Ball State knocked off Ohio in five sets Saturday night, winning the first, third and fifth sets.
The win puts the Cardinals in first place in the Mid-American Conference.
The teams traded points in the first set, until Ball State opened up a 19-13 lead that brought an Ohio timeout. Ohio rallied to cut the lead to 23-31, but kills from Mackenzie Kitchel and Jenna Spadafora ended the match.
The Bobcats were in complete control of the second set, jumping out to a 10-4 lead quickly. The Cardinals were never able to recover, and the Bobcats took the second set 25-17.
Tied at 17 in the third set, Ball State head coach Steve Shondell called a timeout that allowed his team to briefly take the lead, before it was swallowed up and Ohio tied the game at 22. With the set on the line, Ohio committed three straight attack errors to give Ball State the set and a 2-1 lead.
Ohio came out strong in the fourth set and overwhelmed Ball State, taking a 20-6 lead. Ball State tried to rally, but the deficit was too large and Ohio took the set 25-13.
In the decisive third set, the score was tied at 9 before Ball State took control. Kills from Kitchel and Alex Fuelling put the set away 15-10, with Ball State winning the match in the process.
Fuelling led the team with 16 kills, Kitchel was second with 14.
The win improves Ball State to 19-4 on the season, 7-1 in the MAC.
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