Friday, September 29
Ypsilanti, MI
6 p.m.
Ball State University
6-8,3-0MAC
3
at
0
Eastern Michigan
2-14,0-4MAC
1
2
3
F
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Eastern Mich.
18
17
16
0
Volleyball Improves To 3-0 In #MACtion With Sweep At EMU
September 29, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
YPSILANTI, Mich. - - The Ball State women's volleyball offense was firing on all cylinders Friday evening, connecting for a .303 hitting percentage in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-16) sweep of Eastern Michigan at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
"We had a good effort all around tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We had a lot of opportunities on some off-speed attempts from EMU that we really capitalized on. Megan did a good job of spreading the ball and the hitters did their jobs."
Three Cardinals (6-8; 3-0 Mid-American Conference) finished the match with double-digit kills, led by redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy who blasted a match-high 13 and hit an impressive .423 (13-2-26).
Senior outside Cait Snyder put together her best match of the year against the Eagles (2-14; 0-4 MAC), smashing a season-high 12 kills and hitting a team-best .458 (12-1-24). Rounding out Ball State's attackers in double figures was fifth-year middle Marie Plitt at 10, to go along with a .375 (10-1-24) rate of success.
While the Cardinals tallied just four blocks in the win, including the match-winner from freshmen middle Camryn Wise and freshman setter Lindsey Green, the Ball State defense still limited EMU to its second-lowest kill total of the season at 33. That was because the backcourt collected 58 total digs, its most in a three-set match this season and its third-highest total in any match on the year.
"We put in a lot of work defensively this week on expanding our range and running down balls," Phillips added. "I thought we executed the game plan well."
Leading Ball State's strong backcourt play were fifth-year libero Havyn Gates and sophomore defensive specialist Josie Bloom with 10 apiece. They were not along in making an impact in the back row, however, as sophomore defensive specialist Paige Busick and junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet added nine and eight digs, respectively.
Rounding out BSU's top contributors were junior setter Megan Wielonski with 36 assists and nine digs and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley with seven kills. Wielonski was one of three Cardinals to serve up a pair of aces in the win, joined by Busick and Bloom.
In addition to limiting EMU to its second-lowest kill total of the season, BSU held the Eagles to a .132 (33-17-121) hitting mark. Callie Minshew and Ava Siefke tied for team-high honors with eight kills, while Hannah Howard was credited with a match-high 13 digs.
While EMU jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the opening set, the Cardinals used a kill and block from Snyder to even the score. With the score tied at 6-6 a kill from Plitt put Ball State ahead for good in the frame. BSU scored the first three points in the second frame and never trailed, while EMU scored the first point in the third frame only to have Ball State answer with the next four to take the lead for good.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its two-match stay in Ypsilanti tomorrow afternoon with a 4 p.m. first serve versus Eastern Michigan back at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
"We had a good effort all around tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We had a lot of opportunities on some off-speed attempts from EMU that we really capitalized on. Megan did a good job of spreading the ball and the hitters did their jobs."
Three Cardinals (6-8; 3-0 Mid-American Conference) finished the match with double-digit kills, led by redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy who blasted a match-high 13 and hit an impressive .423 (13-2-26).
Senior outside Cait Snyder put together her best match of the year against the Eagles (2-14; 0-4 MAC), smashing a season-high 12 kills and hitting a team-best .458 (12-1-24). Rounding out Ball State's attackers in double figures was fifth-year middle Marie Plitt at 10, to go along with a .375 (10-1-24) rate of success.
While the Cardinals tallied just four blocks in the win, including the match-winner from freshmen middle Camryn Wise and freshman setter Lindsey Green, the Ball State defense still limited EMU to its second-lowest kill total of the season at 33. That was because the backcourt collected 58 total digs, its most in a three-set match this season and its third-highest total in any match on the year.
"We put in a lot of work defensively this week on expanding our range and running down balls," Phillips added. "I thought we executed the game plan well."
Leading Ball State's strong backcourt play were fifth-year libero Havyn Gates and sophomore defensive specialist Josie Bloom with 10 apiece. They were not along in making an impact in the back row, however, as sophomore defensive specialist Paige Busick and junior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet added nine and eight digs, respectively.
Rounding out BSU's top contributors were junior setter Megan Wielonski with 36 assists and nine digs and sophomore opposite Madison Buckley with seven kills. Wielonski was one of three Cardinals to serve up a pair of aces in the win, joined by Busick and Bloom.
In addition to limiting EMU to its second-lowest kill total of the season, BSU held the Eagles to a .132 (33-17-121) hitting mark. Callie Minshew and Ava Siefke tied for team-high honors with eight kills, while Hannah Howard was credited with a match-high 13 digs.
While EMU jumped out to a 5-3 lead in the opening set, the Cardinals used a kill and block from Snyder to even the score. With the score tied at 6-6 a kill from Plitt put Ball State ahead for good in the frame. BSU scored the first three points in the second frame and never trailed, while EMU scored the first point in the third frame only to have Ball State answer with the next four to take the lead for good.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes its two-match stay in Ypsilanti tomorrow afternoon with a 4 p.m. first serve versus Eastern Michigan back at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
Team Stats
BSU
EMU
Kills
48
33
Errors
11
17
Attempts
122
121
Hitting %
.303
.132
Points
59.0
39.0
Assists
45
31
Aces
7
4
Blocks
4
2
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballWomen's Volleyball // Wise and VanOort Reaction
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Women's Volleyball // 2025 First Practice Recap
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Ball State Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell discusses the NCAA vs. House Settlement
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