MOVING ON: Volleyball Tops Middle Tennessee in NIVC Opener

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team beat one of the nation's best at its own game Thursday night, hitting a blistering .421 to earn a 3-1 (25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 30-28) victory over Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) at Alumni Memorial Gym.

It was the 11th-best single match attack percentage in program history and helped the Cardinals (17-14) pick up the first NIVC victory in program history. The Blue Raiders (20-10), who entered the match ranked fourth among all NCAA Division I programs with a .305 hitting percentage, finished the night hitting .266 after a strong final two sets.

"What a match," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "I felt like both teams played at a high level with a lot of intensity. MTSU provided a great atmosphere that really enhanced the postseason experience. I felt like it was a great match by both teams and I'm proud of our group for being able to find a way to finish things off in the set forth."

With the win, Ball State advances to Friday's second round of the NIVC and will battle Clemson at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT back at MTSU's Alumni Memorial Gym.

Leading the way on offense for the Cardinals was freshman outside Kendall Barnes who not only registered a career-high 17 kills but hit a match-best .522 (17-1-29) in the process. She also served up a crucial ace in the fourth set, giving Ball State the 30-28 set and 3-1 match win. It was just the third ace of her collegiate career and sent BSU dancing into the second round of the NIVC.

Going back to the beginning of Thursday's first round showdown, the Cardinals scored the first two points on its way to an early 17-13 lead in set one. The Blue Raiders would chip away at the advantage, however, briefly claiming a 20-19 edge. However, back-to-back kill from redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy shifted the momentum back to Ball State.

After the teams traded service errors, a block from freshman middle Camryn Wise and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley extended the lead to 23-21, while a kill from Barnes gave BSU three set points. MTSU then scored the next two points before Barnes ended the set at 25-23 with another blast.

Ball State carried over the momentum into the second stanza, scoring the first four points and playing to a 9-1 edge with Middle Tennessee calling both its timeouts during the run. BSU would pull ahead by as many as 11, on its way to winning the set 25-17 on one of Kennedy's 17 kills on the night.

MTSU scored the first two points of the third set and maintained a one-point lead at the 10-9 mark. However, a blast from Kennedy and three straight service aces by junior setter Megan Wielonski pushed the Cardinals ahead 13-10. Unfortunately, the Blue Raiders followed with the next five points to reclaim the lead and force a BSU timeout.

Kills from Barnes and Buckley, surrounding an ace from senior defensive specialist Kate Vinson, helped Ball State answer with a three-point run and pull back ahead at 16-15. It was BSU's last lead of the set, however, as MTSU scored four of the next five on the way to winning 25-20.

Middle Tennessee pulled out to a 15-11 lead in the fourth set, only to see the Cardinals battle back within one at 17-16 thanks to a block from Buckley and fifth-year middle Marie Plitt. MTSU would get the next two points, only to see Ball State respond with three straight to even the score at 19 on the 16th of Barnes' career-high 17 kills.

Following a timeout, the Blue Raiders looked to regain control with three straight kills from Kayla Henley. BSU would not go away, however, using a block from Kennedy and Wise to help even the score at 23. MTSU would go on to reach set point, at 24-23, only to see a Kennedy kill keep the frame alive.

BSU would survive two more set points before flipping the script thanks to Buckley's eighth kill of the night at 27-26. Kills from Barnes and Plitt gave Ball State two more match point attempts, before Barnes ended the night with a clutch service ace in her first collegiate match in her home state of Tennessee.

Looking at some of the numbers, Kennedy added three total blocks to her 17 kills while also hitting .371 (17-4-35). Plitt smashed eight kills, registered three blocks and hit .467 (8-1-15).

In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates collected a team-high 12 digs, while Wielonski added 10 digs to her 46 assists for her 16th assist/dig double-double of the season. With her first dig of the night, Wielonski became the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000 career digs. She also served up four of BSU's six aces.

Buckley and Wise would pace the Cardinals at the net with four total blocks, helping slowdown the potent MTSU offense.

On the Blue Raiders side of the net, Adri Rhoda led all players with 25 kills, while Henley added 17 and Laure Jansen scored 16. Erin Eisenhart had a team-high 10 digs, while six MTSU servers had at least one ace.

MOVING ON: Volleyball Tops Middle Tennessee in NIVC Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kendall Barnes

Madison Buckley

Havyn Gates

Aniya Kennedy

Marie Plitt

Kate Vinson

Megan Wielonski

Camryn Wise