Saturday, October 26
DeKalb, IL
5 p.m.
Ball State University
14-8,7-4MAC
3
at
0
Northern Illinois
3-18,1-10MAC
1
2
3
F
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
NIU
14
21
18
0
Volleyball Completes Weekend Sweep of Northern Illinois
October 26, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
DEKALB, Ill. - - Led by more solid play from sophomore opposite Madison Buckley and freshman outside Carson Tyler, the Ball State women's volleyball team completed its weekend sweep of Northern Illinois with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-18) win at Victor E. Court Saturday afternoon.
Tyler, meanwhile, tied her effort from last night's sweep with 10 more kills against the Huskies (3-18; 1-10 MAC) tonight.
With the Cardinals trailing 7-4 in the opening set, graduate middle Aayinde Smith stepped up with a pair of big kills, sparking a 10-3 run for the squad from Muncie. Ball State took control from there, winning the frame by 11 and only trailing one other time in the match, which was early in the second set.
Smith would finish the night with five kills, while redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Kennedy added six.
The Cardinals also made a statement from the service line Saturday afternoon, serving up nine aces which tie as its third-most in a match this season. Three of those aces came from Tyler, while senior setter Megan Wielonski also added three more to raise her career total to 179 which is 12 shy of the program record.
Junior libero Josie Bloom also added two aces, while senior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet chalked one up in BSU's 10-3 run to take control of the opening set.
Wielonski also collected her second double-double of the weekend, dishing out 20 assists to go along with 12 digs. She now has 64 career assist/dig double-doubles.
Wielonski also combined with sophomore setter Lindsey Green to guide the Ball State offense to a .265 (43-16-102) attack percentage. Green added 14 assists to Wielonski's 20.
On the other side of the net, Nikolette Nedic and Savanah Brandt each registered seven kills to lead the Huskies, while Crew Hoffmeier collected a match-best 14 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns home next weekend for a pair of matches versus Eastern Michigan.
Friday night's contest, which starts at 6 p.m., will be Ball State's annual Chirp or Treat night, with trick or treating on the Worthen Arena concourse from 5-6 p.m. prior to the match. Youth will receive free admission to the match with a paid adult ticket.
Saturday's match, which starts at 4 p.m., will serve as the team's Alumni Day.
"We put together two solid performances in a row," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "We've been talking a lot about consistency in performance and I think we did a nice job of that this weekend. We have to continue to build during this back half, but it's always tough to win on the road so it's nice to get out of DeKalb with two more wins."
Buckley once again led all players in kills, following her 12-kill effort from Friday night with 14 more for the Cardinals (14-8; 7-4 Mid-American Conference) on Saturday. She also hit a match-best .636 (14-0-22) and finished the weekend with just one attack error in 42 attempts.Tyler, meanwhile, tied her effort from last night's sweep with 10 more kills against the Huskies (3-18; 1-10 MAC) tonight.
With the Cardinals trailing 7-4 in the opening set, graduate middle Aayinde Smith stepped up with a pair of big kills, sparking a 10-3 run for the squad from Muncie. Ball State took control from there, winning the frame by 11 and only trailing one other time in the match, which was early in the second set.
Smith would finish the night with five kills, while redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Kennedy added six.
The Cardinals also made a statement from the service line Saturday afternoon, serving up nine aces which tie as its third-most in a match this season. Three of those aces came from Tyler, while senior setter Megan Wielonski also added three more to raise her career total to 179 which is 12 shy of the program record.
Junior libero Josie Bloom also added two aces, while senior defensive specialist Kendall Seimet chalked one up in BSU's 10-3 run to take control of the opening set.
Wielonski also collected her second double-double of the weekend, dishing out 20 assists to go along with 12 digs. She now has 64 career assist/dig double-doubles.
Wielonski also combined with sophomore setter Lindsey Green to guide the Ball State offense to a .265 (43-16-102) attack percentage. Green added 14 assists to Wielonski's 20.
On the other side of the net, Nikolette Nedic and Savanah Brandt each registered seven kills to lead the Huskies, while Crew Hoffmeier collected a match-best 14 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns home next weekend for a pair of matches versus Eastern Michigan.
Friday night's contest, which starts at 6 p.m., will be Ball State's annual Chirp or Treat night, with trick or treating on the Worthen Arena concourse from 5-6 p.m. prior to the match. Youth will receive free admission to the match with a paid adult ticket.
Saturday's match, which starts at 4 p.m., will serve as the team's Alumni Day.
Team Stats
BSU
NIU
Kills
43
29
Errors
16
16
Attempts
102
95
Hitting %
.265
.137
Points
56.0
40.0
Assists
42
27
Aces
9
2
Blocks
4
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
14
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
10
Aces
3
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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