Thursday Volleyball results
Ball State 3, Northern Illinois 0
Western Michigan 3, Miami 0
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments
Ball State 3, Northern Illinois 0 | Box Score
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women's volleyball defense turned in its best effort of the season to register a dominating 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-29) sweep of Northern Illinois in Thursday night #MACtion at Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals (7-8; 3-0 Mid-American Conference) limited the Huskies (9-3; 2-1 MAC) to a season-low .069 (27-20-102) attack percentage, with the guests hitting negative over the opening two sets.
"We have been putting a lot of emphasis on our defense in practice," head coach
Kelli Miller Phillips said. "I give our block and Coach Bitting lot of credit tonight. We have been trying some different things from a scouting perspective and really locking in to allow our blockers to feel like they know exactly what is coming at them."
Leading the charge at the net was junior middle
Gwen Crull with four total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs, to go along with a pair of kills. Fellow junior middle
Camryn Wise added two blocks and eight kills, while hitting .471 (8-0-17). Combined, the Ball State defense limited NIU to a season-low 27 kills, 15 below its previous low of 42 versus both SIUE (Sept. 6) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 26).
In addition to its strong defensive effort, Ball State was just as solid on offense, connecting for a .317 (45-12-104) rate of success. It's the highest attacking mark NIU has allowed this season, with the previous best being a .257 from Stetson (Aug. 29).
Leading the charge from a percentage standpoint for the Cardinals was redshirt freshman
Riley Whitlock who connected for kills on all five of her swings.
Overall, sophomore
Carson Tyler provided numerous highlights on both ends of the court, collecting her eighth double-double of the season with match highs of 12 kills and 12 digs. She hit .240 (12-6-25) on the night and chipped in on a pair of blocks.
Graduate outside
Noelle VanOort also tied for match-high honors with 12 kills and hit .286 (12-2-35), while adding five digs. In addition, junior setter
Lindsey Green set the tone early in the match, serving Ball State out to a 6-0 advantage in the opening set with her first of three aces coming at the 5-0 mark following an NIU timeout.
Green dished out a match-best 26 assists and added five digs, while freshman setter
Reese Axness was credited with 13 assists, five digs and Ball State's only other ace in the match.
Rounding out Ball State's top contributors were sophomore middle
Tiffany Snook with six kills, three digs and a pair of blocks, and sophomore libero
Sophie Ledbetter with nine digs.
NIU was led by seven kills from Ava Grevengoed who also tied for team-high honors with eight digs. Grevengoed also served up three of the Huskies six aces, the only statistical category the guest from DeKalb led in during its final MAC regular season matchup versus Ball State.
Up next, the Ball State women's volleyball team hosts Western Michigan Friday night at 6 p.m. for Alumni Night. In addition to honoring its alumni in attendance during the match, all fans can enter for a chance to win a Ball State Spirit Prize Pack.
Western Michigan 3, Miami 0 | Box Score
OXFORD, Ohio – The Western Michigan volleyball team opened up its three-match road trip with a four-set victory (25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 25-18) at Miami on Thursday night. The win moved WMU to 3-0 in MAC play for the third time in the last five seasons.
FINAL SCORE: Western Michigan 3, Miami 1
LOCATION: Millett Hall (Oxford, Ohio)
RECORDS: Western Michigan (6-10, 3-0 MAC) | Miami (8-7, 2-1 MAC)
Leah Richmond collected a double-double for the seventh straight contest after posting 45 assists and 16 digs. The redshirt freshman set up four teammates for double-digit kills, led by
Mary Clare Brusek's 13.
Annalise Patchett added 11 kills for the Brown and Gold, while
Molly Brown and
Mia Jurkovic tallied 10 apiece.
WMU's defense equaled its season-best of 12 blocks for the third consecutive match, led by
Amanda Glanton's season-high 10 rejections (1 solo, 9 assists).
Elana Erickson recorded a match-high 21 digs, with Richmond (16),
Reeghan Boyer (12) and
Lizzie MacIntosh (10) joining their libero in double-figures.
Western Michigan built an early five-point lead in the first set, 10-5. At 10-7, the Broncos rattled off five in a row to extend their advantage to 15-7, and did not let the margin dip below six for the remainder of the opening frame.
The Broncos held a 14-11 edge in the second, but Miami then reeled off four in a row to begin an 8-2 stretch to move in front, 19-16. Western Michigan responded with four straight to briefly regain the lead, but Miami came right back with a 6-1 surge to close it out and even the contest at one set apiece.
WMU rolled out to an 8-1 start in the third. The RedHawks worked their way to within five, 10-5, before the Broncos ripped off eight straight to balloon the cushion to 18-5 and put the set well beyond reach.
Tied 5-5 in the fourth, Western Michigan rattled off six in a row as part of a 12-3 surge to open up a 17-8 advantage. Miami charged hard with a run which trimmed the gap all the way down to three, 20-17, but the Brown and Gold closed it out with five of the final six points of the night.
Western Michigan continues its road trip on Friday night at Ball State. First serve against the Cardinals is set for 6 pm on
ESPN+.
