Tuesday, October 17
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
12-8,9-0MAC
3
vs
0
Toledo
8-12,6-3MAC
1
2
3
F
Toledo
22
21
21
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Ten Straight; Volleyball Sweeps Toledo in Tuesday #MACtion
October 17, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet served up an ace to open the night and the Ball State women's volleyball team kept the service pressure on the entire match in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) sweep of Toledo Tuesday evening in Worthen Arena.
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In picking up its tenth straight win, and improving to 9-0 in Mid-American Conference play, the Cardinals (12-8; 9-0 MAC) served up seven total aces led by three from Seimet. The effort was the difference in a close match with the Rockets (8-12; 6-3 MAC) who only served up one ace, but managed to hold the edge in both kills and digs.
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"I thought our service pressure was really good and propelled us early," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Then we stayed tough enough throughout to find a way to win. I thought we grinded that one out. We certainly were not sharp the whole time, but we were working hard the whole time."
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Ball State served up four total aces in the opening set, keeping up enough pressure to battle to a 20-20 stalemate. From there, a kill from freshman outside Kendall Barnes and back-to-back blasts from fifth-year middle Marie Plitt helped the Cardinals go on a 4-0 run, before redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy closed the set at 25-22 with the third of her match-leading 15 kills.
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With the score tied at 10-10 in the second set, a huge solo block from Plitt and Seimet's third ace of the night helped the Cardinals go on a 4-0 run to pull ahead for good in the frame. While Toledo would battle back within one, at 18-17, a costly service error and kills from Plitt and Barnes led to a pair of UT timeouts over the next three rallies as Ball State pulled ahead 21-17. Plitt would go on to end the frame at 25-21 with one of her 12 kills.
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The Cardinals scored four of the first five points in the third set, only to see the Rockets fire back and pull ahead 15-14 at the media timeout. The teams would battle to a 19-19 tie before back-to-back markers from Kennedy gave BSU a little momentum. Plitt's final kill gave BSU match-point at 24-21, while fifth-year libero Havyn Gates followed a UT timeout with her second ace to seal the win.
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Junior setter Megan Wielonski quarterbacked the Cardinals to a .232 (40-14-112) hitting percentage in the win, handing out 34 assists to go along with a team-high 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.
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In addition to its win from the service line, Ball State also won the battle at the net with 8.0 total blocks. Plitt and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley led the with three each, while Plitt hit a match-high .600 (12-0-20) and Buckley added seven kills.
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On the other side of the net, Izzy Granger and Taylor Alt tied for team-high honors with 11 kills apiece for the Rockets, while Ryann Jaqua was credited with a match-high 21 digs. Toledo managed to hit .241 (44-18-108).
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The Ball State women's volleyball team will have another tough test this weekend, when it travels to MAC East Division leader Buffalo for a pair of matches. The teams will square off at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
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In picking up its tenth straight win, and improving to 9-0 in Mid-American Conference play, the Cardinals (12-8; 9-0 MAC) served up seven total aces led by three from Seimet. The effort was the difference in a close match with the Rockets (8-12; 6-3 MAC) who only served up one ace, but managed to hold the edge in both kills and digs.
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"I thought our service pressure was really good and propelled us early," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Then we stayed tough enough throughout to find a way to win. I thought we grinded that one out. We certainly were not sharp the whole time, but we were working hard the whole time."
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Ball State served up four total aces in the opening set, keeping up enough pressure to battle to a 20-20 stalemate. From there, a kill from freshman outside Kendall Barnes and back-to-back blasts from fifth-year middle Marie Plitt helped the Cardinals go on a 4-0 run, before redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy closed the set at 25-22 with the third of her match-leading 15 kills.
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With the score tied at 10-10 in the second set, a huge solo block from Plitt and Seimet's third ace of the night helped the Cardinals go on a 4-0 run to pull ahead for good in the frame. While Toledo would battle back within one, at 18-17, a costly service error and kills from Plitt and Barnes led to a pair of UT timeouts over the next three rallies as Ball State pulled ahead 21-17. Plitt would go on to end the frame at 25-21 with one of her 12 kills.
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The Cardinals scored four of the first five points in the third set, only to see the Rockets fire back and pull ahead 15-14 at the media timeout. The teams would battle to a 19-19 tie before back-to-back markers from Kennedy gave BSU a little momentum. Plitt's final kill gave BSU match-point at 24-21, while fifth-year libero Havyn Gates followed a UT timeout with her second ace to seal the win.
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Junior setter Megan Wielonski quarterbacked the Cardinals to a .232 (40-14-112) hitting percentage in the win, handing out 34 assists to go along with a team-high 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season.
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In addition to its win from the service line, Ball State also won the battle at the net with 8.0 total blocks. Plitt and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley led the with three each, while Plitt hit a match-high .600 (12-0-20) and Buckley added seven kills.
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On the other side of the net, Izzy Granger and Taylor Alt tied for team-high honors with 11 kills apiece for the Rockets, while Ryann Jaqua was credited with a match-high 21 digs. Toledo managed to hit .241 (44-18-108).
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The Ball State women's volleyball team will have another tough test this weekend, when it travels to MAC East Division leader Buffalo for a pair of matches. The teams will square off at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday.
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Team Stats
UT
BSU
Kills
44
40
Errors
18
14
Attempts
108
112
Hitting %
.241
.232
Points
50.0
55.0
Assists
41
38
Aces
1
7
Blocks
5
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
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/ Women's Volleyball
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