Saturday, November 23
Bowling Green, Ohio
6:30 p.m.
Ball State University
22-9,13-5MAC
3
vs
2
Central Michigan
24-7,15-3MAC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Ball St.
25
25
21
21
15
3
Central Mich.
19
16
25
25
9
2
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND! WVB Wins Five-Set Thriller versus Central Michigan
November 23, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - - In another instant #MACtion classic, third-seeded Ball State advanced to the title match of the 2024 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship with a hard fought 3-2 (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 21-25, 15-9) victory over second-seeded Central Michigan Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center.
"We came out playing pretty strong, but we knew Central Michigan was going to give us every single thing they had," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "I am really proud of my group for staying strong."
With the win, the Cardinals (22-9) will battle fourth-seeded Western Michigan, who earned a 3-2 upset of its own earlier in the day versus top seed and tournament host Bowling Green, in Sunday's title match set for 4 p.m.
If you remember the first two meetings between Ball State and the Chippewas (24-7) earlier in the season, you knew Saturday's showdown was set to go the distance. During the regular season, the squads split a pair of five-set thrillers in Mount Pleasant.
However, unlike the first two meetings, one team would score wins in the first two sets and that would be the Cardinals. Ball State held all the momentum early, hitting .395 (18-3-38) in the opening set and throwing up four blocks in the second frame to stake a 2-0 lead in the match.
Ball State looked poised to make it a quick night, following with the first three points in the third thanks in part to an ace and a kill from senior setter Megan Wielonski. However, that was where the Chippewas made their run, scoring the next seven points and going on to win sets three and four by identical 25-21 marks.
CMU would proceed to pull ahead 4-2 in the fifth frame before the tide turned in the favor of the Cardinals.
The rally started with a kill from freshman outside Carson Tyler, who then combined with graduate middle Aayinde Smith for a block to even the score. A kill from Smith followed, then an attack error forced CMU to call timeout trailing 6-4.
Ball State would never look back, with three straight blocks from junior opposite Madison Buckley and sophomore middle Gwen Crull putting the set out of reach at 13-7. Junior outside Katie Egenolf and Crull would combine for a block to give Ball State match-point at 14-8, while Tyler ended the night with her match-leading 21st kill.
In all, the Cardinals tallied five blocks in the final set, while blasting six kills and hitting .462 (6-0-13).
Looking at the entire match, Buckley was second on the squad with 15 kills, while tying for team-high honor with five total blocks. Both Buckley and Tyler finished the match hitting .333, while Smith chipped in eight kills, five blocks and a .375 hitting mark.
While the Chippewas defense was able to limit the Ball State attack to a .237 (64-24-169) rate of success, the Cardinals were even better on defense, holding CMU to a .183 (58-26-175) mark.
Ball State also held a 75-to-72 advantage in total digs, led by a match-high 24 from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter. Wielonski chipped in 11, to go along with 31 assists, for her 13th double-double of the season. She also served up two of BSU's six aces to raise her career total to 196, two shy of breaking into the top 10 in the MAC record book.
Sophomore setter Lindsey Green added 24 assists and eight digs, while also serving up a pair of aces. Rounding out Ball State's key contributors were redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy with eight kills and a pair of blocks and Egenolf with six kills, five digs and a block.
Four Chippewas finished the night with double-digit kills, led by Alina Anderson with 14. Hannah Langton led the CMU defense with 20 digs.
Ball State will be playing for its ninth Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship crown tomorrow, and its first since winning the tournament on its home court during the 2021 season. Ball State did win the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship at the Stroh Center, topping BGSU in five sets.
"We came out playing pretty strong, but we knew Central Michigan was going to give us every single thing they had," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. "I am really proud of my group for staying strong."
With the win, the Cardinals (22-9) will battle fourth-seeded Western Michigan, who earned a 3-2 upset of its own earlier in the day versus top seed and tournament host Bowling Green, in Sunday's title match set for 4 p.m.
If you remember the first two meetings between Ball State and the Chippewas (24-7) earlier in the season, you knew Saturday's showdown was set to go the distance. During the regular season, the squads split a pair of five-set thrillers in Mount Pleasant.
However, unlike the first two meetings, one team would score wins in the first two sets and that would be the Cardinals. Ball State held all the momentum early, hitting .395 (18-3-38) in the opening set and throwing up four blocks in the second frame to stake a 2-0 lead in the match.
Ball State looked poised to make it a quick night, following with the first three points in the third thanks in part to an ace and a kill from senior setter Megan Wielonski. However, that was where the Chippewas made their run, scoring the next seven points and going on to win sets three and four by identical 25-21 marks.
CMU would proceed to pull ahead 4-2 in the fifth frame before the tide turned in the favor of the Cardinals.
The rally started with a kill from freshman outside Carson Tyler, who then combined with graduate middle Aayinde Smith for a block to even the score. A kill from Smith followed, then an attack error forced CMU to call timeout trailing 6-4.
Ball State would never look back, with three straight blocks from junior opposite Madison Buckley and sophomore middle Gwen Crull putting the set out of reach at 13-7. Junior outside Katie Egenolf and Crull would combine for a block to give Ball State match-point at 14-8, while Tyler ended the night with her match-leading 21st kill.
In all, the Cardinals tallied five blocks in the final set, while blasting six kills and hitting .462 (6-0-13).
Looking at the entire match, Buckley was second on the squad with 15 kills, while tying for team-high honor with five total blocks. Both Buckley and Tyler finished the match hitting .333, while Smith chipped in eight kills, five blocks and a .375 hitting mark.
While the Chippewas defense was able to limit the Ball State attack to a .237 (64-24-169) rate of success, the Cardinals were even better on defense, holding CMU to a .183 (58-26-175) mark.
Ball State also held a 75-to-72 advantage in total digs, led by a match-high 24 from freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter. Wielonski chipped in 11, to go along with 31 assists, for her 13th double-double of the season. She also served up two of BSU's six aces to raise her career total to 196, two shy of breaking into the top 10 in the MAC record book.
Sophomore setter Lindsey Green added 24 assists and eight digs, while also serving up a pair of aces. Rounding out Ball State's key contributors were redshirt sophomore opposite Aniya Kennedy with eight kills and a pair of blocks and Egenolf with six kills, five digs and a block.
Four Chippewas finished the night with double-digit kills, led by Alina Anderson with 14. Hannah Langton led the CMU defense with 20 digs.
Ball State will be playing for its ninth Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship crown tomorrow, and its first since winning the tournament on its home court during the 2021 season. Ball State did win the 2019 MAC Volleyball Championship at the Stroh Center, topping BGSU in five sets.
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Team Stats
BSU
CMU
Kills
64
58
Errors
24
26
Attempts
169
175
Hitting %
.237
.183
Points
81.0
75.0
Assists
61
57
Aces
6
5
Blocks
11
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
21
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
1
Blocks
5
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MH
/ Women's Volleyball
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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