Volleyball Earns Friday Split in Top Dogs Challenge

STORRS, Conn. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team opened play in the Top Dogs Challenge hosted by UConn with a Friday split, topping Colgate in a 3-2 (19-25, 15-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-5) reverse sweep before falling to the host Huskies 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 25-20).

Sophomore outside Carson Tyler and graduate outside Noelle VanOort continued their strong play for the Cardinals (2-3), collecting 40 and 33 kills on the day, respectively. Both also recorded kill/dig double-doubles in the thrilling come-from-behind win over the Raiders.

Ball State also turned up the heat at the net Friday, collecting 19 total blocks over the two matches, with eight different Cardinals getting at least two blocks.

The Ball State women's volleyball team closes play in the Top Dogs Challenge Saturday with an 11:30 a.m. showdown with South Dakota.

MATCH 1: Ball State 3 - Colgate 2
Ball State rebounded from a slow start Friday morning, battling back from two sets down to earn a reverse sweep of the Raiders (2-2) by a score of 3-2 (19-25, 15-25, 25-16, 25-19, 15-5).

After hitting .068 (21-16-74) in the opening two sets, the Cardinals found an offensive rhythm after the long break by connecting at a .413 (38-7-75) clip over the final three frames. The best effort came in the final set when Ball State smashed eight kills on 11 swings with no errors for a .727 rate of success, helping the team finished the match at .242 (59-23-149).

Tyler collected a team-leading 19 kills, while VanOort. Both outsides turned in a dominating effort in the fourth frame, with VanOort collecting nine kills and hitting .571 (9-1-14) and Tyler earning seven kills and hitting .462 (7-1-13).

In addition, Tyler secured 12 digs and VanOort added 10 for their third double-doubles of the season. VanOort has earned 71 collegiate double-doubles, while Tyler has nine over her Ball State career.

Junior setter Lindsey Green and freshman setter Reese Axness each dished out 26 assists in the win, while sophomore libero Sophie Ledbetter collected a match-high 24 digs. Green finished the match with a career-high tying five service aces, while Tyler served up a career-high four of her own.

Junior middle Camryn Wise added 10 kills and hit .444 (10-2-18), her second straight match with double-digit kills, while redshirt freshman Riley Whitlock collected a career-high five kills and hit .566 (5-0-9).

Another factor in Ball State's late-match surge was its blocking, as the Cardinals tallied eight of its nine total blocks in the final three sets. Seven different players secured at least one block for BSU, with five tying for team-high honors with two each.

Milan Bayless led Colgate with 22 kills, while Carlie Rzeszotarski and Deren Cukur tied for team-high honors with 10 digs each. Overall, the Ball State defense limited the Raiders to a .233 (50-19-133) attack percentage.

MATCH 2: Ball State 1 – UConn 3
After dropping the first two sets in the nightcap, the Cardinals looked poised to force another five-setter, taking the third and pulling ahead 13-11 in the fourth. Unfortunately, the Huskies (4-0) rattled off six straight points and went on to win the match 3-11 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 25-20).

Tyler turned in another dominating performance from the attack line, smashing a match and season-high 21 kills for her eighth career match with 20+ kills. She was also credited with eight digs and a pair of solo blocks. VanOort was right behind, tagging 16 more kills to go along with seven digs and a service ace.

Overall, the Cardinals finished the match hitting .207 (55-25-145), including seven more kills from Wise and four apiece from Whitlock and sophomore middle Tiffany Snook.

Green dished out 35 more assists, while adding 16 digs for her second double-double of the season. She also served up one more ace, bringing her total to six on the day. Rounding out Ball State's top contributors was Ledbetter with a team-high 17 digs and a perfect reception percentage against 26 serves.

Tyler also finished the match with a perfect reception percentage while facing a match-high 38 serves. Overall, Ball State limited a strong serving UConn squad to five aces.

On the other side of the net, Emma Werkmeister led the Huskies with 18 kills while McKenna Brand was credited with a match-high 20 digs. UConn finished the match with a .262 (57-20-141) attack percentage despite 10 more blocks from the Cardinals defense.

Volleyball Earns Friday Split in Top Dogs Challenge

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Team Stats

Carson Tyler

Noelle VanOort

Camryn Wise

Riley Whitlock

Players Mentioned

Reese Axness

Lindsey Green

Sophie Ledbetter

Tiffany Snook

Noelle VanOort

Riley Whitlock

Camryn Wise