2019 Championship Central
2019 MAC Volleyball Tournament Bracket
No. 4 Ball State 3, No. 5 Ohio 1
Box Score
VIDEO:
Kelli Miller Phillips, Ball State Head Coach
VIDEO:
Kia Holder, Ball State Outside Hitter
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The fourth-seeded Ball State women's volleyball team entered Friday's Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship quarterfinal match versus fifth-seeded Ohio ranked first in the league with a 13.65 kills-per-set average.
Despite facing the league's top blocking team in the Bobcats (18-13) for its tournament opener, the Cardinals (18-11) offense could not be stopped yet again as it connected for a .344 (67-15-151) attack percentage in a 3-1 (25-23, 25-15, 21-25, 25-16) victory at Bowling Green's Stroh Center.
After finishing the match with its second-best attack percentage of the season, and averaging 16.75 kills per set, Ball State secured a spot in Saturday's 4:30 p.m. MAC Volleyball Championship semifinal match versus top-seeded Miami.
"I thought we came out strong right out of the gate," head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said about the win. "Our offensive versatility and balance really helped us tonight. We had a lot of attackers going and that kept a solid Ohio defense off balance the entire match. I also thought our service pressure caused Ohio a lot of issues and that's been a strength of ours all season. We really kept them off balance, out of system and overall just played a consistent match."
Three Cardinals finished Friday's match with double-digit kills, led by junior Kia Holder and reigning MAC Freshman of the Year Natalie Risi with 16 apiece. Freshman opposite Allison Hamaker was not far behind, smashing 10 kills. More impressively, Holder finished the match hitting a career-high .438 (16-2-32), while Risi and Hamaker hit .308 (16-4-39) and .364 (10-2-22), respectively.
In addition, freshman opposite Natalie Mitchem was one kill shy of double-figures, adding nine to go along with a career-best .421 (9-1-19) attack percentage. Senior middle Sydnee VanBeek added seven kills, while freshman middle Marie Plitt scored six to round out Ball State's top attackers.
"Our depth has been absolutely huge for us," Phillips said. "It gives our team confidence that we have a lot of options. Even if one person is a little off in one area, we've got somebody else ready to step in and help. This team is really believing in themselves, really believing in each other. All 18 players have faith in one another to be able to get the job done, and that's made the difference down the stretch."
Guiding the Ball State offense were senior setter Amber Seaman and freshman setter Esther Grussing. Seaman handed out a team-high 35 assists, while collecting eight digs and a kill of her own. Grussing registered 23 assists, five digs and a kill. Overall, the Cardinals offense hit at least .325 in all four sets, including a .382 (15-2-34) rate of success in the fourth frame.
In the backcourt, senior libero Kate Avila continued her strong play by tallying a team-high 21 digs and a perfect reception percentage while facing a team-high 27 Ohio serves. Risi was second in the squad with 13 digs, for her ninth kill/dig double-double of the season, while freshman defensive specialist Maggie Huber rounded out a trio of Cardinals in double figures with 11 digs.
From behind the service line, the Cardinals kept the pressure on all night with seven service aces. Risi and Huber collected two apiece, while Avila, Seaman and senior defensive specialist Anna Jensen also served up an ace each.
Overall, the Cardinals limited the Ohio attack to a .259 (50-14-139) attack percentage and out-dug the Bobcats 67-to-63. Ball State also had a 7-to-2 edge in service aces, while trailing in blocks 5-to-3.
Three Bobcats finished the match with double-digit kills, led by Lauren Park's 13. Ohio libero Macy Reihing collected a match-high 22 digs.
Winners of seven straight matches, the Cardinals advance to the MAC Volleyball Championship semifinals for the second consecutive season. Last year, Ball State took on a second-seeded Miami squad on its home court and suffered a hard-fought 3-2 (22-25, 25-27, 25-23, 26-24, 15-5).
Ball State is 9-10 all-time in MAC Volleyball Championship semifinal matches, with its last victory in the round coming in the 2005 tournament by a score of 3-2 (32-30, 29-31, 11-30, 30-28, 15-7) against Eastern Michigan.
Courtesy of Ball State Sport Info
