Women’s Volleyball Suffers 3-1 Setback At Ohio

Friday, November 11

Athens, OH

7 p.m.

Ball State University

21-7,13-3MAC

Ohio

18-9,12-4MAC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Ball St.	21	26	15	17	1
Ohio	25	24	25	25	3

November 11, 2022 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Box Score: Ball State 1 - Ohio 3

ATHENS, Ohio - - It was a rough night for the Ball State women's volleyball team which saw its 13-match winning streak come to an end Friday night with a 3-1 (21-25, 26-24, 15-25, 17-25) setback to Ohio.

"We did not play like we're capable of tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the loss. "Ohio is a strong team with a lot of talent and pushed us early. Unfortunately, we came out flat and never recovered. We were out ball controlled and have to be better tomorrow."

After falling behind 20-10 in the opening set, the Cardinals (21-7; 13-3) made a strong push to pull back within three. Unfortunately, the margin was too much to overcome as the Bobcats (18-9; 12-4 MAC) went on to claim the frame.

Ball State would answer in the second, however, capitalizing on back-to-back OU errors to win the frame and even the match. Unfortunately, Ohio responded with a pair of strong performances to take sets three and four by comfortable margins.

"After our performance tonight, we have to reset, look at film, and figure out what adjustments we can make to play better tomorrow," Phillips added.

Overall, the Cardinals offense was held to a .156 (42-19-147) hitting mark despite a team-high nine kills and a team-best .348 (9-1-23) hitting mark from junior middle Lauren Gilliland.

Senior middle Marie Plitt chipped in eight kills, while senior outside Natalie Risi and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem added seven apiece.

In the backcourt, senior libero Maggie Huber tied for match-high honors with 19 digs, while Risi added 14 and sophomore setter Megan Wielonski registered 10 to go along with 34 assists for her 17th assist/dig double-double of the season.

Ohio finished the night hitting .281 (62-19-153), with three players reaching double-digit kills led by 14 from Caitlin O'Farrell. Sam Steele led four Bobcat defenders in double figures with 19 digs, helping OU to an 80-to-66 edge for the match.

Ohio also held an 8.0-to-4.0 lead in blocks and a 5-to-2 advantage in service aces.

The Cardinals and Bobcats will square off again Saturday evening with a 5:30 p.m. first serve at the Convocation Center.