Ball State University Athletics
Friday, September 9
Muncie, IN
10 a.m.
Ball State University
6-1,0-0MAC
3
vs
0
Arkansas State
5-2,0-0Sun Belt
1st set1
2nd set2
3rd set3
FinalF
Arkansas St.
18
12
22
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Team Stats
ASU
BSU
Kills
35
49
Errors
14
6
Attempts
87
90
Hitting %
.241
.478
Points
43
59
Assists
35
45
Aces
5
6
Blocks
3
4
Game Leaders
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH / OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
WVB Tops Arkansas State & Alabama in Friday Action
September 09, 2022 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - There is something special about playing at home, and the Ball State women's volleyball team enjoyed every minute of it Friday, opening play in the Ball State Tournament with wins over Arkansas State and Alabama.
"It meant so much to play in this environment," said senior libero Maggie Huber. "I love Worthen Arena; home matches are the best. Tonight, was one of the best environments we've had. It felt like the MAC Championship all over. It meant a lot to see all the people here supporting us, coming out to cheer for us."
Fans has plenty to cheer, as the Cardinals (7-1) started the day with the third-best attack percentage in program history, at .478 (49-6-90), on the way to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) sweep of the Red Wolves (5-2).
To cap off the day, Ball State ran its homecourt winning streak to 15 matches with a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-12, 27-25) win over the Crimson Tide (4-4). BSU was carried in the match by impressive offensive performances from junior middle Lauren Gilliland and junior outside Cait Snyder who blasted 10 kills apiece.
"While we were not playing our best volleyball tonight, I thought we stayed the course, kept pushing and finding ways to win in the right moments," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "That's a toughness piece. While we want to play better in a lot of areas, we did tough that one out."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Ball State Tournament Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. contest versus Green Bay. Fans with tickets to football's 2 p.m. kickoff versus Western Michigan can get into the match FREE by showing their tickets at the gate.
MATCH 1 – Ball State 3 – Arkansas State 0
The Cardinals offense had the hot hand Friday morning, led by tremendous efforts by senior middle Marie Plitt and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem. Both tied for match-high honors with 15 kills.
Plitt also finished the match with a program-record .833 (15-0-18) hitting percentage for an attacker with more than 15 attempts in a match. Mitchem was not far behind, hitting .667 (15-1-21).
Paving the way for the attack was sophomore setter Megan Wielonski, who handed out 39 assists and served up three aces. She also scored three kills of her own, while tying for match-high honors with nine digs.
Other key contributors in the win were Huber with nine digs and graduate transfer outside Addie Halverson with eight kills.
On the defensive front, Ball State limited A-State to a .241 (35-14-87) attack percentage and held a 38-to-29 advantage in digs.
MATCH 2 – Ball State 3 – Alabama 1
While Ball State only hit .198 (43-17-131) in the win over the Crimson Tide, they came on late with a .345 (25-5-38) mark over the final two sets.
Snyder blasted five of her 10 kills in the third set, hitting .833 (5-0-6) in the frame. Mitchem had the hot hand in the fourth, with five of her eight kills in the nightcap and added a both of her blocks in the contest for good measure.
Not to be overlooked was the performance of senior outside Natalie Risi, who added seven kills and hit .286 against Alabama.
Wielonski continued her strong season from the service line, adding two more aces, to go along with her fourth assist/dig double-double of the season. She handed out 34 assists and tied for match-high honors once again with 15 digs.
Huber and senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates added 13 digs apiece, helping the Cardinals to a 66-to-63 edge in the category.
Strong serving proved to be key in the match, as both teams came away with seven aces, but Ball State had just five service errors to Alabama's 14.
The Cardinals also held Alabama to a .127 (53-32-165) attack percentage for the night, despite being out-blocked 11.5-to-7.0.
"It meant so much to play in this environment," said senior libero Maggie Huber. "I love Worthen Arena; home matches are the best. Tonight, was one of the best environments we've had. It felt like the MAC Championship all over. It meant a lot to see all the people here supporting us, coming out to cheer for us."
Fans has plenty to cheer, as the Cardinals (7-1) started the day with the third-best attack percentage in program history, at .478 (49-6-90), on the way to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-22) sweep of the Red Wolves (5-2).
#VICTORY ... We open the weekend w/a 3-0 ?? of Arkansas State and the third-best attack percentage (.478) in program history!!!@megan_wielonski w/39 assists and 3 ACES ... @MariePlitt & @mitchem_6 tie for match-high honors w/15 kills#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x #MACtion x #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/xJscIkptKE
— Ball State Volleyball ?? (@BallStateWVB) September 9, 2022
To cap off the day, Ball State ran its homecourt winning streak to 15 matches with a 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-12, 27-25) win over the Crimson Tide (4-4). BSU was carried in the match by impressive offensive performances from junior middle Lauren Gilliland and junior outside Cait Snyder who blasted 10 kills apiece.
Tide Rolled ... We FLY THE ????? with a 3-1 #VICTORY over Alabama@10laureng & @caitsnyd w/team-high 10 kills!!!
— Ball State Volleyball ?? (@BallStateWVB) September 10, 2022
Back at it tomorrow at 6p vs. Green Bay#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x #MACtion x #NCAAWVB pic.twitter.com/kKEQN8mUYW
"While we were not playing our best volleyball tonight, I thought we stayed the course, kept pushing and finding ways to win in the right moments," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "That's a toughness piece. While we want to play better in a lot of areas, we did tough that one out."
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Ball State Tournament Saturday evening with a 6 p.m. contest versus Green Bay. Fans with tickets to football's 2 p.m. kickoff versus Western Michigan can get into the match FREE by showing their tickets at the gate.
MATCH 1 – Ball State 3 – Arkansas State 0
The Cardinals offense had the hot hand Friday morning, led by tremendous efforts by senior middle Marie Plitt and senior opposite Natalie Mitchem. Both tied for match-high honors with 15 kills.
We celebrated with a ?? this morning, but still more work to be done this evening!
— Ball State Volleyball ?? (@BallStateWVB) September 9, 2022
Join the fun in Worthen as we host Alabama at 7p
??: https://t.co/no6mp9Ph8w#ChirpChirp x #WeFly x #MACtion pic.twitter.com/FjUWU41xVK
Plitt also finished the match with a program-record .833 (15-0-18) hitting percentage for an attacker with more than 15 attempts in a match. Mitchem was not far behind, hitting .667 (15-1-21).
Paving the way for the attack was sophomore setter Megan Wielonski, who handed out 39 assists and served up three aces. She also scored three kills of her own, while tying for match-high honors with nine digs.
Other key contributors in the win were Huber with nine digs and graduate transfer outside Addie Halverson with eight kills.
On the defensive front, Ball State limited A-State to a .241 (35-14-87) attack percentage and held a 38-to-29 advantage in digs.
MATCH 2 – Ball State 3 – Alabama 1
While Ball State only hit .198 (43-17-131) in the win over the Crimson Tide, they came on late with a .345 (25-5-38) mark over the final two sets.
Snyder blasted five of her 10 kills in the third set, hitting .833 (5-0-6) in the frame. Mitchem had the hot hand in the fourth, with five of her eight kills in the nightcap and added a both of her blocks in the contest for good measure.
Not to be overlooked was the performance of senior outside Natalie Risi, who added seven kills and hit .286 against Alabama.
Wielonski continued her strong season from the service line, adding two more aces, to go along with her fourth assist/dig double-double of the season. She handed out 34 assists and tied for match-high honors once again with 15 digs.
Huber and senior defensive specialist Havyn Gates added 13 digs apiece, helping the Cardinals to a 66-to-63 edge in the category.
Strong serving proved to be key in the match, as both teams came away with seven aces, but Ball State had just five service errors to Alabama's 14.
The Cardinals also held Alabama to a .127 (53-32-165) attack percentage for the night, despite being out-blocked 11.5-to-7.0.
Sports Link: National Girls and Women in Sports Day
Wednesday, February 25
Celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day // Produced by Ball State Sports Link
Wednesday, February 04
Ball State Sports Link: SL Featured (November 2025)
Tuesday, November 25
Women's Volleyball // MAC Tournament Preview
Thursday, November 20