Thursday, September 21
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
4-8,1-0MAC
3
vs
0
Central Michigan
6-7,0-1MAC
1
2
3
F
Central Mich.
15
21
25
0
Ball St.
25
25
27
3
Volleyball Sweeps CMU To Open MAC Play
September 21, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - After nearly a month on the road, the Ball State women's volleyball team rallied behind an energetic and vocal Worthen Arena crowd to sweep Central Michigan 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 27-25) Thursday night in its 2023 Mid-American Conference opener.
"I thought our group did a nice job resetting for the MAC season," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We made sure we came out focused and with an intent to set the tone on our home floor tonight. I thought from the very get-go we did a great job with that."
The Cardinals (4-8; 1-0 MAC) took full advantage of the red out conditions inside Worthen to hit a blistering .327 (47-13-104), while tallying 8.0 total blocks to limit the Chippewas (6-7; 0-1 MAC) to a .219 (39-14-114) rate of success. It was Ball State's 19th consecutive regular season MAC win at home dating back to its 2021 league home opener versus Ohio.
Helping set the tone early was the play of freshman middle Camyrn Wise and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley who combined for blocks on two of the match's first six points. Overall, Wise had a hand in six of the team's eight blocks while making her first career home start. Buckley finished right behind with five blocks, while blasting 11 kills.
"Camryn has done a great job of playing to the best of her ability all the time," Phillips said. "She came in not really expecting this to be her role this soon and she continues to attack every day to be ready for this position. I think that's the best thing she's done, and she hasn't skipped a beat. She's mentally prepared herself to be ready to go."
From the attack line, redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy led the charge with a match-high 13 kills. Meanwhile, fifth-year middle Marie Plitt added 12 markers, to go along with a match-best .688 (11-0-16) rate of success. Senior outside Cait Snyder also turned in one of her best performances of the year with eight kills and a .400 (8-0-20) hitting mark.
Ball State also won the battle from the service line, connecting for a season-high eight aces. CMU, which entered the match ranked 12th nationally with 98 aces on the year, served up just six. Five different Cardinals collected aces, with two apiece from sophomore defensive specialists Paige Busick and Josie Bloom, along with junior setter Megan Wielonski.
Wielonski also dished out 41 assists to help the Ball State women's volleyball tally the 999th win in program history. In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates collected a match-high 17 digs, while Bloom added 10.
Elly Medendrop led the Chippewas attack with 10 kills, while Aly Gurtiza collected a team-high 14 digs.
"The biggest thing we've been working on is our attention to detail," Phillips added. "There are little things that add up into making points, but don't always show up on a stat line, that make a huge difference in the match. I was proud of how locked in we were, and the good communication we had right out the gate. I felt like that set the tone the rest of the match."
The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to turn a few more of those details into a big performance tomorrow when it goes for program win 1,000 with another 6 p.m. first serve versus Central Michigan.
"I thought our group did a nice job resetting for the MAC season," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We made sure we came out focused and with an intent to set the tone on our home floor tonight. I thought from the very get-go we did a great job with that."
The Cardinals (4-8; 1-0 MAC) took full advantage of the red out conditions inside Worthen to hit a blistering .327 (47-13-104), while tallying 8.0 total blocks to limit the Chippewas (6-7; 0-1 MAC) to a .219 (39-14-114) rate of success. It was Ball State's 19th consecutive regular season MAC win at home dating back to its 2021 league home opener versus Ohio.
Helping set the tone early was the play of freshman middle Camyrn Wise and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley who combined for blocks on two of the match's first six points. Overall, Wise had a hand in six of the team's eight blocks while making her first career home start. Buckley finished right behind with five blocks, while blasting 11 kills.
"Camryn has done a great job of playing to the best of her ability all the time," Phillips said. "She came in not really expecting this to be her role this soon and she continues to attack every day to be ready for this position. I think that's the best thing she's done, and she hasn't skipped a beat. She's mentally prepared herself to be ready to go."
From the attack line, redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy led the charge with a match-high 13 kills. Meanwhile, fifth-year middle Marie Plitt added 12 markers, to go along with a match-best .688 (11-0-16) rate of success. Senior outside Cait Snyder also turned in one of her best performances of the year with eight kills and a .400 (8-0-20) hitting mark.
Ball State also won the battle from the service line, connecting for a season-high eight aces. CMU, which entered the match ranked 12th nationally with 98 aces on the year, served up just six. Five different Cardinals collected aces, with two apiece from sophomore defensive specialists Paige Busick and Josie Bloom, along with junior setter Megan Wielonski.
Wielonski also dished out 41 assists to help the Ball State women's volleyball tally the 999th win in program history. In the backcourt, fifth-year libero Havyn Gates collected a match-high 17 digs, while Bloom added 10.
Elly Medendrop led the Chippewas attack with 10 kills, while Aly Gurtiza collected a team-high 14 digs.
"The biggest thing we've been working on is our attention to detail," Phillips added. "There are little things that add up into making points, but don't always show up on a stat line, that make a huge difference in the match. I was proud of how locked in we were, and the good communication we had right out the gate. I felt like that set the tone the rest of the match."
The Ball State women's volleyball team will look to turn a few more of those details into a big performance tomorrow when it goes for program win 1,000 with another 6 p.m. first serve versus Central Michigan.
Team Stats
CMU
BSU
Kills
39
47
Errors
14
12
Attempts
114
104
Hitting %
.219
.337
Points
48.0
63.0
Assists
37
44
Aces
6
8
Blocks
3
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballWomen's Volleyball // Wise and VanOort Reaction
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