Friday, September 1
Omaha, NE
7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT
Ball State University
2-2,0-0MAC
2
at
3
Creighton
3-1,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball St.
19
27
25
16
11
2
Creighton
25
25
21
25
15
3
Photo by: Claire Witte / Ball State Athletics
Volleyball Takes No. 20 Creighton To The Brink
September 01, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
OMAHA, Neb. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team gave No. 20 Creighton all it could handle Friday night at D.J Sokol Arena, but ultimately fell a few points short in a 3-2 (25-19, 25-27, 21-25, 25-16, 15-11) setback in its opening match of the Bluejay Invitational.
"It was a tough match tonight, but we showed signs of being able to do a lot of good things," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We just had a few too many runs of points against us. It's hard to beat a great team when that happens."
After dropping the first set, the Cardinals (2-2) rallied to take the next two led by a strong performance from redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy. Kennedy smashed eight of her career-high 13 kills during the two sets, including five in the second frame.
Unfortunately, the nationally ranked Bluejays (3-1) would not be denied the win in its 2023 home debut as it won the final two sets. Ball State would not make it easy, however, battling back from down 8-2 in the fifth to draw within two at 13-11.
In addition to Kennedy's 13 kills and two blocks, sophomore opposite Madison Buckley finished the night with a career-best 14 kills and a pair of blocks of her own.
"Aniya competed hard," Phillips added. "She made smart shots and really was a huge presence for us at the net. Offensively, Maddie was scoring a ton of points and was a go-to attacker for much of the night. We're going to need both of those guys to keep battling."
Junior setter Megan Wielonski added her third assist/dig double-double of the season, handing out 41 assists to go along with 10 digs. She also scored four kills and served up her seventh ace of the season.
Fifth-year libero Havyn Gates led all players with 26 digs, while sophomore defensive specialists Josie Bloom and Paige Busick collected 13 and 10, respectively. Bloom's 13 digs were a career high.
Overall, all 11 Cardinals who saw action in the match registered at least one dig, while eight different BSU student-athletes collected at least one kill.
Norah Sis led the Creighton attack with 19 kills, while Ellie Bolton tallied a team-high 20 digs. As a team, the Bluejays connected for a .201 hitting mark, while limiting Ball State to a .132 rate of success.
"We have to keep getting better at playing controlled and hungry in big moments," Phillips added. "We have to trust ourselves and know we can play at a very high level. The more experience we have in those types of environments will continue to help us grow."
The Ball State women's volleyball team continues play in the Bluejay Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT matchup versus UNI.
"It was a tough match tonight, but we showed signs of being able to do a lot of good things," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We just had a few too many runs of points against us. It's hard to beat a great team when that happens."
After dropping the first set, the Cardinals (2-2) rallied to take the next two led by a strong performance from redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy. Kennedy smashed eight of her career-high 13 kills during the two sets, including five in the second frame.
Unfortunately, the nationally ranked Bluejays (3-1) would not be denied the win in its 2023 home debut as it won the final two sets. Ball State would not make it easy, however, battling back from down 8-2 in the fifth to draw within two at 13-11.
In addition to Kennedy's 13 kills and two blocks, sophomore opposite Madison Buckley finished the night with a career-best 14 kills and a pair of blocks of her own.
"Aniya competed hard," Phillips added. "She made smart shots and really was a huge presence for us at the net. Offensively, Maddie was scoring a ton of points and was a go-to attacker for much of the night. We're going to need both of those guys to keep battling."
Junior setter Megan Wielonski added her third assist/dig double-double of the season, handing out 41 assists to go along with 10 digs. She also scored four kills and served up her seventh ace of the season.
Fifth-year libero Havyn Gates led all players with 26 digs, while sophomore defensive specialists Josie Bloom and Paige Busick collected 13 and 10, respectively. Bloom's 13 digs were a career high.
Overall, all 11 Cardinals who saw action in the match registered at least one dig, while eight different BSU student-athletes collected at least one kill.
Norah Sis led the Creighton attack with 19 kills, while Ellie Bolton tallied a team-high 20 digs. As a team, the Bluejays connected for a .201 hitting mark, while limiting Ball State to a .132 rate of success.
"We have to keep getting better at playing controlled and hungry in big moments," Phillips added. "We have to trust ourselves and know we can play at a very high level. The more experience we have in those types of environments will continue to help us grow."
The Ball State women's volleyball team continues play in the Bluejay Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. CT matchup versus UNI.
Team Stats
BSU
CU
Kills
52
67
Errors
29
29
Attempts
174
189
Hitting %
.132
.201
Points
64.0
86.0
Assists
48
63
Aces
5
9
Blocks
7
10
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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