11 Straight; Volleyball Tops RedHawks In Straight Sets

OXFORD, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team hit a blistering .542 in the opening set and never looked back, picking up its 11th straight win with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) victory over Miami Saturday evening at Millett Hall.

With the win, the Cardinals improve to 18-6 (11-2 Mid-American Conference) and maintain a one-match lead over both Bowling Green (10-3 MAC) and Ohio (10-3 MAC) in the league standings. The Falcons and Bobcats also picked up league wins on the day.

"We battled hard this weekend, and for the most part, played clean volleyball," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We are continuing to develop our consistency and hope to keep building that as the season progresses."

In handing the RedHawks (6-18, 1-12 MAC) their 10th consecutive loss, Ball State finished the contest with the 20th-best single-match hitting performance in program history at .409 (47-11-88).

Freshman outside Katie Egenolf came off the bench to lead the Cardinals in the category with a .636 (7-0-11) rate of success. Meanwhile, senior opposite Natalie Mitchem led all players with 11 kills and connected at a .524 (11-0-21) clip of her own.

Junior outside Cait Snyder added double-digit kills for the fifth consecutive outing, and ninth time in the last 10 matches, with 10 markers. Overall, eight different Cardinals blasted at least two kills in the victory.

"I felt like we had a lot of balance tonight across all attackers, which helped us hit at a high percentage," Phillips added. "Katie come in and really gave us a spark, helping set the tone for the final two sets."

Dishing the rock for the Ball State was sophomore setter Megan Wielonski who passed out 31 assists and has now guided the Cardinals to four of its top 20 single-match hitting efforts in program history. She also tied for match-high honors with three total blocks and collected six digs.

Speaking of digs, senior libero Maggie Huber was the lone player in double figures in that category on either side of the net at 11.

Overall, the Cardinals limited Miami to a .174 (31-15-92) hitting mark, while holding a 36-to-22 advantage in total digs. BSU also out-blocked Miami 7.0-to-4.0 and held a slim edge in aces at 6-to-5.

Allyson Severance led the RedHawks with 10 kills, while Ellie Hanson was credited with a team-high six digs.

"We have really been emphasizing working hard, especially in transition, and I thought this weekend showed that if we can do that, positive results will come," Phillips said. "I also thought our service pressure continues to be a positive factor and we have to continue to make that a priority down the stretch."

The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to Worthen Arena this week, when its hosts Kent State on Thursday and Friday. Both matches will start at 6 p.m., with Friday's contest serving as senior day.

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Team Stats

Natalie Mitchem

Cait Snyder

Katie Egenolf

Lauren Gilliland