Ball State University Athletics
Saturday, November 11
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
16-12,13-4MAC
3
vs
2
NIU
8-21,6-11MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIU | 14 | 25 | 11 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
| Ball St. | 25 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 3 |
WVB Celebrates Senior Night With 3-2 Win Over NIU
November 11, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - In another thrilling finish at Worthen Arena, the Ball State women's volleyball team celebrated its six-member 2023 senior class with an epic 3-2 (25-14, 21-25, 25-11, 19-25, 15-11) victory over Northern Illinois Saturday evening.
"Sending our seniors out with a win is certainly a really special piece," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "This group has meant so much. It's an emotional day and an emotional weekend. You really want to put all your energy and all your joy to play for them. While a 3-0 sweep would have been great, we found a way to win and that is what's most important."
With the win, the Cardinals (16-12; 13-4 Mid-American Conference) improved to 37-3 in Worthen Arena over the last three seasons (Fall 2021 - 2023) and have now won its last 27 MAC regular season home matches.
" This group has been a huge part of building a winning culture," Phillips added. "Each person has had a little different touch that they have added, and they have continued to help us in different ways on-court, off-court, with the culture in general and with the behavior. It's an everyday standard and each of them bring a little something different that is so important to our whole. It's something that will continue for years on out because of the touch they had on the program."
More importantly, with the win and a Buffalo loss at Bowling Green, Ball State has moved into second in the league standings and can secure a first-round bye in next weekend's MAC Women's Volleyball Championship with a win Wednesday at Toledo.
While it may have looked easy in sets one and three Saturday, with the Ball State never trailing in either frame, it was anything but in a second consecutive back-and-forth battle with the Huskies (8-21; 6-11 MAC).
With NIU winning the second and fourth frames, the Senior Night thriller came down to a race to 15 points. The Huskies would even take an early 6-3 advantage in the final set before kills from sophomore opposite Madison Buckley and fifth-year middle Marie Plitt helped even the score at six.
Northern Illinois would take the lead again, at 7-6, before senior outside Cait Snyder shifted the momentum back to the home side of the court. Plitt would follow with a solo block, leading into the court switch, then add a kill to force a Huskies timeout at 9-7.
NIU would battle back one more time, scoring two straight to even the score at nine, before back-to-back blasts from redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy, who led all players with 22 kills, gave Ball State the lead for good.
Buckley would put the Cardinals up 13-11 with her career-best 16th kill of the night and followed a Huskies attack error by combining with freshman middle Camryn Wise for a match-winning block assist.
Plitt finished her senior night with 10 kills and five total blocks, including three solo stuffs. Snyder, who will be returning for the 2024 season, chipped in eight kills and two digs.
In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates added 20 more digs in her final regular season home match, giving her six matches with 20-or-more digs this season. Junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet also reached double figures for the sixth time this season with 13.
In addition, senior defensive specialist Kate Vinson added eight digs on her senior night, while senior defensive specialist Zoe Conway was also able to aid in the victory.
Back on the offensive front, junior Megan Wielonski set Ball State to a .237 (66-26-169) hitting percentage, tying her season high with 57 assists. She also collected 12 digs for her 15th double-double of the season. The offensive effort also included five kills from Wise and five from freshman outside Kendall Barnes.
On the other side of the net, Ball State limited NIU to a .144 (48-25-160) hitting mark. Nikolette Nedic and Emily Dykes led the Huskies with 14 kills each, while Crew Hoffmeier was credited with 34 digs.
The Cardinals close the 2023 regular season Wednesday with a 6 p.m. serve at Toledo.
"Sending our seniors out with a win is certainly a really special piece," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "This group has meant so much. It's an emotional day and an emotional weekend. You really want to put all your energy and all your joy to play for them. While a 3-0 sweep would have been great, we found a way to win and that is what's most important."
With the win, the Cardinals (16-12; 13-4 Mid-American Conference) improved to 37-3 in Worthen Arena over the last three seasons (Fall 2021 - 2023) and have now won its last 27 MAC regular season home matches.
" This group has been a huge part of building a winning culture," Phillips added. "Each person has had a little different touch that they have added, and they have continued to help us in different ways on-court, off-court, with the culture in general and with the behavior. It's an everyday standard and each of them bring a little something different that is so important to our whole. It's something that will continue for years on out because of the touch they had on the program."
More importantly, with the win and a Buffalo loss at Bowling Green, Ball State has moved into second in the league standings and can secure a first-round bye in next weekend's MAC Women's Volleyball Championship with a win Wednesday at Toledo.
While it may have looked easy in sets one and three Saturday, with the Ball State never trailing in either frame, it was anything but in a second consecutive back-and-forth battle with the Huskies (8-21; 6-11 MAC).
With NIU winning the second and fourth frames, the Senior Night thriller came down to a race to 15 points. The Huskies would even take an early 6-3 advantage in the final set before kills from sophomore opposite Madison Buckley and fifth-year middle Marie Plitt helped even the score at six.
Northern Illinois would take the lead again, at 7-6, before senior outside Cait Snyder shifted the momentum back to the home side of the court. Plitt would follow with a solo block, leading into the court switch, then add a kill to force a Huskies timeout at 9-7.
NIU would battle back one more time, scoring two straight to even the score at nine, before back-to-back blasts from redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy, who led all players with 22 kills, gave Ball State the lead for good.
Buckley would put the Cardinals up 13-11 with her career-best 16th kill of the night and followed a Huskies attack error by combining with freshman middle Camryn Wise for a match-winning block assist.
Plitt finished her senior night with 10 kills and five total blocks, including three solo stuffs. Snyder, who will be returning for the 2024 season, chipped in eight kills and two digs.
In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates added 20 more digs in her final regular season home match, giving her six matches with 20-or-more digs this season. Junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet also reached double figures for the sixth time this season with 13.
In addition, senior defensive specialist Kate Vinson added eight digs on her senior night, while senior defensive specialist Zoe Conway was also able to aid in the victory.
Back on the offensive front, junior Megan Wielonski set Ball State to a .237 (66-26-169) hitting percentage, tying her season high with 57 assists. She also collected 12 digs for her 15th double-double of the season. The offensive effort also included five kills from Wise and five from freshman outside Kendall Barnes.
On the other side of the net, Ball State limited NIU to a .144 (48-25-160) hitting mark. Nikolette Nedic and Emily Dykes led the Huskies with 14 kills each, while Crew Hoffmeier was credited with 34 digs.
The Cardinals close the 2023 regular season Wednesday with a 6 p.m. serve at Toledo.
Team Stats
NIU
BSU
Kills
48
66
Errors
25
26
Attempts
160
169
Hitting %
.144
.237
Points
64.0
78.0
Assists
44
63
Aces
7
4
Blocks
9
8
Game Leaders
Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
10
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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