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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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.
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"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."
Â
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.
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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.
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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.
Â
"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."
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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.
Â
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.
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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.
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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.
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"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."
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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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