Friday, August 30
Boca Raton, FL
10 a.m.
Ball State University
1-0,0-0MAC
3
vs
0
Seton Hall
0-1,0-0Big East
1
2
3
F
Seton Hall
19
16
19
0
Ball St.
25
25
25
3
Photo by: Brayden Goins / Ball State Athletics
How Sweep It Is: Women’s Volleyball Near Perfect on Opening Day
August 30, 2024 | Women's Volleyball
BOCA RATON, FL - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opened the 2024 season in style Friday, earning sweeps of Seton Hall and Bryant on day one of the Florida Atlantic Invitational.
"I was super impressed with our depth across the board," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the wins. "We stayed consistent with a large variety of lineups and got a lot of our younger players some great experience. Overall, it was a good start for day one. There was a lot of good to take from today and lots to still work on moving forward."
The Cardinals (2-0) started its 53rd season of play with a solid 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) victory over the Pirates (0-1). In the opener, it was sophomore middle Camryn Wise who made the biggest impact on offense.
She connected for a match-high nine kills over the final two sets, while hitting a career-best .818 (9-0-11). Her attack mark ties as the fourth-best hitting percentage in a match, with between 10 and 14 attempts, in program history.
Senior setter Megan Wielonski also set the tone from the service line against Seton Hall with four of the team's eight aces in the sweep. She also guided BSU to a .263 hitting mark, while her effort helped limit SHU to a .080 rate of success.
Overall, 14 different Cardinals saw action in the win, with nine being credited with at least one kill and 11 earning at least one block.
Ball State was even more dominating in the nightcap, limiting Bryant to a -.020 hitting percentage in a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17. 25-12) sweep. On the offensive front, the Cardinals connected for a .333 clip, led by nine kills and a .533 (9-1-15) attack percentage from graduate transfer middle Aayinde Smith.
Smith was not the only newcomer to shine in the nightcap, however, as freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter collected 20 digs for her first collegiate match at-or-above 20 digs. After currently being credited with 13 digs in the season-opener, Ledbetter corralled 10 in the opening set versus the Bulldogs (1-1).
"We put together a complete defensive game versus Bryant," Phillips said. "It started at the service line and then our block scheme was working well. Sophie also started out with several big digs in a row and that set the tone for the rest of the match. Overall, our freshman ball control was a huge factor in our success today. It allowed us to get a ton of people involved and kept the pressure on our opponents all day."
Meanwhile, Wielsonski would add three more aces from the service line to raise her career total to 151. The total ranks third in program history and is just 40 shy of the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85). Wielonski is also currently credited with 60 assists over the two matches.
"Megan was strong from the service line all day, and especially versus Bryant, set the tone with consistent pressure that fed down to the rest of the team and was a huge factor in our defense against the Bulldogs."
Like the opener, the win over Bryant was another team effort with 15 different Cardinals seeing action. Nine players earned at least one kill, while 10 had at least one dig.
Other key contributors on the day were redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Kennedy with 13 kills, junior opposite Madison Buckley with 11 kills and a .333 (11-3-24) hitting mark and freshman defensive specialist Elizabeth Tabeling with 19 digs, including her first double-digit match with 10 against Bryant.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Florida Atlantic Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first serve versus the host Owls.
"I was super impressed with our depth across the board," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said after the wins. "We stayed consistent with a large variety of lineups and got a lot of our younger players some great experience. Overall, it was a good start for day one. There was a lot of good to take from today and lots to still work on moving forward."
The Cardinals (2-0) started its 53rd season of play with a solid 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) victory over the Pirates (0-1). In the opener, it was sophomore middle Camryn Wise who made the biggest impact on offense.
She connected for a match-high nine kills over the final two sets, while hitting a career-best .818 (9-0-11). Her attack mark ties as the fourth-best hitting percentage in a match, with between 10 and 14 attempts, in program history.
Senior setter Megan Wielonski also set the tone from the service line against Seton Hall with four of the team's eight aces in the sweep. She also guided BSU to a .263 hitting mark, while her effort helped limit SHU to a .080 rate of success.
Overall, 14 different Cardinals saw action in the win, with nine being credited with at least one kill and 11 earning at least one block.
Ball State was even more dominating in the nightcap, limiting Bryant to a -.020 hitting percentage in a 3-0 (25-15, 25-17. 25-12) sweep. On the offensive front, the Cardinals connected for a .333 clip, led by nine kills and a .533 (9-1-15) attack percentage from graduate transfer middle Aayinde Smith.
Smith was not the only newcomer to shine in the nightcap, however, as freshman libero Sophie Ledbetter collected 20 digs for her first collegiate match at-or-above 20 digs. After currently being credited with 13 digs in the season-opener, Ledbetter corralled 10 in the opening set versus the Bulldogs (1-1).
"We put together a complete defensive game versus Bryant," Phillips said. "It started at the service line and then our block scheme was working well. Sophie also started out with several big digs in a row and that set the tone for the rest of the match. Overall, our freshman ball control was a huge factor in our success today. It allowed us to get a ton of people involved and kept the pressure on our opponents all day."
Meanwhile, Wielsonski would add three more aces from the service line to raise her career total to 151. The total ranks third in program history and is just 40 shy of the program record of 191 set by Stacy Jordan (1982-85). Wielonski is also currently credited with 60 assists over the two matches.
"Megan was strong from the service line all day, and especially versus Bryant, set the tone with consistent pressure that fed down to the rest of the team and was a huge factor in our defense against the Bulldogs."
Like the opener, the win over Bryant was another team effort with 15 different Cardinals seeing action. Nine players earned at least one kill, while 10 had at least one dig.
Other key contributors on the day were redshirt sophomore outside Aniya Kennedy with 13 kills, junior opposite Madison Buckley with 11 kills and a .333 (11-3-24) hitting mark and freshman defensive specialist Elizabeth Tabeling with 19 digs, including her first double-digit match with 10 against Bryant.
The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Florida Atlantic Invitational Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first serve versus the host Owls.
Team Stats
SHU
BSU
Kills
24
43
Errors
17
15
Attempts
88
97
Hitting %
.080
.289
Points
29.0
58.0
Assists
24
39
Aces
4
8
Blocks
1
7
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Kills
6
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's VolleyballMH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
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