Women's Volleyball

Volleyball Concludes Regular Season Competition on Saturday Night

Saturday, Nov. 14, Volleyball Results
Ball State 3, Eastern Michigan 1
Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 0
Akron 3, Kent State 2
Toledo 3, Bowling Green 1
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Ball State | Box Score
YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Ball State women's volleyball team closed the 2026 regular season with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-15, 25-11) victory over Eastern Michigan Saturday afternoon at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.

With the win, the Cardinals enter next week's Mid-American Conference Volleyball Championship, which will be held Nov. 20-22 inside Worthen Arena, with a 20-7 (11-5 MAC) record. It is the 32nd time in program history Ball State has reached 20 wins in a season.

The effort helped Ball State lock up the No. 4 seed in the MAC Volleyball Championship, and it will face No. 5 seed Western Michigan in the 4 p.m. quarterfinal match Friday (Nov. 20) afternoon.

In Saturday's victory over the Eagles (10-18; 4-15 MAC), junior outside Ava Smith led all players by matching her jersey number with 14 kills. She hit .282 (14-3-39) for the outing and added a solo block.

Next on the attacking front for the Cardinals were senior opposite Tiffany Snook and junior outside Audrey Geer with 11 kills apiece. Geer would tie her career high with five total blocks, while adding nine digs. Snook earned two digs and one block. From the middle, senior Gwen Crull led all players with seven total blocks and added six kills, while senior Camryn Wise chipped in eight kills and a match-best .471 (8-0-17) attack percentage, while also securing four digs and a block. Wise finished the regular season with a MAC-best .414 attack percentage, while Crull finished fifth in the league with a .355 hitting mark.

Overall, Ball State finished the day with a .272 (55-12-158) attack percentage, led by senior setter Lindsey Green and freshman setter Lucy McCollum. Green paced all players with 26 assists and added 10 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double of the season. McCollum chipped in 16 assists and three digs. Junior libero Sophie Ledbetter paced the Ball State backcourt with 20 digs, while freshman outside Mallory Pike collected 12, to go along with four kills and two blocks.

The strong effort on defense, including 66 total digs and 10.0 total blocks, helped limit the Eagles to a .074 (42-31-148) attack percentage.

Western Michigan | Box Score
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Western Michigan volleyball team hit .458 in the opening frame and never looked back, earning a straight-set victory (25-6, 25-20, 25-10) at Central Michigan in the regular season finale on Saturday evening.
 
The Western Michigan attack hit .400 or better in two of the three sets, concluding the contest with a .368 mark, its second-highest hitting percentage in a match this season. Leah Richmond led the charge for the Broncos with her team-leading 15th double-double, handing out 31 assists and collecting 11 digs. The redshirt sophomore set up Annalise Patchett for a team-high 12 kills on a .296 hitting percentage, Izzy Swiercz for 11 (.450) and Gabby Weihe for nine (.348). Richmond also added six kills of her own on 10 swings (.600).
 
On the defensive side, Elana Erickson and Carley Piercefield led WMU with 12 digs apiece. Richmond recorded 11 digs and Patchett chipped in 10 to complete their respective double-doubles. Weihe paced the Broncos up front with four blocks.
  
Next up for the Broncos is the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championship in Muncie, Ind., starting with a quarterfinal matchup at either 4 pm or 7 pm on Friday, Nov. 20. The MAC will release the bracket for the tournament following the conclusion of the regular season on Saturday evening.     

Akron | Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron volleyball team thrillingly closed its 2026 season, earning a 3-2 victory over rival Kent State on Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips rallied to win a marathon fourth set before securing a 15-13 decision in the fifth to finish the season with a victory in front of 905 fans on Senior Night.
 
Akron (12-16, 7-9 MAC) claimed the opening set, 25-22, before Kent State (11-16, 5-11 MAC) answered with wins in the second and third sets. The Zips responded with a hard-fought 33-31 fourth-set victory and carried the momentum into the deciding set, completing the season sweep of the Golden Flashes.
  
SENIOR NIGHT
Following the match, Akron recognized four seniors for their contributions to the program.

Vanessa Del Real closed her four-year career with a team-high 27 digs, eight assists and two service aces against Kent State. Entering the match, Del Real had appeared in 114 matches and recorded 1,684 career digs, averaging 3.70 per set, along with 498 assists and 167 service aces. A speech-language pathology and audiology major, she is also earning a certificate in American Sign Language.
 
Sarah Bettis contributed nine kills and three block assists in the season finale. A four-year member of the Zips, Bettis appeared in 19 matches during her Akron career. Her pre-match career totals included 44 kills, 45 digs, six service aces and three assists. She is a biology major with a minor in chemistry.
 
Chiara Gennari delivered a standout performance in her final match as a Zip, leading Akron with 18 kills while hitting .424 and adding three block assists. A graduate student who joined Akron after three seasons at Idaho, Gennari entered the match with 64 kills and 23 blocks during her Akron career. Across her collegiate career, she appeared in 96 matches with 373 kills, 167 digs, 96 blocks and 13 service aces. She is earning her Master of Business Administration.
 
Chidera Ozoh finished with 13 kills while hitting .357, adding one solo block and two block assists. A four-year member of the Zips, Ozoh entered the match with 401 career kills and 237 total blocks in 58 matches. She owns a career .351 hitting percentage and averaged 1.03 blocks per set entering the finale. A biology major, Ozoh made a significant impact on the Akron program at the net throughout her career.
 
Senior career statistics listed above reflect totals entering the Kent State match and do not include Saturday night's performances.
 
GAME NOTES
• Akron completed the season sweep of Kent State after opening MAC play with a 3-0 victory over the Golden Flashes on Sept. 23.
• Gennari Vila led all Zips with 18 kills and a .424 hitting percentage.
• Ozoh added 13 kills and hit .357, while Lauren Wilson recorded 11 kills.
• Lyndi Wolf led Akron with seven total blocks, including one solo block and six block assists.
• Jessie Musselman contributed 10 kills and 11 points.
• Del Real paced the defensive effort with 27 digs.
• Clara Christensen directed the offense with 41 assists, while Payton Evans added 11.
• Akron recorded 73 kills, 69 assists and 84 digs as a team.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
• Akron finished the season 12-16 overall and 7-9 in Mid-American Conference play.
• The Zips won the match despite trailing 2-1 in sets.
• Akron out-hit Kent State .223 to .246, but held the Golden Flashes to a .053 hitting percentage in the fifth set.
• The Zips finished with 73 kills compared to Kent State's 69.
• Akron recorded 84 digs and 10 total blocks.
• The fourth set was the longest of the match, with Akron earning a 33-31 victory.
 
Toledo | Box Score
Recap coming soon...