Ball State - Kill leaders
Alex Fuelling - 16
Jessica Lindsey - 8
Bailey Baumer - 7
Kelly Hopkins - 7
Jenna Spadafora - 7
Belmont came back to defeat the Cardinals in the third set 25-23, however. The Bruins won the fourth set as well, but Ball State ultimately won the match in a five-set thriller.
"I basically chewed them out and woke them up," Ball State coach Steve Shondell said. "Something clicked and we started to play like our old selves again."
Ball State opened the match with a 25-18 win in set one and a 25-14 victory in the second set.
In the third set, however, Belmont put in its fresh starters from the previous match while most of Ball State's starting line-up had played throughout the match. The Bruins put the Cardinals on their heels and momentum shifted.
"We were pretty happy with how we played the first two games, so when we went into the third game we were caught off guard by their fresh players," Shondell said.
Ball State fell behind 20-7 in the fourth set. Shondell called a timeout and did his best to rally the girls out of the situation they had put themselves in, but Belmont evened the match with a 25-21 win.
Tied at 10 in the fifth set, Ball State broke through. Senior Alex Fuelling sealed the victory with a floater over the outstretched arms of the front line.
"I wasn't exactly nervous about the shot, I was more excited," Fuelling said. "I wanted the win so badly and I was ready to do it for our team."
Fuelling was the only Cardinal with double digit kills with 16. She hit .306 in the match.
Sophomore Jessica Lindsey was second on the team with eight kills.
On the defensive end, senior Kati Vasalakis led Ball State with 26 of the team's 77 digs, and setter Jenna Spadafora scored the only two solo blocked shots for the Cardinals.
Ball State will close out the Active Ankle Challenge Aug. 29 against New Mexico (2-0). The tournament's two remaining undefeated teams will face off in Worthen Arena at 7 p.m.
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