Saturday, November 2
Muncie, IN
4 p.m.
Ball State University
16-8,9-4MAC
3
vs
0
Eastern Michigan
13-14,7-6MAC
1
2
3
F
Eastern Mich.
13
19
16
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Volleyball Soars Over Eagles With Saturday Sweep
November 02, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team scored the first two points Saturday afternoon and never looked back, earning a dominating 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-16) sweep over Eastern Michigan inside Worthen Arena.
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It is the Cardinals' (16-8; 9-4 Mid-American Conference) sixth consecutive victory and bumps the squad into third place in the league standings. To get there, Ball State turned in of its best defensive efforts of the season, led by some spectacular backcourt play from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter.
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"We have been focusing a ton on our back row defense, and I thought we made a lot more plays this weekend," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Sophie turned in a solid performance and has been working hard on a lot of different things technically. I thought she had a great night defensively and can hopefully build on this performance."
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Ledbetter would lead all players with 15 digs in the match, including several spectacular digs on hard Eagles (13-14; 7-6 MAC) shots down the line. She also finished the match with a perfect reception percentage on 11 attempts, while dishing out a pair of assists.
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Along with the solid backcourt effort, which saw the Cardinals out-dig EMU by a 36-to-25 margin, Ball State posted 11.0 total blocks in the win.
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Leading the BSU effort at the net were graduate middle Aayinde Smith, sophomore middle Gwen Crull and junior opposite Madison Buckley with five total blocks apiece.
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"As a team, we know we have to be able to make more plays on defense, and that was especially important against a strong defensive team like Eastern Michigan," Phillips added. "EMU entered the week ranked second in the league in blocking and fourth in digging, so we knew their specialty was on the defensive front. We wanted to make sure we matched that intensity. I thought we did a nice job of that."
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On the offensive front, freshman outside Carson Tyler led all players with 12 digs, while Buckley added nine to go along with her five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy also had a solid night, blasting seven kills and hitting a match-best .600 (6-1-7).
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Overall, the Cardinals hit .263 as a squad, with senior setter Megan Wielonski dishing out 14 assists and sophomore setter Lindsey Green adding 12.
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Ball State also turned in a solid effort from behind the service line, with six total aces. Three of those came from junior outside Katie Egenolf, while junior setter Josie Bloom added two. In addition, Wielonski served up her 186th career ace and needs five to tie and six to break the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).
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On the EMU side of the net, Hatteras Welker scored a team-high 10 kills, while Hannah Blaney collected a team-best eight digs. Overall, the BSU defensive limited EMU to a .080 (32-24-100) hitting mark.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes out the road portion of its 2024 regular season slate next weekend with a pair of key matches at Toledo. The Cardinals and Rockets will play at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday at Savage Arena.
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It is the Cardinals' (16-8; 9-4 Mid-American Conference) sixth consecutive victory and bumps the squad into third place in the league standings. To get there, Ball State turned in of its best defensive efforts of the season, led by some spectacular backcourt play from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter.
Â
"We have been focusing a ton on our back row defense, and I thought we made a lot more plays this weekend," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "Sophie turned in a solid performance and has been working hard on a lot of different things technically. I thought she had a great night defensively and can hopefully build on this performance."
Â
Ledbetter would lead all players with 15 digs in the match, including several spectacular digs on hard Eagles (13-14; 7-6 MAC) shots down the line. She also finished the match with a perfect reception percentage on 11 attempts, while dishing out a pair of assists.
Â
Along with the solid backcourt effort, which saw the Cardinals out-dig EMU by a 36-to-25 margin, Ball State posted 11.0 total blocks in the win.
Â
Leading the BSU effort at the net were graduate middle Aayinde Smith, sophomore middle Gwen Crull and junior opposite Madison Buckley with five total blocks apiece.
Â
"As a team, we know we have to be able to make more plays on defense, and that was especially important against a strong defensive team like Eastern Michigan," Phillips added. "EMU entered the week ranked second in the league in blocking and fourth in digging, so we knew their specialty was on the defensive front. We wanted to make sure we matched that intensity. I thought we did a nice job of that."
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On the offensive front, freshman outside Carson Tyler led all players with 12 digs, while Buckley added nine to go along with her five total blocks. Redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy also had a solid night, blasting seven kills and hitting a match-best .600 (6-1-7).
Â
Overall, the Cardinals hit .263 as a squad, with senior setter Megan Wielonski dishing out 14 assists and sophomore setter Lindsey Green adding 12.
Â
Ball State also turned in a solid effort from behind the service line, with six total aces. Three of those came from junior outside Katie Egenolf, while junior setter Josie Bloom added two. In addition, Wielonski served up her 186th career ace and needs five to tie and six to break the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85).
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On the EMU side of the net, Hatteras Welker scored a team-high 10 kills, while Hannah Blaney collected a team-best eight digs. Overall, the BSU defensive limited EMU to a .080 (32-24-100) hitting mark.
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The Ball State women's volleyball team closes out the road portion of its 2024 regular season slate next weekend with a pair of key matches at Toledo. The Cardinals and Rockets will play at 6 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday at Savage Arena.
Team Stats
EMU
BSU
Kills
32
35
Errors
24
14
Attempts
100
80
Hitting %
.080
.263
Points
41.0
52.0
Assists
30
31
Aces
1
6
Blocks
8
11
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
12
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
7
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
3
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Players Mentioned
DS/L
/ Women's VolleyballOPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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