also collected a career-best 20 digs to help the Ball State backcourt earn a 61-to-57 victory in the category for the match. She was also credited with her fourth career kill and earned a .955 (21-for-22) reception percentage.
Â
It was also another solid night for the Ball State offense which connected for a .250 (47-15-128) rate of success, as senior setter Amber Seaman and redshirt freshman setter Esther Grussing split time in the contest.Â
Â
Seaman set the opening half of the match, handing out 14 assists, including her 4,000th career helper at the 8-5 mark of the first frame. She's just the fifth player in program history to reach 4,000 career assists and finished the night with 4,011.
Â
"Amber has been a huge part of our program's success throughout her career and will continue to play an integral piece down the stretch," Phillips said. "She plays hard and is not afraid of any opponent. Her fight and energy are contagious and our team feeds off that well."
Â
Grussing set the second half of the match, handing out 24 assists. Both setters added a block assist, while Seaman collected two kills and Grussing scored one.
Â
Speaking of kills, freshman outside attacker Natalie Risi reached double figures for the fifth consecutive match with a match-high 17. She also hit .310 (17-4-42) and earned six digs, an ace and a perfect reception percentage in 16 attempts.
Â
Ball State's middle duo of senior Sydnee VanBeek and freshman Marie Plitt added seven kills apiece, with VanBeek also leading all players with five total blocks. She also connected for a .412 (7-0-17) rate of success.
Â
Rounding out the Cardinals top contributors was senior libero Kate Avila with 17 digs. She now has 2,116 career digs and is 158 shy of passing program legend Stephanie Keller's (2001-04) career total of 2,273 for the program record.
In addition to out-digging the Huskies, the Ball State defense limited NIU to a .211 (45-18-128) attack percentage for the night.Â
Â
"Tonight we used our depth again and were able to adjust defensively at different times throughout the match which I think is a big strength of our," Phillips concluded. "We must continue to stay focused, build on our fundamentals and what we've been doing well, and keep getting better next week in practice."
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the regular season next weekend with a pair of home matches starting Friday at 7 p.m. versus Eastern Michigan.Â
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On Saturday, the Cardinals battle current MAC West Division leader Central Michigan in what could be a matchup for the division title as the Chippewas have lost two straight and enter next week with a 10-4 league record. The match, which will also serve as senior day for Ball State, is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve.
Â
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
BSU
NIU
Kills
47
45
Errors
15
18
Attempts
128
128
Hitting %
.250
.211
Points
60
55
Assists
44
40
Aces
8
3
Blocks
5
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH / DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
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