
Photo by: Julia Kostopolous
Volleyball Falls to Syracuse in Cy-Hawk Series Finale
September 11, 2021 | Women's Volleyball
CORALVILLE, Iowa - - Despite another strong showing on offense, the Ball State women's volleyball team could not get past an explosive Syracuse attack in a 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-13) loss Saturday afternoon to close play in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament.
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In a battle of one-loss teams, it was the Orange (8-1) attack which connected for a .489 (52-9-88) rate of success that helped hand the Cardinals (8-2) its second setback of the young season.
"Syracuse was a really tough team," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Their outside hitters are incredibly physical and we had trouble slowing them down. We will keep working to get better this week in practice."
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Ball State did not look too bad on offense either, connecting for a .241 (34-13-87) attack percentage, but it was not enough to offset Syracuse. Leading the way for the Cardinals was graduate transfer Emily Hollowell with a team-best eight kills.
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Overall, Hollowell had an impressive showing at the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament, smashing 27 total kills and hitting .230 (27-10-74) over BSU's three matches. Her best match was a career-high 11 kills in Friday night's win over Iowa.
"Emily adds another dimension to our offense with her physicality at the net," Phillips said. "She's starting to get in consistent rhythm with Megan and that's allowing her to feel more and more confident each time out."
Like much of the season, the Cardinals were still able to spread out the offense Saturday, with five different players logging at least five kills. Finishing right behind Hollowell was junior middle Marie Plitt with seven kills and a .545 (7-1-11) attack percentage.
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Sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland led Ball State at the net with a pair of solo blocks, to go along with five kills and a .364 (5-1-11) rate of success.
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In the backcourt, sophomore libero Kate Vinson led the Cardinals with nine digs. She also recorded a perfect reception in 18 attempts.
Polina Shemanova led three Orange in double figures with 20 kills, while Marina Markova added a match-high 13 digs to her 16 kills.
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The Ball State women's volleyball returns to action Friday, when it opens the home portion of the 2021 fall season with the first of two matches against Northern Kentucky. The Cardinals and the Norse will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday inside Worthen Arena.
"We are very excited to be home next weekend," Phillips concluded. "I look forward to playing in front of our amazing fans and showing everyone how hard we've been working to improve this past year!"
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In a battle of one-loss teams, it was the Orange (8-1) attack which connected for a .489 (52-9-88) rate of success that helped hand the Cardinals (8-2) its second setback of the young season.
"Syracuse was a really tough team," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Their outside hitters are incredibly physical and we had trouble slowing them down. We will keep working to get better this week in practice."
Â
Ball State did not look too bad on offense either, connecting for a .241 (34-13-87) attack percentage, but it was not enough to offset Syracuse. Leading the way for the Cardinals was graduate transfer Emily Hollowell with a team-best eight kills.
Â
Overall, Hollowell had an impressive showing at the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament, smashing 27 total kills and hitting .230 (27-10-74) over BSU's three matches. Her best match was a career-high 11 kills in Friday night's win over Iowa.
"Emily adds another dimension to our offense with her physicality at the net," Phillips said. "She's starting to get in consistent rhythm with Megan and that's allowing her to feel more and more confident each time out."
Like much of the season, the Cardinals were still able to spread out the offense Saturday, with five different players logging at least five kills. Finishing right behind Hollowell was junior middle Marie Plitt with seven kills and a .545 (7-1-11) attack percentage.
Â
Sophomore middle Lauren Gilliland led Ball State at the net with a pair of solo blocks, to go along with five kills and a .364 (5-1-11) rate of success.
Â
In the backcourt, sophomore libero Kate Vinson led the Cardinals with nine digs. She also recorded a perfect reception in 18 attempts.
Polina Shemanova led three Orange in double figures with 20 kills, while Marina Markova added a match-high 13 digs to her 16 kills.
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The Ball State women's volleyball returns to action Friday, when it opens the home portion of the 2021 fall season with the first of two matches against Northern Kentucky. The Cardinals and the Norse will play at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday inside Worthen Arena.
"We are very excited to be home next weekend," Phillips concluded. "I look forward to playing in front of our amazing fans and showing everyone how hard we've been working to improve this past year!"
Team Stats
Syr
BSU
Kills
52
34
Errors
9
13
Attempts
88
87
Hitting %
.489
.241
Points
64
37
Assists
48
30
Aces
7
1
Blocks
5
2
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Players Mentioned
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