Friday, September 30
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
9-6,1-2MAC
3
vs
1
Eastern Michigan
1-14,0-3MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Mich.
25
14
17
16
1
Ball St.
23
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
EMU
BSU
Kills
45
55
Errors
25
21
Attempts
151
142
Hitting %
.132
.239
Points
56
65
Assists
42
50
Aces
2
5
Blocks
9
5
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's VolleyballS
/ Women's Volleyball
Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Snyder Leads Women’s Volleyball Past Eastern Michigan
September 30, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - A little dose of Worthen Arena was all the Ball State women's volleyball team needed to get back on track, as it opened the home portion of its 2022 Mid-American Conference slate with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-16) victory over Eastern Michigan Friday night.
"We always feel confident when we are playing at home," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We have a great homecourt environment, and the fans make us feel comfortable. Getting that win out of the way and getting back to feeling confident like we know we can play, that's going to do wonders for the rest of the season."
After a slow start, dropping the opening set, the Cardinals (9-6; 1-2 MAC) found their rhythm on the court to pick up their first league win of the season. Key to that success was the play of junior outside Cait Snyder who smashed a team-high and season-best 13 kills and hit .545 (13-1-22) in the final three sets.
"We had big left side production by Snyder tonight," Phillips added. "That was a huge turnaround. I also though our blocking presence started to improve. While it's not where I would like it to be, it's certainly showing improvement. Our serve receive also hung in there really tough. We consistently passed the ball, which gave us a lot of offensive options."
Senior middle Marie Plitt, Ball State's top attacker on the year, was right behind with 12 kills and a .385 (12-2-26) rate of success, while senior outside Natalie Risi also scored 12 kills to go along with 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
"We love playing at home," Risi said after the win. "Worthen is such a special place. Having our home crowd on our home court, we were just going to defend that. This one was important for us, just to get back our momentum. We've been working hard in practice, just sticking with what Ball State volleyball is and trusting our process, to get the win tonight."
Speaking of double-doubles, sophomore setter Megan Wielonski added her 10th of the season, handing out 43 assists and adding 11 digs. She nearly ran up BSU's first triple-double since the 2015 season, adding seven kills, including two of the match's final three points.
Wielonski's effort helped the Cardinals out-hit the Eagles (1-14; 0-3 MAC) by a .239-to-.132 margin. Ball State also had a commanding 69-to-58 edge in digs, led by 22 from senior libero Maggie Huber.
Overall, eight different Ball State student-athletes scored at least two kills in the match, while eight had at least one dig. BSU also held a 5-2 edge in service aces, including two apiece from Wielonski and senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates.
EMU's Samantha Basham led all players with 16 kills, while Carlina Bender had a team-high 16 digs. Eastern Michigan was about to out-block the Cardinals 9.0-to-5.0 on the night.
The Cardinals and Eagles will square off again Saturday night in Worthen Arena with another 6 p.m. first serve.
"We always feel confident when we are playing at home," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We have a great homecourt environment, and the fans make us feel comfortable. Getting that win out of the way and getting back to feeling confident like we know we can play, that's going to do wonders for the rest of the season."
After a slow start, dropping the opening set, the Cardinals (9-6; 1-2 MAC) found their rhythm on the court to pick up their first league win of the season. Key to that success was the play of junior outside Cait Snyder who smashed a team-high and season-best 13 kills and hit .545 (13-1-22) in the final three sets.
"We had big left side production by Snyder tonight," Phillips added. "That was a huge turnaround. I also though our blocking presence started to improve. While it's not where I would like it to be, it's certainly showing improvement. Our serve receive also hung in there really tough. We consistently passed the ball, which gave us a lot of offensive options."
Senior middle Marie Plitt, Ball State's top attacker on the year, was right behind with 12 kills and a .385 (12-2-26) rate of success, while senior outside Natalie Risi also scored 12 kills to go along with 14 digs for her sixth double-double of the season.
"We love playing at home," Risi said after the win. "Worthen is such a special place. Having our home crowd on our home court, we were just going to defend that. This one was important for us, just to get back our momentum. We've been working hard in practice, just sticking with what Ball State volleyball is and trusting our process, to get the win tonight."
Speaking of double-doubles, sophomore setter Megan Wielonski added her 10th of the season, handing out 43 assists and adding 11 digs. She nearly ran up BSU's first triple-double since the 2015 season, adding seven kills, including two of the match's final three points.
Wielonski's effort helped the Cardinals out-hit the Eagles (1-14; 0-3 MAC) by a .239-to-.132 margin. Ball State also had a commanding 69-to-58 edge in digs, led by 22 from senior libero Maggie Huber.
Overall, eight different Ball State student-athletes scored at least two kills in the match, while eight had at least one dig. BSU also held a 5-2 edge in service aces, including two apiece from Wielonski and senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates.
EMU's Samantha Basham led all players with 16 kills, while Carlina Bender had a team-high 16 digs. Eastern Michigan was about to out-block the Cardinals 9.0-to-5.0 on the night.
The Cardinals and Eagles will square off again Saturday night in Worthen Arena with another 6 p.m. first serve.
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