Friday, February 19
Muncie, IN
2 p.m.
Ball State University
5-5,5-5MAC
0
vs
3
Northern Illinois
4-6,4-6MAC
1
2
3
F
Northern Ill.
25
25
25
3
Ball St.
23
21
22
0
Photo by: Ball State University
WVB Falls In Friday Action To Northern Illinois
February 19, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Despite a 13-kill performance from senior outside hitter Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) and a .228 team attack percentage, the Ball State women's volleyball team suffered a second straight 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-22) setback to Northern Illinois Friday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
While the Cardinals (5-5, 5-5 Mid-American Conference) turned it up a notch on offense, unfortunately, so did the Huskies (4-6, 4-6 MAC) who hit a season-best .305 to earn the victory.
"NIU played really well this week," acting head coach Fritz Rosenberg said. "They were able to stay in their system and we weren't able to rattle them too much in terms of what they wanted to do with their offense. I thought we did better on defense today, but it's nowhere near where we need to be to be competitive in the MAC."
Once again, Ball State was able to spread out its offense, with eight different players logging at least one kill. Aside from Holder's team-high 13 kills, sophomore middle Marie Plitt (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) was second on the squad with eight.
In the first significant action of her career, redshirt freshman Cailyn Bolser (Fairmount, Ind./Mississenewa) played in all three sets and smashed a career-high five kills. Bolser also added a block, while Plitt and freshman Lauren Gilliland (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) tied for team-high honors with three total blocks each.
"Cailyn has been doing really good in practice and working really hard," Rosenberg said. "Middle is her natural position, but our middles have been playing well so we've been looking for new ways to get her in the match. Tonight presented an opportunity, and I thought she played well for the first true match of her career and she has a bright future ahead of her."
Aside from NIU's attacking advantage, which saw them score 11 more kills than the Cardinals, it was a pretty even match statistically. Northern Illinois held a slim 57 to 56 edge in digs, both teams logged six total blocks and Ball State had two aces to the Huskies' one.
Sophomore libero Maggie Huber (Loveland, Ohio/St. Ursuline Academy) led the Ball State defense with 13 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach (Avon, Ind./Avon) was right behind with 12.
Junior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck (Modesto, Calif./Beyer) served up both of Ball State's aces, while adding six digs. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) handed out a team-high 35 assists to go along with eight digs and a pair of block assists.
Katie Jablonski led three Huskies in double figures with 14 kills, while Kennedy Shelley collected a match-high 15 digs.
"We have a young roster, with 13 freshmen or sophomores, and there are some growing pains we are going through and lessons to be learned," Rosenberg concluded. "We are asking them to carry some big roles in terms of leadership and production. Last year, we has some seniors that carried a heavy load for us, so now it's their turn to take some lumps and figure it out."
The Ball State women's volleyball team hits the road for the next four matches, starting with a two-match set at Western Michigan. First serve in the series is set for 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 25).
While the Cardinals (5-5, 5-5 Mid-American Conference) turned it up a notch on offense, unfortunately, so did the Huskies (4-6, 4-6 MAC) who hit a season-best .305 to earn the victory.
"NIU played really well this week," acting head coach Fritz Rosenberg said. "They were able to stay in their system and we weren't able to rattle them too much in terms of what they wanted to do with their offense. I thought we did better on defense today, but it's nowhere near where we need to be to be competitive in the MAC."
Once again, Ball State was able to spread out its offense, with eight different players logging at least one kill. Aside from Holder's team-high 13 kills, sophomore middle Marie Plitt (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) was second on the squad with eight.
In the first significant action of her career, redshirt freshman Cailyn Bolser (Fairmount, Ind./Mississenewa) played in all three sets and smashed a career-high five kills. Bolser also added a block, while Plitt and freshman Lauren Gilliland (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) tied for team-high honors with three total blocks each.
"Cailyn has been doing really good in practice and working really hard," Rosenberg said. "Middle is her natural position, but our middles have been playing well so we've been looking for new ways to get her in the match. Tonight presented an opportunity, and I thought she played well for the first true match of her career and she has a bright future ahead of her."
Aside from NIU's attacking advantage, which saw them score 11 more kills than the Cardinals, it was a pretty even match statistically. Northern Illinois held a slim 57 to 56 edge in digs, both teams logged six total blocks and Ball State had two aces to the Huskies' one.
Sophomore libero Maggie Huber (Loveland, Ohio/St. Ursuline Academy) led the Ball State defense with 13 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach (Avon, Ind./Avon) was right behind with 12.
Junior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck (Modesto, Calif./Beyer) served up both of Ball State's aces, while adding six digs. Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) handed out a team-high 35 assists to go along with eight digs and a pair of block assists.
Katie Jablonski led three Huskies in double figures with 14 kills, while Kennedy Shelley collected a match-high 15 digs.
"We have a young roster, with 13 freshmen or sophomores, and there are some growing pains we are going through and lessons to be learned," Rosenberg concluded. "We are asking them to carry some big roles in terms of leadership and production. Last year, we has some seniors that carried a heavy load for us, so now it's their turn to take some lumps and figure it out."
The Ball State women's volleyball team hits the road for the next four matches, starting with a two-match set at Western Michigan. First serve in the series is set for 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 25).
Team Stats
NIU
BSU
Kills
53
42
Errors
14
14
Attempts
128
123
Hitting %
.305
.228
Points
60
50
Assists
49
39
Aces
1
2
Blocks
6
6
Game Leaders
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
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