Friday, October 15
Muncie, IN
6:30 p.m.
Ball State University
16-3,6-1MAC
3
vs
0
Northern Illinois
9-9,3-5MAC
1
2
3
F
Northern Ill.
21
17
17
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Risi Sets The Tone in Friday’s Volleyball Sweep of NIU
October 15, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After playing the last eight matches at libero, Natalie Risi returned to the outside in Friday's Mid-American Conference showdown with Northern Illinois.
She wasted little time making a statement, registering solo blocks on two of the matches first five rallies to set the tone early in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) sweep at Worthen Arena.
"We executed at a high level and played consistent tonight, which is what I expected us to do," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the win. "I think we had everybody focused and locked in, and we just execute our game plan."
It was the Cardinals' (16-3; 6-1 MAC) sixth consecutive victory and moved the team to 5-0 at home this season. It is a big home spark for Ball State, which played its first of seven matches out of the next nine in "The Nest".
"I think we have an unbelievable fan base and that's something we've been talking about a lot since we have been on the road a ton so far this season," Phillips said. "Counting tonight, seven of our next nine are at home, so we want to use our home court and our fans to our advantage. I thought we did a good job with that tonight."
The win also snapped a two-match losing streak to the Huskies (9-9; 3-5 MAC), which is the only league program to own a lead in the all-time series versus Ball State, currently at 38-35.
Going back to Risi, she finished the first set with three solo blocks, after entering the contest with just five over her first 70 career matches. She also tallied seven kills to help the Ball State offense connect for a .321 (42-8-106) hitting mark in the win.
"I thought Risi did a great job tonight," Phillis said. "She is always prepared to do anything and everything we ask her to do. She works hard in practice and she's always ready to go. She knew she needed to set the tone for us tonight and she did that with those three big blocks. She had great block touches, hit well, and was a huge presence for us. I thought she really stepped up in the leadership role tonight."
Risi's three solo blocks were part of seven the Cardinals had in the opening set, and the team finished the contest with 13.0 overall to tie for the second-best blocking effort of the season.
Opposite Natalie Mitchem would ultimately lead all players in the match with seven total blocks, while middles Lauren Gilliland and Marie Plitt added five and three, respectively.
Setter Megan Wielonski rounded out Ball State's blockers with two, to go along with 32 assists as she guided the offense to its fourth above .300 hitting effort of the season.
Jaclyn Bulmahn led the Cardinals with 12 kills, while Plitt was not far behind with 10. Plitt also hit .529 (10-1-17) in the win and now leads the MAC with a .366 attack percentage on the year.
Mitchem would add seven kills to her seven total blocks, to go along with a .438 (7-0-16) rate of success.
In the backcourt, libero Maggie Huber paced all players with 17 digs, while defensive specialist Havyn Gates was second on the squad with nine digs and served up two of the team's three aces. The third ace went to Risi.
Nikolette Nedic paced the Huskies with 11 kill on the night, while Francesca Bertucci had a team-high 16 digs. Thanks in part to Ball State's 13 total blocks, the Huskies hit .133 (38-23-113) as a team.
"In practice, we've really focused on being disciplined at the net, loaded and we've been tracking our hitters a lot more," Risi said about the team's blocking effort. "I think we really put that in effect tonight. We need to keep this momentum through the next matches, and thankfully we are staying at home for a while, so we can take advantage of playing in Worthen."
The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to extend its winning streak to seven match Saturday afternoon, when it battled Northern Illinois for a second time. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
She wasted little time making a statement, registering solo blocks on two of the matches first five rallies to set the tone early in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17) sweep at Worthen Arena.
"We executed at a high level and played consistent tonight, which is what I expected us to do," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the win. "I think we had everybody focused and locked in, and we just execute our game plan."
It was the Cardinals' (16-3; 6-1 MAC) sixth consecutive victory and moved the team to 5-0 at home this season. It is a big home spark for Ball State, which played its first of seven matches out of the next nine in "The Nest".
"I think we have an unbelievable fan base and that's something we've been talking about a lot since we have been on the road a ton so far this season," Phillips said. "Counting tonight, seven of our next nine are at home, so we want to use our home court and our fans to our advantage. I thought we did a good job with that tonight."
The win also snapped a two-match losing streak to the Huskies (9-9; 3-5 MAC), which is the only league program to own a lead in the all-time series versus Ball State, currently at 38-35.
Going back to Risi, she finished the first set with three solo blocks, after entering the contest with just five over her first 70 career matches. She also tallied seven kills to help the Ball State offense connect for a .321 (42-8-106) hitting mark in the win.
"I thought Risi did a great job tonight," Phillis said. "She is always prepared to do anything and everything we ask her to do. She works hard in practice and she's always ready to go. She knew she needed to set the tone for us tonight and she did that with those three big blocks. She had great block touches, hit well, and was a huge presence for us. I thought she really stepped up in the leadership role tonight."
Risi's three solo blocks were part of seven the Cardinals had in the opening set, and the team finished the contest with 13.0 overall to tie for the second-best blocking effort of the season.
Opposite Natalie Mitchem would ultimately lead all players in the match with seven total blocks, while middles Lauren Gilliland and Marie Plitt added five and three, respectively.
Setter Megan Wielonski rounded out Ball State's blockers with two, to go along with 32 assists as she guided the offense to its fourth above .300 hitting effort of the season.
Jaclyn Bulmahn led the Cardinals with 12 kills, while Plitt was not far behind with 10. Plitt also hit .529 (10-1-17) in the win and now leads the MAC with a .366 attack percentage on the year.
Mitchem would add seven kills to her seven total blocks, to go along with a .438 (7-0-16) rate of success.
In the backcourt, libero Maggie Huber paced all players with 17 digs, while defensive specialist Havyn Gates was second on the squad with nine digs and served up two of the team's three aces. The third ace went to Risi.
Nikolette Nedic paced the Huskies with 11 kill on the night, while Francesca Bertucci had a team-high 16 digs. Thanks in part to Ball State's 13 total blocks, the Huskies hit .133 (38-23-113) as a team.
"In practice, we've really focused on being disciplined at the net, loaded and we've been tracking our hitters a lot more," Risi said about the team's blocking effort. "I think we really put that in effect tonight. We need to keep this momentum through the next matches, and thankfully we are staying at home for a while, so we can take advantage of playing in Worthen."
The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to extend its winning streak to seven match Saturday afternoon, when it battled Northern Illinois for a second time. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
NIU
BSU
Kills
38
42
Errors
23
8
Attempts
113
106
Hitting %
.133
.321
Points
45
58
Assists
38
38
Aces
3
3
Blocks
4
13
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH / OPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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