Thursday Volleyball results
Ball State 3, Bowling Green 2
Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 2
Miami 3, Kent State 2
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 3, Bowling Green 2 | Box Score
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. - - In a battle of the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference standings, the Ball State women's volleyball team came out on top with a thrilling 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 28-26, 24-26, 15-12) victory over Bowling Green Thursday evening at the Stroh Center.
After the team's traded 25-21 victories in the opening two sets, the Cardinals (12-8; 8-0 MAC) used a service ace from junior setter
Lindsey Green to cap a hard-fought 28-26 third set victory. Unfortunately, the Falcons (12-8; 6-2 MAC) took a back-and-forth battle in the fourth by a score of 26-24.
That set up a deciding fifth frame which saw BGSU take an 8-7 lead at the court switch and pull ahead 11-9 late. However, two kills from sophomore outside
Carson Tyler surrounding a Bowling Green attack error gave the guests a 12-11 edge. The Ball State block then forced two more attack errors, giving the Cardinals three match point attempts at 14-11. It would only take two, as Tyler's match-high 24th kill ended the set at 15-12 and the contest at 3-2.
Overall, Ball State's block came up big in the victory, out-blocking a Bowling Green squad which entered the match leading the league in blocking average. Led by a match-high six total blocks from junior middle
Camryn Wise and five from junior middle
Gwen Crull, the Cardinals tallied 12.0 blocks to BGSU's 11.0.
The edge at the net, along with an 8-to-5 advantage in service aces, turned the tide for Ball State which saw Bowling Green tally 69 kills to the Cardinals' 63.
Along with their solid blocking numbers, Wise and Crull each smashed nine kills in the win, while graduate outside
Noelle VanOort added 10 for her 16th match in double figures this season. Meanwhile, Tyler has smashed double-digit kills in all 20 matches this year and in 26 straight outings going back to last season.
Much as she has done all season, Tyler also turned in a solid effort on defense by leading the Cardinals with 15 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. She also added four total blocks and served up two aces, while hitting .327 (24-6-55).
Green would lead Ball State's setter duo with 28 assists, one more than freshman
Reese Axness who also chipped in 10 digs for her third double-double in the last four matches. Axness also served up an ace, while Green tallied two.
Other key contributors in the match were graduate opposite
Christyn Ashby with seven kills and four blocks, along with sophomore libero
Sophie Ledbetter with 13 digs and a pair of service aces.
Ball State and Bowling Green will battle once again Friday, with another 6 p.m. first serve at the Stroh Center.
Ohio 3, Eastern Michigan 2 | Box Score
ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio volleyball team (6-14, 4-4 MAC) survived its exciting five-set battle against Eastern Michigan (10-11, 2-6 MAC), winning 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 16-14) on Thursday, Oct. 16.
The matchup between the Bobcats and Eagles was one of Ohio's closest games this season. Ohio finished with 63 kills, 10 aces, 13 blocks, 58 assists and 93 digs. Eastern Michigan finished with 51 kills, six aces, nine blocks, 47 assists and 81 digs.
Two Bobcats finished with a double-double. Senior
Kendall White tallied a team-high 53 assists in addition to 16 digs and eight blocks. Junior
Gentry Brown finished with 12 kills and led the team with a career-high 21 digs.
Freshman
Bailey Blair led the team's offense with 19 kills and 20.5 points. Junior
Torre Kildow and sophomore
Sierra Evans tallied 10 kills each, a career-high performance for Evans. Junior
Emily Waddell finished with eight kills, 18.0 points 10 blocks and a career-high five aces.
Four different Bobcats, including Brown and White, finished the game with double-digit digs. Sophomore
Kendall Hickey tallied 19 digs as and freshman
Mady Long tallied 18 digs.
Miami 3, Kent State 2 | Box Score
Recap coming soon...
