Friday, October 11
Muncie, IN
6 p.m.
Ball State University
10-7,3-3MAC
3
vs
0
Akron
7-11,3-3MAC
1
2
3
F
Akron
16
16
20
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
Volleyball Zips Past Akron in Friday Night #MACtion
October 11, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Led by a program record .917 (11-0-12) attack percentage from graduate middle Aayinde Smith, the Ball State women's volleyball team opened the weekend with a dominating 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-20) sweep of Akron Friday night in Worthen Arena.
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"Aayinde attacking was unbelievable tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "She worked hard and did a spectacular job finishing some long rallies. She worked and worked to put herself in a position to get set and finish those. Her blocking presence was also consistent and helped slow down Akron's fast-paced attack. That certainly brought the whole vibe, the whole energy up another notch."
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Prior to Smith's effort against the Zips (7-11; 3-3 Mid-American Conference), the previous program record for attack percentage for a player with 10-14 attempts was .900 (9-0-10) set by Deb Wehman in 1980 and later tied by Rhonda Gardemann in 1993.Â
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In addition, the record for a player with at least 15 attempts is currently .833 (15-0-18) set by Marie Plitt in 2022.
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Overall, Smith's effort helped the Cardinals (10-7; 3-3 MAC) finish the night with a season-best .446 (48-7-92) hitting mark in its first venture into a 6-2 offense this year. It's the sixth-best team mark in program history and the best since BSU hit .478 (49-6-90) versus Arkansas State on Sept. 9, 2022.
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Along with Smith's big night redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy hit .533 (9-1-15) and freshman outside Carson Tyler connected at a .522 (13-1-23) clip.
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All three were set up by the combined effort senior setter Megan Wielonski and sophomore setter Lindsey Green. Wielonski finished the night with 20 assists, while Green handed out 15. Green also collected career highs of eight digs, two aces and two kills, while Wielonski added six digs and one ace.
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"Running the 6-2 tonight certainly gave us a lot more offensive options," Phillips said. "I also thought we passed at a high level, which allowed us to use all our attackers consistently. Both setters did good facilitating to the right people at the right time, mixing it up, and then the hitters just did their jobs. The first time rolling it out, we didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I thought the group did a really, really good job of just trusting it, playing hard and the results speak for themselves."
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In the backcourt, the Cardinals held a 45-to-33 edge in team digs, led by nine from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter. Junior outside Katie Egenolf tied her season high for a third time with eight digs, while also tying for match-high honors with three service aces.
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Junior opposite Madison Buckley led all players with six total blocks, followed closely by Smith's five.Â
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The Akron offense was paced by three players with eight kills each, while Vanessa Del Real tied Ledbetter for match-high honors with nine digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Buffalo for a 4 p.m. first serve.Â
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"Aayinde attacking was unbelievable tonight," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the match. "She worked hard and did a spectacular job finishing some long rallies. She worked and worked to put herself in a position to get set and finish those. Her blocking presence was also consistent and helped slow down Akron's fast-paced attack. That certainly brought the whole vibe, the whole energy up another notch."
Â
Prior to Smith's effort against the Zips (7-11; 3-3 Mid-American Conference), the previous program record for attack percentage for a player with 10-14 attempts was .900 (9-0-10) set by Deb Wehman in 1980 and later tied by Rhonda Gardemann in 1993.Â
Â
In addition, the record for a player with at least 15 attempts is currently .833 (15-0-18) set by Marie Plitt in 2022.
Â
Overall, Smith's effort helped the Cardinals (10-7; 3-3 MAC) finish the night with a season-best .446 (48-7-92) hitting mark in its first venture into a 6-2 offense this year. It's the sixth-best team mark in program history and the best since BSU hit .478 (49-6-90) versus Arkansas State on Sept. 9, 2022.
Â
Along with Smith's big night redshirt freshman outside Aniya Kennedy hit .533 (9-1-15) and freshman outside Carson Tyler connected at a .522 (13-1-23) clip.
Â
All three were set up by the combined effort senior setter Megan Wielonski and sophomore setter Lindsey Green. Wielonski finished the night with 20 assists, while Green handed out 15. Green also collected career highs of eight digs, two aces and two kills, while Wielonski added six digs and one ace.
Â
"Running the 6-2 tonight certainly gave us a lot more offensive options," Phillips said. "I also thought we passed at a high level, which allowed us to use all our attackers consistently. Both setters did good facilitating to the right people at the right time, mixing it up, and then the hitters just did their jobs. The first time rolling it out, we didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I thought the group did a really, really good job of just trusting it, playing hard and the results speak for themselves."
Â
In the backcourt, the Cardinals held a 45-to-33 edge in team digs, led by nine from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter. Junior outside Katie Egenolf tied her season high for a third time with eight digs, while also tying for match-high honors with three service aces.
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Junior opposite Madison Buckley led all players with six total blocks, followed closely by Smith's five.Â
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The Akron offense was paced by three players with eight kills each, while Vanessa Del Real tied Ledbetter for match-high honors with nine digs.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Buffalo for a 4 p.m. first serve.Â
Team Stats
UA
BSU
Kills
36
48
Errors
14
7
Attempts
110
92
Hitting %
.200
.446
Points
43.0
64.0
Assists
35
44
Aces
4
8
Blocks
3
8
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
4
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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