Friday’s Volleyball Results
Ball State 3, Akron 1
Buffalo 3, Toledo 2
Kent State 3, Miami 0
Northern Illinois 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Ohio 3, Bowling Green 1
Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan 0
Stories courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Ball State 3, Akron 1
Boxscore
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball team used a dominating opening set and another late rally to remain undefeated in Mid-American Conference play with a 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-15, 25-21) victory over Akron Friday on Dig Pink Night in Worthen Arena.
After rallying from down 19-10 to win the third set in Thursday's sweep, the Cardinals (11-8; 8-0 MAC) carried over the momentum to open tonight's contest, scoring 11 of the match's first 12 points. The run included a little bit of everything, including two of fifth-year middle Marie Plitt's career-high tying three service aces.
While Ball State went on to win the set 25-12, the Zips (10-9; 5-3 MAC) proved why they are one of the top teams in the MAC East, rebounding to take the second frame 25-22 by scoring seven of the final eight points in the frame.
Ball State would pick up the pace in the third set, smashing an astonishing 20 kills and hitting .545 (20-2-33). It was the most kills in a set for the Cardinals this season and included eight of freshman outside Aniya Kennedy's career-high 25 markers.
Once again, the Akron would not go down without a fight, as they played to a 20-18 edge in the fourth frame to force a Ball State timeout. While Kennedy stopped a four-point Zips run with a kill out of the 90-second break, it was a monster solo block from freshman middle Camryn Wise which put all the momentum on the Cardinals side of the court and tied the score at 20.
Kennedy would follow with two more blasts, while sophomore opposite Madison Buckley closed a 5-0 Cardinals run with her eighth and final kill of the night. Akron would get the next pint, but Kennedy's 25th marker and a Zips attack error ended the contest.
Wise's solo block to turn the tide was her final of a career-high nine total blocks in the win. Buckley was not far behind with five, helping the Cardinals hold a 12.0-to-4.0 advantage blocks. The effort also helped limit the Zips to a .141 (46-25-149) rate of success.
On the Ball State side, junior setter Megan Wielonski notched her ninth double-double of the season with 41 assists and 11 digs. She also smashed eight kills, while leading the Cardinals to a .300 (59-14-150) attack percentage. It is the 24th time in her 86 career starts she has led BSU to at least a .300 attack percentage.
Also playing a big role in the win was sophomore defensive specialist Paige Busick who led all players with a career-high 21 digs. Fifth-year libero Havyn Gates finished with 15, tying the second-highest total in the match, helping the Cardinals hold a 67-to-61 advantage in total digs.
In addition to her three aces, Plitt smashed eight kills and hit for a .400 (8-0-20) rate of success.
Faith Johnson led a trio of Akron attackers in double figures with 12 kills, while Eliska Vytiskova collected a team-high 15 digs.
The Ball State women's volleyball team returns to action Tuesday (Oct. 17) when it hosts Toledo for a 6 p.m. first serve in Worthen Arena.
Buffalo 3, Toledo 2
Boxscore
TOLEDO, Ohio – The University at Buffalo women's volleyball team (16-3, 6-1 MAC) won their Friday night showdown against the Toledo Rockets (7-11, 5-2 MAC), 23-25, 19-25, 25-22,27-25, 17-15. UB's historic start to MAC play continues as they are now 6-1 and sit third in the standings.
The Bulls found themselves down 2-0 after dropping the first two sets despite having more kills than the Rockets, 34-22. However, in those sets, UB had a total of 30 errors to Toledo's eight. The disciplined Rockets looked to close the match with a straight set sweep.
In the third set, both teams mustered up 14 kills with the Bulls hitting .186 to Toledo's .154. Going up 1-0 in the third set was UB's first lead of the night. Later, they took a 13-8 lead, but an 8-3 run by Toledo forced the Bulls to call a timeout as the set was now tied at 16. Toledo then led 18-16 after the timeout, but down the stretch Manoela Forlin had three kills topped off by Emma Gielas getting the set clincher.
The fourth set had 12 ties and five lead changes, both match highs. The Bulls offense started to click as they had 18 kills, eight of which came from Katrin Trebichavska. Toledo's great blocking kept them in the set as they hit just .195. The Rockets had five blocks to UB's two. The Bulls had the largest lead of the set up four leading 5-1. They could not hold onto the lead as Toledo found themselves leading 6-5. It was neck and neck all the way through. UB was up 23-21, but Toledo tied the match at 23. The Bulls had another opportunity to take the set at 24-23, but Toledo would not surrender. Tied at 25, the Bulls won the set off a service error and an attack error by the Rockets.
In a fairly even fifth and decisive set, the Bulls were down 5-1 to start. UB stormed back to tie the set at 7. The Bulls then led five times down the home stretch. The Bulls held a 14-12 lead, but Toledo's Taylor Alt kept the Rockets alive with back-to-back kills. UB forced an error to stop the Rockets' run and led 15-14. With match-point in reach, Manoela Forlin called game with a cross-court kill to give the Bulls the victory.
Mandy Leigh had 57 assists, tying her season-high she had last Thursday against Central Michigan. In doing so, she surpassed 3,000 career assists becoming just the seventh Bull in program history to reach this milestone. She finished the evening with her 11th double-double of the season adding 11 digs.
For the first time this season, three Bulls had 10 or more kills in a match. UB improved to 12-2 when two Bulls have double digit kills. Reigning MAC East Offensive Player of the Week Katrin Treabichavska propelled the Bulls' offense with 21 kills, as Manoela Forlin added a career-high 16 on the night. Courtney Okwara tied her season-high 13 kills in the win. Also adding kills for the Bulls were Abby Leigh (9), Emma Gielas (8), Maurine Calande (3), Mandy Leigh (3), and Stacia Gollogly (2). Trebichavska upped season total of double-double with a season-high 20 digs.
The Rockets outhit the Bulls, .244 to .211. For the first time this season, UB won a match while getting outhit. They entered the match 0-3 in this category.
The Bulls are back in action tomorrow against the Rockets at 4 p.m. to finish their weekend festivities.
Kent State 3, Miami 0
Boxscore
KENT, Ohio – Kent State trailed just once during a dominant 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-17) win over visiting Miami on Friday night at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes (5-14, 1-7 MAC) posted a season-best .396 hitting percentage with 44 kills and eight errors on 91 attempts. Sophomore Mackenzie McGuire led all players with 15 kills and freshman Logan Henderson added eight kills on 13 errorless swings for a .615 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Kendall White led Kent State with 21 assists to go with nine digs and set new career-high marks with four aces and four total blocks. Freshman Lily King added 16 assists.
Senior Bryn Roberts became the 15th member of the Flashes' 1,000 digs club and finished with 11 digs to lead the defense.
Mackenzie McGuire set the tone with kills on the first two points as Kent State built a 10-1 lead. The Golden Flashes were successful on 11 of 13 sideout opportunities to prevent the lead from dropping below seven.
A service error to start the second set gave Miami its only lead of the night. Kent State went ahead 5-3 before the RedHawks were able to even it at 6-6. The Flashes won five of the next six points and extended the lead to 20-12. Miami fought off three set points before McGuire's fifth kill of the set closed it out.
Kent State kept it rolling and started the third with an 8-2 lead. The margin reached nine points and Kiana Mack and Kendall White secured the win with a block.
Kent State will go for the season sweep of Miami as the teams are scheduled to play again on Saturday. First serve at the M.A.C. Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Northern Illinois 3, Eastern Michigan 0
Boxscore
DeKALB, Ill.—Winning their third straight match, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball squad swept the regular-season series over the Eastern Michigan University Eagles (2-19, 0-9 MAC). The Huskies (8-12, 6-2 MAC) posted set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 on Friday night to celebrate the Huskies homecoming weekend.
As a team, the Huskies recorded a hitting percentage of .248 with 40 kills. The Huskies recorded their second match with double-digit blocks, recording 10 blocks in the contest.
The Huskies took control of the first set, taking a four-point lead early on a Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) service ace. Atiemo was getting the work done on both sides of the ball, recording a combined five kills and blocks within six points. The Huskies took a 10-point lead on an Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) kill. The Eagles fought their way back into the set, coming with two at 22-20. Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded two kills in the final points of the set as the Huskies held off a late charge by the Eagles.
The second set was a battle as neither team was able to maintain more than a three-point lead early. Nedic and Dykes hit back-to-back kills for the Huskies to break a tied set at eight. Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) recorded her third kill of the set, starting the Huskies on a 6-2 run late and a five-point lead. Erdmann recorded three of the Huskies last four kills of the set.
After opening the third set with back-to-back points, the Eagles scored three unanswered points to take a 3-2 lead over the Huskies. An attacking error by the Eagles broke the tie at six as the Huskies took the lead for the final time. A service ace by Erdmann started a 4-1 run for the Huskies. In the final 10 points of the match, the Huskies recorded five kills and three blocks for their third consecutive win.
With her nine kills in the match this evening, Erdmann is just one kill away from reaching the 1,000-career kill mark. Atiemo recorded a hitting percentage of .583 to lead the team while Nedic is 14 kills away from reaching 500-career kills.
The Huskies are headed to Michigan for a three-game road swing. The Huskies will take on Western Michigan on Oct. 17 before facing Central Michigan on Oct. 20 and 21.
Ohio 3, Bowling Green 1
Boxscore
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (10-10, 5-3 MAC) defeated Bowling Green (7-11, 1-6 MAC) 3-1 (25-16, 28-26, 30-28, 25-19) in its first match of the home series on Friday.
Several Bobcats recorded impressive performances in tonight's match. Graduate student Caitlin O'Farrell (Suwanee, Ga.) tallied a team-high 18 kills along with two blocks. Sophomore Anna Kharchynska (Kyiv, Ukraine) totaled 12 kills, senior Elizabeth Hoerlein (Mason, Ohio) added 10 kills and both players amassed five blocks each.
Senior Sam Steele also shined for the Green and White as she recorded two aces, 13 digs and two assists.
The first set started off close before Ohio's offense picked up ultimately leading to a 25-16 win for the Bobcats. A 3-0 scoring run finally separated Ohio from Bowling Green after several ties in the first half of the set. The Bobcats went on to maintain a five-point lead for the remainder of the set.
Hoerlein and Kharchynska led Ohio with three or more kills and two blocks a piece. A few hiccups by the Falcons helped the Bobcats reach set point and an early 1-0 advantage.
Ohio gave itself a 2-0 lead after stealing the second set in a 28-26 decision. Bowling Green led the Bobcats for majority of the set, but the Green and White fought back to earn the win. Ohio tied the Falcons 24-24 at set point and was able to come out of top behind strong defensive pressure and offensive success led by O'Farrell's five kills.
Bowling Green cut Ohio's lead in half with a 30-28 win in the third set.
Ohio secured the 3-1 victory with a 25-19 win in the fourth and final set.
The Bobcats will be back in action on Saturday as they conclude their series against Bowling Green at 4 p.m.
Western Michigan 3, Central Michigan
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan senior outside hitter Anna Calcagno recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the season on Friday night, as the Broncos knocked off Central Michigan 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22) for the second consecutive night at University Arena. The win is WMU's eighth in a row and keeps the Broncos perfect (8-0) in Mid-American Conference play.
Calcagno led the Broncos in both kills (14) and digs (13) for the contest while hitting an even .300. Joining Calcagno with double-digit digs were Reeghan Boyer (12) and Andelyn Simkins (11). Logan Case totaled a match-high 33 assists in the contest for WMU.
Western Michigan got out to a quick start, as it notched the first four points of the match. Central Michigan fought back, and evened the frame up at 11-11. Knotted up again at 13-13, the Broncos kicked it into high gear, closing out the set by tallying 12 of the next 15 points, including the final five in a row.
In the second set, WMU tallied four consecutive points to break a 7-7 deadlock and move ahead, 11-7. The Chippewas came right back with five of the next six to get level again at 12-12. The Broncos used a 4-1 run to jump back in front, 17-14, and then a 5-1 stretch to bump the margin to five, 23-18. A few points later, a Calcagno kill sent Western Michigan into the break leading the match, 2-0.
CMU held a 7-5 edge in the early stages of the third set before the Broncos came back with a 7-2 run to take a 12-9 lead. Western Michigan maintained a slim margin until the Chippewas drew level at 16-16. Tied again at 17-17, WMU ripped off five consecutive points to open up a 22-17 advantage. Central Michigan countered with the next four, cutting the margin to one and forcing the Broncos to take a timeout. Following the timeout, the Brown & Gold claimed three of the next four points, with Case and Madison Merz combining at the net for the clinching point to complete the sweep of their in-state rivals.
Western Michigan wraps up its homestand on Tuesday night as it welcomes Northern Illinois to University Arena. First serve between the Broncos and the Huskies is scheduled for 6 pm.
