BUFFALO, N.Y.: The 8-hour bus ride home just got a little easier for the Ball State women's volleyball team which turned in another dominating performance in a 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-15) sweep at Buffalo Friday afternoon.
 
The Cardinals (4-0, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) continued to fire on all cylinders, connecting for a .318 (38-10-88) attack percentage against the Bulls (0-4, 0-4 MAC) to complete the two-match series sweep. With the win, BSU has picked up 13 straight victories over league foes dating back to last season.
 
"I thought we played an all-around consistent game today and stayed balanced throughout on a quick turnaround from last night," acting head coach Fritz Rosenberg said. "Overall, everyone on the team came ready to play which leads to everyone getting to share in the success we had this weekend."
 
In addition to the solid offensive numbers, the Ball State defense turned in a strong performance with seven total blocks and 53 digs to limit Buffalo to a .030 (21-18-99) rate of success. The Cardinals' defense leads the MAC by limiting opponents to a .095 attack percentage so far this season.
 
"I thought we got off to some quick starts each set which set the tone for our side today," Rosenberg added. "Credit to the team for being ready to play right from the start and being able to reset each game as well."
 
Individually, it was a season-high 14 kills from senior outside hitter Kia Holder (Valparaiso, Ind./Morgan Township) which would pave the way for the Ball State victory. She has collected double-digit kills in three of the Cardinals' four wins this season, and hit a season-best .357 (14-4-28) this afternoon against Buffalo.
 
"I thought Kia played well today," Rosenberg said about the team's leading attacker and blocker. "We leaned on her more in today's match and she continues to lead us and played a great match all-around."
 
Holder also turned in a solid effort on defense, leading all players with a career-high six total blocks (one solo and five assists). 
 
Ball State's dynamic "Natalie duo" also turned in strong offensive efforts, with sophomore opposite Natalie Mitchem (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) smashing eight kills and sophomore outside hitter Natalie Risi (Clarkston, Mich./Notre Dame Preparatory) scoring seven.
 
In the backcourt, sophomore libero Maggie Huber (Loveland, Ohio/Ursuline Academy) echoed her performance from last night by collecting a match-high 17 digs, while adding four assists. 
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Chloe Rickenbach (Avon, Ind./Avon) also secured double-digit digs with 10, the same total she scored last night. She also served up three of Ball State's eight aces.
 
Redshirt sophomore Esther Grussing (Willmar, Minn./Willmar) and freshman setter Kate Vinson (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) combined to run the offense, dishing out 18 and 11 assists, respectively. Grussing added nine digs and an ace to her stat line, while Vinson logged four digs.
 
Rounding out Ball State's top contributors Friday were sophomore opposite Allison Hamaker (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) with five kills and a .714 (5-0-7) attack percentage, sophomore middle Marie Plitt (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) with three blocks and a pair of kills, and freshman Lauren Gilliland (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) with three total blocks and a kill.
 
The Ball State women's volleyball team will face its first MAC West Division opponent next week, when it travels to Toledo for matches Thursday (6 p.m.) and Friday (4:30 p.m.).

Bowling Green, Western Michign 0

Kalamazoo, Mich. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball program was able to complete the series sweep over Western Michigan with another 3-0 victory on Friday night (Jan. 29). The 3-0 win gives the Falcons an undefeated week against the Broncos after winning both matches by that score. The Falcons advance to 4-0 on the season, holding the same record in the MAC, while registering their third sweep win of the young season, keeping the pace of the record setting start to the 2011 season in both regards. Bowling Green will now prepare to return home for a two-match series next week against Miami on Thursday and Friday (Feb. 4 and 5). Both matches will be streamed on ESPN3 or ESPN+. 

DEKALB, Ill. – The University of Toledo volleyball team won its first match of the season on Friday, sweeping Northern Illinois in three sets.The Rockets won the first two sets by identical 25-21 scores, then led wire-to-wire in the third set (25-18) to cruise to their first win of the season. UT outhit NIU .294 to .147 on Friday night.

"We found a way to respond and that says volumes about the maturing process we are going through," head coach Jason Oliver said. "We had some players step up and make some big time plays and we are starting to meet some performance standards. Today was a good step in the right direction. Now we need to get better this week."

Freshman Taylor Alt led all comers with 17 kills, the second-most kills in a three-set match by a freshman in the country this season.

Sophomore Olivia Vance added 12 kills and two blocks, while freshman setter Payton Morman turned in another good performance with 39 assists. Sophomore Ryann Jaqua started her second straight match at libero and contributed 26 digs.

The Rockets return home next week for two home matches against Ball State on Thursday and Friday.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Kent State made the necessary offensive adjustments after dropping the opening set and went on to defeat Central Michigan, 3-1 (24-26, 25-15, 25-23, 25-22), for the second time in less than 24 hours on Friday afternoon.

After totaling just four blocks during Thursday's 3-0 setback, the host Chippewas' front row made five stuffs to help hold the Golden Flashes (2-0) to a .148 hitting percentage in the opening set, a 26-24 victory. Kent State's hitters avoided the block and hit .330 over the final three sets, in which CMU had only five blocks.

"I'm super proud of our team's performance in both matches," said head coach Don Gromala. "We were in a unique situation with not being able to play last weekend when everybody else in the conference did, so it was exciting to see our players come out and perform at this level. We maintained focus and really came together and executed well."

Redshirt junior Alex Haffner continued her stellar play and collected 58 assists, which is tied for the second-most in a four-setter during the 2020-21 NCAA season, and a career-high four aces. Haffner spread the ball around to her teammate and five Flashes finished with at least nine kills.

A sophomore came through with a career-best offensive performance for the second match in a row. This time it was Savannah Matthews, who led all players with 22 kills. Junior Melissa Kolurbasi totaled 12 kills and sophomore Taylor Heberle was right behind with 11. Juniors Lana Strejcek and Danie Tyson were reliable options in the middle and added 10 kills and nine kills, respectively, while combining to hit at a .390 clip.

"We were really proud with our pins overall," Gromala added. "We've talked about how one aspect of a team is that some people are going to have average nights, so that's when others have to step up. They were keying on our middles a little bit last night, so we set to the pins more. They were pretty strong and Central Michigan had to key on them more tonight, which opened things up for our middles to have a good match."

Junior Erin Gardner had a match-high 23 digs and was perfect in 37 service receptions. Senior Kaeleigh Stang had 14 digs and Matthews added 12 for her first double-double of the season.

"It all starts with our serve-receive and digging," added Gromala regarding the team's offensive success. "This is what gives us those opportunities to get the ball to our hitters in good scoring position."

Trailing 22-16 in the opening set, Lana Strejcek fueled a six-point rally to even the score with a kill and two block assists. The teams traded the next four points before Central Michigan got two straight kills to take the set, 26-24.

Excellent serving by Alex Haffner allowed Kent State to bounce back and run away in the second set. Leading 9-8, Haffner recorded an ace on back-to-back serves to start a 5-1 run that gave the Flashes some separation. It was 19-14 when Haffner came around to serve again, and she aced the Chippewas twice more as part of a five-point service run. Melissa Kolurbasi closed the set, 25-15, with a kill.

An ultracompetitive third set featured 17 ties and 11 lead changes with neither team being able to go ahead by more than two points. Savannah Matthews was able to sneak a cross body swing just inside the line to give Kent State a 25-23 win and 2-1 lead in the match. Matthews and Kolurbasi each had five kills in the set.

The Flashes were able to put their host away in another back-and-forth battle in the fourth. Tied at 22-22, Kolurbasi took a physical swing off the block to regain the lead. CMU then airmailed attacks to give Kent State the next two points and the series sweep.

The Flashes are scheduled to play two matches at Buffalo on February 4-5.

Be sure to follow Kent State Volleyball on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for news and updates about the squad.

Miami 3, Akron 2

AKRON, Ohio—After dropping the first two sets, the Miami University volleyball team used a gritty effort to battle back and capture a five-set win (27-29, 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-11) at the University of Akron on Friday evening. With the win, the RedHawks move to 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Zips drop to 1-3.

More coming soon...