Friday, October 6
Oxford, OH
7 p.m.
Ball State University
8-8,5-0MAC
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Miami
4-14,0-6MAC
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Ball St.
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Miami (OH)
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Photo by: Mary Kreidler
Kennedy’s Career High Helps Lead Volleyball Past Miami
October 06, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
OXFORD, Ohio - - The Ball State women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to six matches with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-11) victory over Mid-American Conference East Division rival Miami Friday night at Millett Hall.
After seeing one of the nation's longest consecutive set winning streaks snapped in the opening frame, the Cardinals (8-8; 5-0 MAC) battled back to remain undefeated in league play by taking the next three frames.
While Ball State jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the opening set, the RedHawks (4-14, 0-6 MAC) battled back to tie the set at 14 and went on to win the frame. The Cardinals, who had not won a match this season when losing a set, put that streak behind them, however, winning the next three frames.
With the second frame tied at 22, a kill from fifth-year middle Marie Plitt and an ace by senior outside Cait Snyder gave BSU the momentum. Moments later freshman opposite Aniya Kennedy ended the set with one of her career-high 17 kills on the night.
"When Aniya is playing confident, she can score at a very high level," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We count on her to do a ton for our team and I must remind myself that she's just a freshman sometimes. She's a competitor and was able to work through a slow start tonight. That just shows her toughness."
The teams played to a 17-17 tie in the third frame before a marker from freshman middle Camryn Wise and back-to-back blasts from sophomore opposite Madison Buckley pushed the Cardinals ahead by three. The kills were two of Buckley's 11 in the match. BSU went on to close the set on another Kennedy kill at 25-19.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the fourth frame, it was time for Snyder to take control as she scored kills on three of the next six rallies to give BSU a 10-6 edge and force a Miami timeout. Ball State would go on to score 15 of the final 20 points to secure its third consecutive win over the RedHawks.
In addition to the offensive efforts by Kennedy and Buckley, Plitt added 11 kills and hit .417 (11-1-24) to give Ball State three players in double figures. Senior setter Megan Wielonski also had a strong attacking night, tallying six kills on seven swings for a match-high .857 (6-0-7) hitting percentage.
Wielonski, who dished out 45 assists on the night and ran the Ball State offense to a .309 (56-13-139) rate of success, also collected 10 digs for her seventh assist/dig double-double of the season. Fifth-year libero Havyn Gates led the Cardinals backcourt with 13 digs.
"We started out hot with our net presence and I was pleased with how locked in we were defensively," Phillips added. "Blocking presence certainly sets an aggressive tone and I thought that was big tonight."
Overall, Ball State collected a season-high 13 total blocks to hold a 13.0-to-4.0 edge for the match. Wise led the way in that category with seven total blocks, one solo and six assists. Ball State also held an 8-to-2 advantage in service aces, paced by three from Plitt and two from Wielonski.
"Camryn takes a ton of pride in her blocking game and her self discipline really helps her in that area," Phillips said. "She continues to put in the work to be better and better each week and that's the type of attitudes we have to have to get where we want to go."
Miami's Ellie Hanson led all players with 19 kills, while adding 14 digs for a double-double of her own. Margo Lawson collected a match-high 21 digs. Overall, the Ball State defense limited Miami to a .193 (48-21-140) hitting percentage, including a .000 (8-8-29) effort in the final frame.
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes its current four-match road swing Saturday with a 4 p.m. first serve at Bowling Green.
After seeing one of the nation's longest consecutive set winning streaks snapped in the opening frame, the Cardinals (8-8; 5-0 MAC) battled back to remain undefeated in league play by taking the next three frames.
While Ball State jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the opening set, the RedHawks (4-14, 0-6 MAC) battled back to tie the set at 14 and went on to win the frame. The Cardinals, who had not won a match this season when losing a set, put that streak behind them, however, winning the next three frames.
With the second frame tied at 22, a kill from fifth-year middle Marie Plitt and an ace by senior outside Cait Snyder gave BSU the momentum. Moments later freshman opposite Aniya Kennedy ended the set with one of her career-high 17 kills on the night.
"When Aniya is playing confident, she can score at a very high level," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We count on her to do a ton for our team and I must remind myself that she's just a freshman sometimes. She's a competitor and was able to work through a slow start tonight. That just shows her toughness."
The teams played to a 17-17 tie in the third frame before a marker from freshman middle Camryn Wise and back-to-back blasts from sophomore opposite Madison Buckley pushed the Cardinals ahead by three. The kills were two of Buckley's 11 in the match. BSU went on to close the set on another Kennedy kill at 25-19.
With the score tied at 5-5 in the fourth frame, it was time for Snyder to take control as she scored kills on three of the next six rallies to give BSU a 10-6 edge and force a Miami timeout. Ball State would go on to score 15 of the final 20 points to secure its third consecutive win over the RedHawks.
In addition to the offensive efforts by Kennedy and Buckley, Plitt added 11 kills and hit .417 (11-1-24) to give Ball State three players in double figures. Senior setter Megan Wielonski also had a strong attacking night, tallying six kills on seven swings for a match-high .857 (6-0-7) hitting percentage.
Wielonski, who dished out 45 assists on the night and ran the Ball State offense to a .309 (56-13-139) rate of success, also collected 10 digs for her seventh assist/dig double-double of the season. Fifth-year libero Havyn Gates led the Cardinals backcourt with 13 digs.
"We started out hot with our net presence and I was pleased with how locked in we were defensively," Phillips added. "Blocking presence certainly sets an aggressive tone and I thought that was big tonight."
Overall, Ball State collected a season-high 13 total blocks to hold a 13.0-to-4.0 edge for the match. Wise led the way in that category with seven total blocks, one solo and six assists. Ball State also held an 8-to-2 advantage in service aces, paced by three from Plitt and two from Wielonski.
"Camryn takes a ton of pride in her blocking game and her self discipline really helps her in that area," Phillips said. "She continues to put in the work to be better and better each week and that's the type of attitudes we have to have to get where we want to go."
Miami's Ellie Hanson led all players with 19 kills, while adding 14 digs for a double-double of her own. Margo Lawson collected a match-high 21 digs. Overall, the Ball State defense limited Miami to a .193 (48-21-140) hitting percentage, including a .000 (8-8-29) effort in the final frame.
The Ball State women's volleyball team concludes its current four-match road swing Saturday with a 4 p.m. first serve at Bowling Green.
Team Stats
BSU
Miami
Kills
56
48
Errors
13
21
Attempts
139
140
Hitting %
.309
.193
Points
77.0
54.0
Assists
49
42
Aces
8
2
Blocks
13
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
3
Blocks
4
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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