On Saturday, sales on brooms may have exploded in Muncie, IN as the Ball State Cardinals completed their Saturday sweep of Buffalo Bulls teams. The Bulls fell at the hands of the Cardinals volleyball team with a 3-0 (30-17, 30-17, 30-25) victory at Worthen Arena.
The Bulls (2-18, 1-3 Mid-American Conference) could not use the momentum of Thursday's win versus Akron to bring them to victory, due to the quickness of the Cardinals (3-13, 2-2 MAC).
"We struggled," said head coach Jim Lodes. "We never got into a good rhythm. I think the girls and I were disappointed with our performance, especially coming off a great win on Thursday."
The match began with the teams fighting hard to an 11-11 tie before the Cardinals went on a 6-1 run. The Bulls eventually fought back, but the momentum shifted back to the Cardinals thanks to a kill from Christine Kennedy, as well as three straight aces from Julie Breivogel.
As the game became 29-17 in favor of the Cardinals, Abby LaVigne ended the game with one of her six kills of the night, thanks to a blocks assist from Breivogel and Alexis Shonkwiler.
"Ball State worked hard more than anything else," Lodes said. "They just kept on fighting. They won each and every long rally."
In the second game, the Bulls jumped out to an early 4-2 advantage, before a Karin Caudil service ace tied the game at 4-4. The game reached 5-5, before a kill from Kennedy sparked a 4-0 Cardinal run.
With the Cardinals leading 25-17, Ball State stomped on the Bulls with back-to-back kills from Elaina Kakatolis, and two aces from Breivogel, which helped end the game at 30-17, giving them two games on their belt, heading in to the third.
"We need to take care of all the little things," Lodes said. "It's clich?(c), but it is true. If we can play smooth and steady we will be very good. We also need to be extremely consistent. If we have the needed consistency in the long run, we will be good."
In the third game, the Bulls and the Cardinals played to another 5-5 tie before the Cardinals jumped ahead with 15 of the 22 scored points, pulling ahead 20-12.
The Bulls, attempting a comeback, fought long and hard, bringing the match to only a three-point difference at 28-25. Sadly, a service error gave Ball State match point, and Breivogel ended the match with a solo block, which happened to be her third of the match.
"Honestly, I'm really not worried about anything," Lodes said. "We are practicing hard and working hard in our practices, so we just need to work harder in our matches."
Overall, Ball State out-hit the Bulls .211 to .075, while also dominating the service game, scoring 16 aces to none for Buffalo. The Cardinals also held a 52 to 44 advantage in digs, as well as a 10 to 4 edge in total blocks.
For the Bulls, junior Claudia Neba led with seven kills, while sophomore Kelsey Lueders added six kills to the match. Freshman Lindsey Schlegel helped with 25 assists, while Neba and senior Lizaiha Garcia both recorded double-digit digs, with 10 and 15, respectively. For the Cardinals, Brittany May added three kills, and Rachel Alcorn helped lead Ball State to victory with six digs.
After leaving Indiana, the Bulls will continue their road trip this weekend, with a pair of matches against formidable MAC East opponents in Miami (OH) and Bowling Green. The Bulls will head to Oxford, OH to play the Redhawks on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. They will head down the road on Saturday to Bowling Green to play the Falcons at 3:00 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
