Friday, September 10
Coralville, IA
Noon ET / 11 a.m. CT
Ball State University
7-1,0-0MAC
1
vs
3
Iowa State
5-1,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
4
F
Ball St.
24
25
19
13
1
Iowa St.
26
18
25
25
3
Volleyball Tops Iowa in Five to Close Friday Action
September 10, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
CORALVILLE, Iowa - - While the morning session did not go exactly as planned, the Ball State women's volleyball team rallied to end the opening day of the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament with a 3-2 (29-27, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12) victory over host Iowa Friday evening.
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The Cardinals (8-1) rebounded from a 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13) loss to Iowa State earlier in the day by battling back late in the fifth set versus the Hawkeyes (0-6).
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"We showed great fight and toughness to finish tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We had to learn some lessons about not letting our foot off the gas, and I thought our intensity and focus really dialed in for the fifth set and that made the difference."
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Iowa led by 9-8 late in the fifth set before back-to-back errors gave the Cardinals the lead. Kills by graduate transfer outside Jaclyn Bulmahn and junior opposite Natalie Mitchem extended the Ball State's lead to 12-10.
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Three plays later it was a service ace from senior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck which gave BSU match point at 14-11. That was preceded by a kill from sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland. After one last Hawkeyes point, Mitchem ended the match with her team-leading 15th kill of the night.
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"Mitch was on fire tonight," Phillips said about the team's top attacker. "She was hitting big-time angles and finding holes all over. She played with a ton of intensity and that game winner was a championship swing."
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The final few points echoed the entirety of the match, which saw a complete team effort guide the Cardinals to victory. Ball State had five players finish the contest with at least nine kills, while three posted double-figure digs.
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In addition to Mitchem's strong night, graduate transfer Emily Hollowell had a big night with a career-high 11 kills and three total blocks. Bulmahn and Gilliland added 10 kills apiece, while junior middle Marie Plitt scored nine kills and tied for match-high honors with five total blocks.
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"Our balanced offense was again a strength of ours," Phillips added. "Megan did a great job of finding the right hitters at the right moment, and our hitters came through when we needed it!"
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All that offensive firepower was set up by freshman setter Megan Wielonski who earned her fifth consecutive double-double with 48 assists and 12 digs. She also tallied four total blocks and serve up two aces while guiding Ball State to a .265 (58-14-166) attack percentage on the night.
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In the backcourt, sophomore libero Kate Vinson led the Cardinals with 17 digs, her 10 consecutive match in double figures dating back to last season. Another big factor in the backcourt was junior transfer Havyn Gates who recorded 12 digs and served up a pair of aces.
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Overall, the Ball State defense limited Iowa to a .188 (66-34-170) attack percentage, while holding a 10.0 to 7.0 edge in total blocks. The Hawkeyes held a 78 to 65 advantage in digs, while serving up seven aces to BSU's six.
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The Hawkeyes Courtney Buzzerio led all players with 22 kills, while Addie VanderWeide registered a match-best 23 digs.
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"I am really proud of how our team bounced back tonight," Miller concluded. "That shows me that we have confidence in ourselves as well as toughness."
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament Saturday at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) versus Syracuse.
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MATCH 1 RECAP: Iowa State 3 - Ball State 1
Friday's opener was an offensive slugfest, with both offenses firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, it was the Cyclones (5-1) who came out on top, holding a .301 (66-22-146) to .240 (46-15-129) attacking advantage.
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That allowed the hosts for the neutral site event to earn a 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13) victory and hand the Cardinals their first loss of the young season.
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Despite the setback, there were several bright spots for Ball State, which connected for a .500 (16-1-30) rate of success in its second-set victory. Among them were the continued solid play of Wielonski, who earned her fourth consecutive double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs.
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Leading the Ball State attack was Bulmahn with 12 kills and a .226 (12-5-31) attacking mark, while Gilliland hit a team-best .438 (7-0-16).
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In the backcourt, Vinson collected double-digit digs for the eighth time this season, and ninth straight match, with a team-high 14. Gates also served up a team-high three aces.
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The Cyclones Eleanore Holthaus led all players with 19 kills, while Marija Popovic was credited with a match-best 12 digs.
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The Cardinals (8-1) rebounded from a 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13) loss to Iowa State earlier in the day by battling back late in the fifth set versus the Hawkeyes (0-6).
Â
"We showed great fight and toughness to finish tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We had to learn some lessons about not letting our foot off the gas, and I thought our intensity and focus really dialed in for the fifth set and that made the difference."
Â
Iowa led by 9-8 late in the fifth set before back-to-back errors gave the Cardinals the lead. Kills by graduate transfer outside Jaclyn Bulmahn and junior opposite Natalie Mitchem extended the Ball State's lead to 12-10.
Â
Three plays later it was a service ace from senior defensive specialist Cathryn Starck which gave BSU match point at 14-11. That was preceded by a kill from sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland. After one last Hawkeyes point, Mitchem ended the match with her team-leading 15th kill of the night.
Â
"Mitch was on fire tonight," Phillips said about the team's top attacker. "She was hitting big-time angles and finding holes all over. She played with a ton of intensity and that game winner was a championship swing."
Â
The final few points echoed the entirety of the match, which saw a complete team effort guide the Cardinals to victory. Ball State had five players finish the contest with at least nine kills, while three posted double-figure digs.
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In addition to Mitchem's strong night, graduate transfer Emily Hollowell had a big night with a career-high 11 kills and three total blocks. Bulmahn and Gilliland added 10 kills apiece, while junior middle Marie Plitt scored nine kills and tied for match-high honors with five total blocks.
Â
"Our balanced offense was again a strength of ours," Phillips added. "Megan did a great job of finding the right hitters at the right moment, and our hitters came through when we needed it!"
Â
All that offensive firepower was set up by freshman setter Megan Wielonski who earned her fifth consecutive double-double with 48 assists and 12 digs. She also tallied four total blocks and serve up two aces while guiding Ball State to a .265 (58-14-166) attack percentage on the night.
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In the backcourt, sophomore libero Kate Vinson led the Cardinals with 17 digs, her 10 consecutive match in double figures dating back to last season. Another big factor in the backcourt was junior transfer Havyn Gates who recorded 12 digs and served up a pair of aces.
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Overall, the Ball State defense limited Iowa to a .188 (66-34-170) attack percentage, while holding a 10.0 to 7.0 edge in total blocks. The Hawkeyes held a 78 to 65 advantage in digs, while serving up seven aces to BSU's six.
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The Hawkeyes Courtney Buzzerio led all players with 22 kills, while Addie VanderWeide registered a match-best 23 digs.
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"I am really proud of how our team bounced back tonight," Miller concluded. "That shows me that we have confidence in ourselves as well as toughness."
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament Saturday at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) versus Syracuse.
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MATCH 1 RECAP: Iowa State 3 - Ball State 1
Friday's opener was an offensive slugfest, with both offenses firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, it was the Cyclones (5-1) who came out on top, holding a .301 (66-22-146) to .240 (46-15-129) attacking advantage.
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That allowed the hosts for the neutral site event to earn a 3-1 (26-24, 18-25, 25-19, 25-13) victory and hand the Cardinals their first loss of the young season.
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Despite the setback, there were several bright spots for Ball State, which connected for a .500 (16-1-30) rate of success in its second-set victory. Among them were the continued solid play of Wielonski, who earned her fourth consecutive double-double with 40 assists and 12 digs.
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Leading the Ball State attack was Bulmahn with 12 kills and a .226 (12-5-31) attacking mark, while Gilliland hit a team-best .438 (7-0-16).
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In the backcourt, Vinson collected double-digit digs for the eighth time this season, and ninth straight match, with a team-high 14. Gates also served up a team-high three aces.
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The Cyclones Eleanore Holthaus led all players with 19 kills, while Marija Popovic was credited with a match-best 12 digs.
Team Stats
BSU
IowaSt
Kills
46
66
Errors
15
22
Attempts
129
146
Hitting %
.240
.301
Points
56
83
Assists
44
64
Aces
6
9
Blocks
4
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH / OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH / OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
DS / S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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