Thursday, December 1
Milwaukee, WI
8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT
Ball State University
24-9,15-3MAC
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Marquette
28-3,17-1Big East
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Ball St.
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Marquette
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Photo by: Samantha Blankenship (Ball State Creative Services)
Volleyball Falls To No. 16 Marquette In NCAA Tournament
December 01, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - - Despite a tough, gritty performance, the Ball State women's volleyball team saw its 2022 season come to an end Thursday night with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) setback to No. 16 Marquette at the Al McGuire Center.
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"It was a tough match," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Marquette is a really good team and plays such clean volleyball. I felt like we had the best game plan we could have coming into the match, and just got beat by a really good volleyball program. I am proud of my group, and how they hung in there and battled."
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The Cardinals (24-9) gave the Golden Eagles (28-3) all they could handle in the opening set, playing the bracket's fourth seed within two at the 20-18 mark. Unfortunately, the hosts ended the frame at 25-20 with a 5-2 run.
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A pair of highlights also occurred in the first set, starting at the 6-5 mark when senior middle Marie Plitt smashed her 1,000th career kill to keep the Cardinals within one early. Moments later, with MU leading 14-10, a service error and back-to-back aces from senior libero Maggie Huber brought the Cardinals back within one at 14-13.
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The second set saw Marquette jump out to a 7-3 edge, while the third had the hosts pull ahead 7-1. Ball State battled back both times but could not overcome the early holes and suffered a pair of 25-17 setbacks.
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In addition to her 1,000th, Plitt would finish the night tied for the team lead with 10 kills. She also hit .286 (10-4-21) for the night and secured her place in the Ball State record book as the first player in program history to hit over .400 for a season at .404 (337-48-716).
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Junior outside Cait Snyder tied Plitt for team-high honor with 10 kills and hit an impressive .350 (10-3-20) from the left side against a tough Marquette defense.
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Overall, the Cardinals finished the match hitting .221 (33-12-95) as a team, with sophomore setter Megan Wielonski registering her 21st double-double of the season with 28 assists and 14 digs.
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In the backcourt, Huber led all players with 14 digs to finished her career ranked sixth in program history with 1,630 digs.
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Also playing in their final matches for the Cardinals were senior outside Natalie Risi and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem. Risi finished the contest with two kills, four digs and a pair of aces, while Mitchem added five kills and a solo block.
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Risi finished her career ranked ninth in program history with 1,293 digs and 18th with 914 kills. Mitchem ranked 12th on BSU's all-time list with 1,054 kills.
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On the other side of the net, Marquette's Carsen Murray led all players with 12 kills, while Carly Skarbak collected a team-high 13 digs. MU hit .369 (47-9-103) as a squad and kept the pressure on from the service line with nine total aces.
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"It was a tough match," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Marquette is a really good team and plays such clean volleyball. I felt like we had the best game plan we could have coming into the match, and just got beat by a really good volleyball program. I am proud of my group, and how they hung in there and battled."
Â
The Cardinals (24-9) gave the Golden Eagles (28-3) all they could handle in the opening set, playing the bracket's fourth seed within two at the 20-18 mark. Unfortunately, the hosts ended the frame at 25-20 with a 5-2 run.
Â
A pair of highlights also occurred in the first set, starting at the 6-5 mark when senior middle Marie Plitt smashed her 1,000th career kill to keep the Cardinals within one early. Moments later, with MU leading 14-10, a service error and back-to-back aces from senior libero Maggie Huber brought the Cardinals back within one at 14-13.
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The second set saw Marquette jump out to a 7-3 edge, while the third had the hosts pull ahead 7-1. Ball State battled back both times but could not overcome the early holes and suffered a pair of 25-17 setbacks.
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In addition to her 1,000th, Plitt would finish the night tied for the team lead with 10 kills. She also hit .286 (10-4-21) for the night and secured her place in the Ball State record book as the first player in program history to hit over .400 for a season at .404 (337-48-716).
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Junior outside Cait Snyder tied Plitt for team-high honor with 10 kills and hit an impressive .350 (10-3-20) from the left side against a tough Marquette defense.
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Overall, the Cardinals finished the match hitting .221 (33-12-95) as a team, with sophomore setter Megan Wielonski registering her 21st double-double of the season with 28 assists and 14 digs.
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In the backcourt, Huber led all players with 14 digs to finished her career ranked sixth in program history with 1,630 digs.
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Also playing in their final matches for the Cardinals were senior outside Natalie Risi and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem. Risi finished the contest with two kills, four digs and a pair of aces, while Mitchem added five kills and a solo block.
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Risi finished her career ranked ninth in program history with 1,293 digs and 18th with 914 kills. Mitchem ranked 12th on BSU's all-time list with 1,054 kills.
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On the other side of the net, Marquette's Carsen Murray led all players with 12 kills, while Carly Skarbak collected a team-high 13 digs. MU hit .369 (47-9-103) as a squad and kept the pressure on from the service line with nine total aces.
Team Stats
BSU
Marq
Kills
33
47
Errors
12
9
Attempts
95
103
Hitting %
.221
.369
Points
42
59
Assists
31
43
Aces
5
9
Blocks
4
3
Game Leaders
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
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