Ball State def. Akron. 3-1
Central Michigan def. Western Michigan, 3-1
Bowling Green def. Kent State, 3-0
Eastern Michigan def. Northern Illinois, 3-0
Ohio def. Miami, 3-0
Toledo def. Buffalo, 3-1
Ball State def. Akron. 3-1
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State women’s volleyball team picked up its fifth consecutive win, topping Mid-American Conference East Division foe Akron by a score of 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-17, 25-16) Saturday evening at Worthen Arena.
With the win, the Cardinals improve to 9-6 (2-0 MAC). The Zips drop to 8-6 (1-1 MAC) with the loss.
Leading the way for the Ball State attack was senior outside hitter Kara Bates (Bradley, Ill./Bradley Bourbonnais Community/Maryland) who tallied a match-best 14 kills, while adding nine digs and five total blocks, including a pair of solo stuffs. She also hit .281 (14-5-32).
However, it was the impressive play of freshman setter Jenna Spadafora (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) which stole the show. In her first career start on the left side, Spadafora blasted a career-high 11 kills and hit for a .381 (11-3-21) rate of success to help carry the Ball State offense. She also tallied three total blocks, including a solo block, and five digs on defense.
Senior transfer middle hitter Lisa Scott (McLean, Va./Langley/Maryland) also tied her career-high with 11 kills, while hitting .400 (11-3-20). Her seven block assists led all players and were a Ball State career-high.
Overall, the Ball State offense connected for a .250 (53-22-124) rate of success, with junior setter Jacqui Seidel (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) dishing out 43 assists and adding nine digs.
In the backcourt, junior libero Catie Fredrich (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) added a match-best 18 digs.
Chelsea Harvey led the Akron attack, which finished the match with a .109 (42-27-138) team hitting mark, with 12 kills. Alex Cocklin would add 11 kills, while Jill Paluch had a team-best 13 digs.
Including its decisive attacking advantage, Ball State also posted a 59-42 advantage in digs. Both teams recorded 11 team blocks, while Akron out-aced BSU 3-1.
Some early strong serving from Fredrich, along with a pair of Bates kills, helped the Cardinals pull out to a 7-2 advantage in the opening set. Akron would get no closer than four points the rest of the frame, as the Cardinals won the set 25-17 on a kill from Bates.
The Zips pulled out to a 6-3 advantage in the second set, only to see Ball Sate battle back and tie the score at 8-8. Akron would answer with the next three points and never trail again, winning the frame 25-20 on a kill from Morgan Kuhn.
The third set started with the teams playing to a 3-3 tie, before a kill from Scott sparked a 6-0 BSU run. Akron would manage to battle back within two, at 13-11, only to see BSU pull ahead 19-12. The Cardinals continued to hold the momentum from there, winning the set 25-17 on one of junior opposite hitter Lauren Grant’s (Eagan, Minn./Eastview/Cincinnati) nine kills.
Ball State scored five of the first six points in the fourth frame, only to have Akron battle back and even the score at 6-6. BSU answered with the next four points, and would maintain the advantage from there. After pulling ahead 19-12 for the second consecutive set, the Cardinals went on to win the frame 25-16 as a kill and solo block from Bates gave BSU the final two points of the night.
The Ball State women’s volleyball team returns to action Friday, when it travels to Northern Illinois for a 7 p.m. (CT) first serve against the defending MAC regular season champion Huskies.
Central Michigan def. Western Michigan, 3-1
MOUNT PLEASANT - Sophomore Kaitlyn McIntyre slammed home a career-high 27 kills and junior Kelly Maxwell recorded her second consecutive 50-plus assist match with 56 to defeat rival WesternMichigan, 3-1, inside McGuirk Arena Saturday night.
The Chippewas (7-6, 1-1 MAC) took two straight sets over the Broncos (8-6, 1-1 MAC), 25-21 and 25-15, to close the match after winning the first, 25-19, and dropping the second, 24-26.
The tandem of McIntyre and Maxwell led the Chippewas to victories over the Broncos in those final two sets with 17kills and 30 assists, respectively. McIntyre’s 27 kills were just three shy of tying the CMU post-rally era kills record, which was set by Emily Lovejoy in 2004 against Clemson.
Her previous career-high was 24 kills, set at Ohio on Nov. 5, 2011. Maxwell recorded 50-plus assists in back-to-back games for the third time in her career, including her 52 against Northern Illinois on Friday.
Central Michigan jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in the first set behind three kills from McIntyre, forcing the Broncos to take a timeout. The Broncos climbed back into the match within one point, 19-18, but the Chippewas finished on a 6-1 run to close the game andwin, 25-19. The Broncos committed three attacking errors and senior Val DeWeerd recorded two kills during the run. The defense held the Broncos to just a .080 hitting percentage in the set.
The Chippewas dropped a very closely fought second set to the Broncos, 26-24. The Broncos took an 13-8 lead following a CMU timeout, but the Chippewas responded with four consecutive points to pull within one, 13-12, on two attacking errors from Western and kills from freshman Angie White and senior Lindsey Dulude. Neither team took more than a three-point advantage throughout the remainder of the set, and the Chippewas fought off a set-point to tie the match, 24-24. The Broncos scored two consecutive points to take the match.
McIntyre recorded nine kills in the third as the Chippewas won, 25-21. Central fell behind early, 8-3, before going on a run to take a 14-13 lead behind three kills by White. The Chippewas never trailed again in the set. A kill from McIntyre gave the Chippewas a 24-21 set point advantage, and she finished the set off with another kill on the following point.
The potent offensive attack from McIntyre and Maxwell continued in the decisive fourth set and the Chippewas' defense took its game to the next level, holding the Broncos to just five kills and forcing five attacking errors. The Chippewas jumped out in front, 10-5, and forced Western into a timeout before they extended their lead to seven, 14-7, on a kill from McIntyre. After another WMU timeout, CMU extended its largest lead of the set to nine, 20-11, on a service ace from junior Jenna Coates and a pair of emphatic kills from McIntyre closed the match, 25-15.
The Chippewas finish up a four-match homestand against Eastern Michigan Thursday at 7 p.m. inside McGuirk Arena.
Bowling Green def. Kent State, 3-0
Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green volleyball team used 10 blocks in the first two sets to take Kent State out of its offensive rhythm and the Falcons rolled to a 25-15, 25-21, 25-17 sweep of the Golden Flashes Saturday night to improve to 2-0 in MAC play.
BGSU picked up its second sweep in as many nights, moving to 2-0 in the conference play without dropping a set for the first time since 2006. The Falcons did it by holding Kent State to an .067 attack percentage and outdigging the Golden Flashes by 11.
Bowling Green dominated defensively behind 16 digs from Ashley Dunn and 10 from Libby Dachenhaus. On the front line of defense, Leah Shaw had a career-best seven blocks, while Laura Avila added three.
It was the defense that carried the team to victory because the offense struggled to find a flow in the first two sets. Bowling Green had not won a match all year in which it hit below .237 and the Falcons were only .154 in the first and .073 in the second. BGSU did hit .361 in the third to put the match away, but that only raised the team’s hitting percentage to .190 for the contest.
Despite that fact, four players had at least eight kills for the Falcons, led by Lindsey Butterfield and Paige Penrod with 11 each. Shaw added nine to go with her seven blocks and Danielle Tonyan had eight.
Bowling Green only trailed once in the entire match, falling behind 3-2 in the second set. But the Falcons set the tone quickly, scoring the first four points of the match and then using a five-point run midway through the frame to roll to a 25-15 win.
In the second, the Falcons again used a spurt midway through the second to take control. Leading 12-11, Bowling Green scored five in a row, sparked by a kill and block from Shaw. Kent State chipped away at the lead and closed to within two at 23-21, but Kari Galen posted a solo block and teamed up with Butterfield on another block for the 25-21 victory.
In the third set, BGSU went on an early 9-1 run to take an 11-3 lead and Kent State never threatened again, getting no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Avila handed out 35 assists and added eight digs to her three blocks on the night. Cassie Berning had two aces and six digs, while Penrod came up one dig shy of a double-double with nine.
Kent State falls to 4-10 overall and 1-1 in MAC play with the loss. BGSU improves to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in conference play. With an Akron loss, Bowling Green is now the lone undefeated team remaining in the MAC East. The Falcons are one game ahead of Ohio, Kent State and Akron.
Eastern Michigan def. Northern Illinois, 3-0
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team won its second Mid-American Conference match Saturday, Sept. 22. The Green and White cruised to a three-set victory (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) over Northern Illinois University at the Convocation Center.
Eastern advanced to 11-7 on the year and evened its conference record at 1-1, while the Huskies fell to 10-8 on the season and 1-1 in conference action.
EMU was led by senior, Rachel Iaquaniello (Plymouth, Mich.-Dearborn Divine Child) who posted her 11th double-double of the year with 14 kills and 11 digs. Also notching a double-double was Kim Hildreth (Novi, Mich.-Novi) with 29 assists and 13 digs, while Sierra Reed (Parker City, Ind.-Wapahani) had a match-high 17 digs. Kristen Baker (Mentor, Ohio-Mentor) notched seven kills, while Megan Crawshaw (Mattawan, Mich.-Mattawan) and Paige Roback (Maumee, Ohio-Notre Dame Academy) each picked up six. Hildreth was able to post a .444 attack percentage (4-0-9) from the setter position.
The Eagles hit .143 (14-7-49) in the set, using five kills from Iaquaniello en route to a 25-22 set victory. Crawshaw notched three kills while, Baker, Roback and Short each contributed a pair of kills, while Hildreth posted 11 assists. Sarah Angelos posted five kills for the Huskies, but EMU held Northern Illinois to a .130 attack percentage (15-8-54) in the opening set.
Eastern cruised to a 25-19 victory in the second frame, hitting .283 (18-3-53). Baker led EMU with five kills, while Iaquaniello posted four kills in the set. Roback and Hildreth each notched three kills, while Hildreth also had 10 assists in the set. Reed picked up and set-high nine digs.
The Eagles took the final set of the night, 25-19. Iaquaniello led the way with five kills, while Stacey Perinar (Channahon, Ill.-Minooka Community) and Crawshaw each posted a pair of kills the final frame.
The Eagles continue their Mid-American Conference schedule Thursday, Sept. 27, when they travel north to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on Central Michigan University. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Ohio def. Miami, 3-0
OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University volleyball team fell to a hot-hitting Ohio squad on Saturday, 0-3 (23-25, 11-25, 17-25). The RedHawks are now 5-10 on the season and 0-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats improve to 6-8 overall and 1-1 in the MAC.
Set one was a back-and-forth battle that saw the teams continuously record side outs and share the lead. Jenny Ingle recorded two kills, while Madison Dodd, Sarah Chaney and Meg Riley also put down kills of their own as Miami took an 8-7 advantage. Tied at 10, a service error and a kill by Chelsea Visk would give the ‘Hawks a 12-10 lead. Ohio would eventually retie the score at 15, but an attack error, followed by a block from Ingle and Riley and a service ace from Amy Kendall would give Miami its largest lead at 18-15. A 3-0 run from the Bobcats tied the score at 18, but Kayleigh Cox gave the Red and White the lead right back with a kill off of Kendall’s assist. Tied at 20, Ohio scored three straight points to force a RedHawk timeout. Out of the break, Menche had a kill and Treadway had a solo block to pull Miami to within one. The Bobcats scored the next point to create set point. Menche was able to fight it off with a kill, but Ohio put down the next attack to earn a 25-23 win.
The Bobcats took advantage of the momentum created from their come-from-behind victory to jump to a 15-3 lead in set two. Annie Reiswig and Riley would put down kills during the frame, but that large of an advantage proved to be insurmountable as Ohio would go on to win, 25-11.
Set three looked to start off similarly as the Bobcats took the first three points, but kills from Chaney and Menche, as well as two blocks assisted by Menche would help Miami tie the score at seven. From there, an 8-3 run would give Ohio control of the set at 15-10. Madison Hardy and Menche recorded kills to pull the RedHawks to within three, but a 7-1 run would put the Bobcats up, 20-13. That proved to be enough as they went on to take a 25-17 victory and a straight-set win.
Hardy had a strong game defensively, recording 20 digs. Kendall had a double-double with 11 assists and 11 digs. Chaney and Menche led Miami with six kills apiece.
Miami hits the road for a pair of MAC contests next weekend. The RedHawks will be in Buffalo Friday for a 7 p.m. match. They then will head to Akron Saturday for a match at 5 p.m.
Toledo def. Buffalo, 3-1
TOLEDO, OH – Toledo dominated the net defensively on Saturday afternoon to post a 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 25-15, 25-15) Mid-American Conference triumph over Buffalo in Savage Arena. The victory evened the Rockets’ overall record to 5-5 and conference ledger at 1-1, while the Bulls fell to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in league play.
“It was a great victory for us today,” Toledo Head Coach Greg Smith. “Our goal is to get into the MAC Tournament so every win counts. We came out flat in the first set, but I thought we really did a nice job of rebounding and getting a win. Buffalo is a dangerous team, and they have the ability to beat a lot of teams.”
UT registered a season-high 16 blocks in the contest with junior MB Dakota Harkins and sophomore MB Brooke Frazer each tallying a team-high seven blocks. Toledo’s defensive presence helped limit the visitors to a .106 team attack percentage and propelled the Rockets to their 18th victory in 19 all-time contests against the Bulls.
“We’ve really blocked well the last two matches,” Smith said. “I think that has a significant impact on our opponent because it makes them think differently when they’re attacking the ball.”
Junior RSH Becca Reidy was the Rockets’ top offensive performer with 11 kills and a .500 hitting mark. Frazer and Harkins made solid offensive contributions as well with eight kills apiece.
Junior S Adria Pryor quarterbacked UT’s attack distributing 34 assists to go along with six digs and a career-best six blocks.
Senior libero McCall Paynter was UT’s defensive leader in the back row with a match-high 14 digs.
Sophomore OH Liz Scott topped Buffalo with 11 kills and a .300 attack percentage.
After the Bulls posted a convincing win in the first set, UT rebounded quickly by taking an 8-2 advantage early in Set 2. The Rockets maintained control until the Bulls scored eight straight points to take a 23-22 lead. Frazer then evened the score with a kills, but junior OH Christine Fritsche’s put Buffalo back up a point. Toledo then closed out the set with kills from senior OH Sondra Parys, Harkins and Reidy.
Toledo started strong in each of the last two sets and coasted to 10-point wins in each stanza.
The Rockets return to action next weekend with road matches against MAC West Division foes Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. UT will face the Broncos on Friday, Sept. 28 and the Huskies on Saturday, Sept. 29.