Saturday, September 10
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
8-1,0-0MAC
3
vs
2
Green Bay
5-4,0-0Horizon
1
2
3
4
5
F
Green Bay
22
25
23
25
15
2
Ball St.
25
12
25
17
17
3
WVB Tops Green Bay in Saturday Thriller
September 10, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - With its back to the wall, the Ball State women's volleyball team completed an improbable comeback Saturday night, topping Green Bay in a five-set thriller to claim the Ball State Tournament title.
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Trailing 10-5 in the fifth set, the Cardinals (8-1) battled back to even the score at 12, only to see the Phoenix (5-4) reach match point at 14-13. That is when true freshman outside Katie Egenolf came up with perhaps the biggest kill of her young career, ripping a shot to the back corner to even the score at 14.
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While Green Bay managed to get one more chance to complete the contest with a kill on the next rally, back-to-back errors set up a match-winning kill from junior outside Cait Snyder. The blast helped BSU pick up its 16th straight victory in Worthen Arena by a score of 3-2 (25-22, 12-25, 25-23, 17-25, 17-15).
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"At the end, we tried to focus on what works, what's going to score points," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "We tried to keep it very simple and not solve everything at once. There were sets tonight where we were not playing very well at all, so at the end, we really tried to focus on what we are doing well and ways we know we can score."
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What work against the Phoenix, much like the other two matches this weekend, was a heavy dose of tournament MVP Marie Plitt. Plitt led the Ball State offense with 15 kills and added another solid hitting mark at .353. Overall, Plitt finished the tournament with a team-high 34 kills and a .484 (34-4-62) hitting mark.
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"Marie was really the only thing we had going offensively," Phillips said. "In set five, we started her in left front to get her more opportunities to get the ball. Green Bay is a great blocking team and forced us to continue to try different things offensively, but Marie was the one person that really found a way to score tonight."
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In addition to adding the match-winning kill, Snyder finished the night second on the squad with nine kills to also earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
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Rounding out Ball State's all-tournament selections was sophomore setter Megan Wielonski who collected her second straight double-double with 44 assists and 16 digs.
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The Cardinals backcourt combined to finish the match with 87 team digs, led by senior libero Maggie Huber's 19. Senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates added 12 digs, served up a team-best three aces and played the last two sets at libero.
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Rounding out Ball State's double-digit diggers was junior defensive specialist Kate Vinson with 11 on the night. She also had a pivotal service run in the fifth set, helping bring the Cardinals within one in a stint which included a service ace.
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While the Cardinals got the win on the scoreboard, Green Bay held the edge in nearly every statistical category, including out-hitting BSU .302 (80-20-199) to .200 (57-20-185) on the night.
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Four players smashed double-digit kills for the Phoenix, led by a match-high 20 from Cora Behnke. For their play over the entire tournament, both Alexandra Zakutney and Tiffany Paalman were named to the all-tournament team for Green Bay. The six-member squad was rounded out by Alabama's Alyiah Wells.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its current four-match homestand Tuesday, with a 6 p.m. first serve versus Dayton.
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Trailing 10-5 in the fifth set, the Cardinals (8-1) battled back to even the score at 12, only to see the Phoenix (5-4) reach match point at 14-13. That is when true freshman outside Katie Egenolf came up with perhaps the biggest kill of her young career, ripping a shot to the back corner to even the score at 14.
Â
While Green Bay managed to get one more chance to complete the contest with a kill on the next rally, back-to-back errors set up a match-winning kill from junior outside Cait Snyder. The blast helped BSU pick up its 16th straight victory in Worthen Arena by a score of 3-2 (25-22, 12-25, 25-23, 17-25, 17-15).
Â
"At the end, we tried to focus on what works, what's going to score points," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "We tried to keep it very simple and not solve everything at once. There were sets tonight where we were not playing very well at all, so at the end, we really tried to focus on what we are doing well and ways we know we can score."
Â
What work against the Phoenix, much like the other two matches this weekend, was a heavy dose of tournament MVP Marie Plitt. Plitt led the Ball State offense with 15 kills and added another solid hitting mark at .353. Overall, Plitt finished the tournament with a team-high 34 kills and a .484 (34-4-62) hitting mark.
Â
"Marie was really the only thing we had going offensively," Phillips said. "In set five, we started her in left front to get her more opportunities to get the ball. Green Bay is a great blocking team and forced us to continue to try different things offensively, but Marie was the one person that really found a way to score tonight."
Â
In addition to adding the match-winning kill, Snyder finished the night second on the squad with nine kills to also earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
Â
Rounding out Ball State's all-tournament selections was sophomore setter Megan Wielonski who collected her second straight double-double with 44 assists and 16 digs.
Â
The Cardinals backcourt combined to finish the match with 87 team digs, led by senior libero Maggie Huber's 19. Senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates added 12 digs, served up a team-best three aces and played the last two sets at libero.
Â
Rounding out Ball State's double-digit diggers was junior defensive specialist Kate Vinson with 11 on the night. She also had a pivotal service run in the fifth set, helping bring the Cardinals within one in a stint which included a service ace.
Â
While the Cardinals got the win on the scoreboard, Green Bay held the edge in nearly every statistical category, including out-hitting BSU .302 (80-20-199) to .200 (57-20-185) on the night.
Â
Four players smashed double-digit kills for the Phoenix, led by a match-high 20 from Cora Behnke. For their play over the entire tournament, both Alexandra Zakutney and Tiffany Paalman were named to the all-tournament team for Green Bay. The six-member squad was rounded out by Alabama's Alyiah Wells.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its current four-match homestand Tuesday, with a 6 p.m. first serve versus Dayton.
Team Stats
GB
BSU
Kills
80
57
Errors
20
20
Attempts
199
185
Hitting %
.302
.200
Points
94
69
Assists
76
54
Aces
6
6
Blocks
8
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS / S
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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