Saturday, October 9
Buffalo, N.Y.
4 p.m.
Ball State University
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at
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Buffalo
Photo by: Michael Hickey
Lightning Strikes Twice; Volleyball Rallies Late in Fifth to Top Buffalo
October 09, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
BUFFALO, N.Y. - - For the Ball State women's volleyball faithful, Saturday night's come-from-behind win at Buffalo might have seem like a case of déjà vu.
Trailing 14-12 in the fifth, the Cardinals (15-3; 5-1 Mid-American Conference) rallied for the final four points to escape Alumni Arena with a 3-2 (25-15, 25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14) victory over the host Bulls (9-9; 2-4 MAC).
"This was a great toughness win," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "Buffalo played great defense and their attackers were relentless. We had to fight for every single point, as they wouldn't let anything touch the floor."
Almost nine days earlier, the exact same scenario took place when Ball State won the first set, lost the next two, and rallied to top Ohio in its MAC home opener Sept. 30 in Worthen Arena.
In that match, it was middle Marie Plitt who would blast a pivotal kill with BSU trailing 14-12 in the fifth to send freshman setter Megan Wielonski to serve out the contest.
Flash forward to tonight, when the Cardinals trailed 14-12 in the fifth at Buffalo, only to have opposite Natalie Mitchem come up with a clutch kill to give BSU the serve. Plitt would have an even bigger factor in this one, smashing kills on the next three rallies to extend Ball State's winning streak to five matches.
The three kills put an exclamation point on a solid night for Plitt, who finished the match with a career-high 18 kills. She also turned in a .429 (18-3-35) attack percentage, led the Ball State defense with four total blocks and served up two of the team's six aces.
"Marie really came through in the clutch," Phillips said. "Three money kills in a row, that's what you have to have in those tough moments. I am extremely proud of her."
Overall, four Cardinals attackers finished the night in double figures, as Mitchem scored 14 kills and outsides Emily Hollowell and Jaclyn Bulmahn smashed 11 and 10, respectively.
Along with nine kills and a .292 (9-2-24) attack percentage from middle Lauren Gilliland, Ball State finished the contest hitting .293 (71-20-174) as a team, with Wielonski dishing out 56 assists.
Libero Natalie Risi led another solid effort from the BSU backcourt, collecting a match-high 18 digs. Wielonski was second on the squad with 14 digs, for her 10th assist/dig double-double of the year, while defensive specialist Maggie Huber added 12.
As a team, the Cardinals finished the night with a 77-to-71 edge in digs, while out-acing the Bulls 6-to-3. The effort helped limit the Buffalo attack to a .286 (74-22-182) rate of success.
Milla Malik and Emma Gielas led the Buffalo attack with 17 kills each, while Maria Futey was credited with a team-best 15 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena next weekend with a two-match series versus Northern Illinois. The MAC West Division foes will battle at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Trailing 14-12 in the fifth, the Cardinals (15-3; 5-1 Mid-American Conference) rallied for the final four points to escape Alumni Arena with a 3-2 (25-15, 25-27, 17-25, 25-21, 16-14) victory over the host Bulls (9-9; 2-4 MAC).
"This was a great toughness win," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "Buffalo played great defense and their attackers were relentless. We had to fight for every single point, as they wouldn't let anything touch the floor."
Almost nine days earlier, the exact same scenario took place when Ball State won the first set, lost the next two, and rallied to top Ohio in its MAC home opener Sept. 30 in Worthen Arena.
In that match, it was middle Marie Plitt who would blast a pivotal kill with BSU trailing 14-12 in the fifth to send freshman setter Megan Wielonski to serve out the contest.
Flash forward to tonight, when the Cardinals trailed 14-12 in the fifth at Buffalo, only to have opposite Natalie Mitchem come up with a clutch kill to give BSU the serve. Plitt would have an even bigger factor in this one, smashing kills on the next three rallies to extend Ball State's winning streak to five matches.
The three kills put an exclamation point on a solid night for Plitt, who finished the match with a career-high 18 kills. She also turned in a .429 (18-3-35) attack percentage, led the Ball State defense with four total blocks and served up two of the team's six aces.
"Marie really came through in the clutch," Phillips said. "Three money kills in a row, that's what you have to have in those tough moments. I am extremely proud of her."
Overall, four Cardinals attackers finished the night in double figures, as Mitchem scored 14 kills and outsides Emily Hollowell and Jaclyn Bulmahn smashed 11 and 10, respectively.
Along with nine kills and a .292 (9-2-24) attack percentage from middle Lauren Gilliland, Ball State finished the contest hitting .293 (71-20-174) as a team, with Wielonski dishing out 56 assists.
Libero Natalie Risi led another solid effort from the BSU backcourt, collecting a match-high 18 digs. Wielonski was second on the squad with 14 digs, for her 10th assist/dig double-double of the year, while defensive specialist Maggie Huber added 12.
As a team, the Cardinals finished the night with a 77-to-71 edge in digs, while out-acing the Bulls 6-to-3. The effort helped limit the Buffalo attack to a .286 (74-22-182) rate of success.
Milla Malik and Emma Gielas led the Buffalo attack with 17 kills each, while Maria Futey was credited with a team-best 15 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena next weekend with a two-match series versus Northern Illinois. The MAC West Division foes will battle at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH / OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH / OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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