Tuesday, March 16
Muncie, IN
7 p.m.
Ball State University
7-9,7-9MAC
3
vs
0
Miami
8-8,8-8MAC
1
2
3
F
Miami (OH)
23
20
18
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Miami in Tuesday #MACtion
March 16, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Led by a strong serving and passing game, the Ball State women's volleyball team was able to keep Miami off balance and earn a crucial 3-0 (25-23 ,25-20, 25-18) Mid-American Conference victory Tuesday night in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (7-9, 7-9 MAC) served up six aces and made some tremendous defensive plays to earn a much-needed victory over the RedHawks (8-8, 8-8 MAC) and snap a six-match homecourt losing streak. The win also keeps Ball State neck-and-neck with the pack in the race for a berth in the four-team MAC Tournament in a little less than two weeks.
"Serve and pass was a big strength for us tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We kept pretty consistent service pressure on them. We passed the ball better than we have in quite some time and that completely shifted the pressure. It allowed us to be in system, allowed us to set whoever we wanted in offense, and that was the difference in the match."
That strong passing game helped the offense finish the night with a .290 (43-14-100) attack percentage, led by eight kills and a .571 (8-0-14) rate of success for sophomore middle Marie Plitt.
Plitt also made a big impact on defense, racking up a match-high seven total blocks. As a team, the Cardinals registered another big night at the net with 11.0 total blocks, while also collecting 43 digs to limit the league's fourth-best offense to a .119 (35-22-109) attack percentage.
Going back to the offense, freshman outside Cait Snyder registered double-digit kills for the third consecutive match, leading all players with 11. Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland was right behind with nine, to go along with three blocks.
Rounding out a strong night on offense for the Cardinals were sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem with eight kills and a .353 (8-2-17) hitting mark and senior outside Kia Holder with seven kills. Holder also ranked second in the match with five total blocks.
Sophomore Natalie Risi led the Ball State defense with nine digs in her first full match in the libero position. She also led both team's primary passers with a perfect reception percentage in 12 attempts.
Junior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck also made some tremendous plays to keep several rallies alive and finished the night with seven digs as did sophomore defensive specialist Maggie Huber.
Gaby Harper and Sarah Wojick tied for team-high honors for the RedHawks with eight kills apiece, while Abigail Huser collected a match-best 13 digs.
"We've said all along, we've been right there in every single match," Phillips said. "We finally committed to making sure we learned from what happed in previous matches. I hope it's a turning point to know that we are good. It's hard to remember that when things are not going your way on the scoreboard. Tonight gave us that vote of confidence that if we just play our game and don't try to do too much, good things will happen."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the home portion of its 2020-21 spring schedule this weekend with a two-match homestand versus Central Michigan. The Cardinals and Chippewas will square off at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday in Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (7-9, 7-9 MAC) served up six aces and made some tremendous defensive plays to earn a much-needed victory over the RedHawks (8-8, 8-8 MAC) and snap a six-match homecourt losing streak. The win also keeps Ball State neck-and-neck with the pack in the race for a berth in the four-team MAC Tournament in a little less than two weeks.
"Serve and pass was a big strength for us tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We kept pretty consistent service pressure on them. We passed the ball better than we have in quite some time and that completely shifted the pressure. It allowed us to be in system, allowed us to set whoever we wanted in offense, and that was the difference in the match."
That strong passing game helped the offense finish the night with a .290 (43-14-100) attack percentage, led by eight kills and a .571 (8-0-14) rate of success for sophomore middle Marie Plitt.
Plitt also made a big impact on defense, racking up a match-high seven total blocks. As a team, the Cardinals registered another big night at the net with 11.0 total blocks, while also collecting 43 digs to limit the league's fourth-best offense to a .119 (35-22-109) attack percentage.
Going back to the offense, freshman outside Cait Snyder registered double-digit kills for the third consecutive match, leading all players with 11. Freshman middle Lauren Gilliland was right behind with nine, to go along with three blocks.
Rounding out a strong night on offense for the Cardinals were sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem with eight kills and a .353 (8-2-17) hitting mark and senior outside Kia Holder with seven kills. Holder also ranked second in the match with five total blocks.
Sophomore Natalie Risi led the Ball State defense with nine digs in her first full match in the libero position. She also led both team's primary passers with a perfect reception percentage in 12 attempts.
Junior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck also made some tremendous plays to keep several rallies alive and finished the night with seven digs as did sophomore defensive specialist Maggie Huber.
Gaby Harper and Sarah Wojick tied for team-high honors for the RedHawks with eight kills apiece, while Abigail Huser collected a match-best 13 digs.
"We've said all along, we've been right there in every single match," Phillips said. "We finally committed to making sure we learned from what happed in previous matches. I hope it's a turning point to know that we are good. It's hard to remember that when things are not going your way on the scoreboard. Tonight gave us that vote of confidence that if we just play our game and don't try to do too much, good things will happen."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes the home portion of its 2020-21 spring schedule this weekend with a two-match homestand versus Central Michigan. The Cardinals and Chippewas will square off at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday in Worthen Arena.
Team Stats
Miami
BSU
Kills
35
43
Errors
22
14
Attempts
109
100
Hitting %
.119
.290
Points
47
60
Assists
33
39
Aces
7
6
Blocks
5
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballOH / OPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
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