Friday, October 18
Athens, OH
6 p.m.
Ball State University
11-8,4-4MAC
3
at
2
Ohio
7-11,3-4MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball St.
19
25
25
23
15
3
Ohio
25
16
12
25
11
2
Volleyball Wins Five-Set Thriller at Ohio
October 18, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
ATHENS, Ohio - - Junior outside Katie Egenolf smashed a career-high 17 kills to help lead the Ball State women's volleyball team to a hard-fought 3-2 (19-25, 25-16, 25-12, 23-25, 15-11) victory over Mid-American Conference rival Ohio Friday night at the Convocation Center.
"I was impressed with our ability to stayed tough after a slow first set," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We were able to stay composed on the road which is something we've been emphasizing in practice. I feel like we kept believing and trusting one another, and that made a big difference tonight."
Egenolf also finished the night hitting .424 (17-3-33), while the Cardinals (11-8; 4-4 MAC) turned in its second-best attacking night of the season at .370 (61-11-135). It was also the best attack percentage by a Bobcats' (7-11; 3-4 MAC) opponent so far this season.
"Katie was taking some confident, big-time swings tonight and we needed that," Phillips added. "She is such an emotional spark and has been huge handling the ball and making big-time plays. Overall, I liked our offensive balance and we had different players step up at different times which allowed us to be super effective."
Overall, three different Ball State attackers finished the match with double-digit kills as freshman outside Carson Tyler and redshirt sophomore right side Aniya Kennedy added 10. Both also hit above the team's average, with Tyler connecting for a .452 (16-2-31) rate of success and Kennedy hitting .400 (10-2-20).
Right behind the trio was graduate middle Aayinde Smith with eight kills and a match-best .583 (8-1-12) attack percentage. She also secured two more solo blocks.
Ball State also held a decisive advantage from the service line, serving up nine aces compared to one for Ohio. Four of those aces came from senior setter Megan Wielonski who raised her career total to 173 which is 18 shy of the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).
Along with her four aces, Wielonski dished out a team-high 25 assists in another solid 6-2 performance for the Cardinals. She also collected five digs. The other part of the duo, sophomore Lindsey Green, handed out 23 assists, collected eight digs and served up an ace.
In the backcourt, sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter and Tyler tied for team-high honors with 10 digs apiece. Throw in her 16 kills and Tyler finished the match with her second career kill/dig double-double.
On the Ohio side, Kam Hunt led all players with 22 kills, while Kendall Hickey was credited with a match-high 19 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday with a 4 p.m. first serve at Kent State.
"I was impressed with our ability to stayed tough after a slow first set," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We were able to stay composed on the road which is something we've been emphasizing in practice. I feel like we kept believing and trusting one another, and that made a big difference tonight."
Egenolf also finished the night hitting .424 (17-3-33), while the Cardinals (11-8; 4-4 MAC) turned in its second-best attacking night of the season at .370 (61-11-135). It was also the best attack percentage by a Bobcats' (7-11; 3-4 MAC) opponent so far this season.
"Katie was taking some confident, big-time swings tonight and we needed that," Phillips added. "She is such an emotional spark and has been huge handling the ball and making big-time plays. Overall, I liked our offensive balance and we had different players step up at different times which allowed us to be super effective."
Overall, three different Ball State attackers finished the match with double-digit kills as freshman outside Carson Tyler and redshirt sophomore right side Aniya Kennedy added 10. Both also hit above the team's average, with Tyler connecting for a .452 (16-2-31) rate of success and Kennedy hitting .400 (10-2-20).
Right behind the trio was graduate middle Aayinde Smith with eight kills and a match-best .583 (8-1-12) attack percentage. She also secured two more solo blocks.
Ball State also held a decisive advantage from the service line, serving up nine aces compared to one for Ohio. Four of those aces came from senior setter Megan Wielonski who raised her career total to 173 which is 18 shy of the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).
Along with her four aces, Wielonski dished out a team-high 25 assists in another solid 6-2 performance for the Cardinals. She also collected five digs. The other part of the duo, sophomore Lindsey Green, handed out 23 assists, collected eight digs and served up an ace.
In the backcourt, sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter and Tyler tied for team-high honors with 10 digs apiece. Throw in her 16 kills and Tyler finished the match with her second career kill/dig double-double.
On the Ohio side, Kam Hunt led all players with 22 kills, while Kendall Hickey was credited with a match-high 19 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Saturday with a 4 p.m. first serve at Kent State.
Team Stats
BSU
Ohio
Kills
61
58
Errors
11
21
Attempts
135
147
Hitting %
.370
.252
Points
76.0
63.0
Assists
54
49
Aces
9
1
Blocks
6
4
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
17
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
16
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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