Game statistics
Ball State attack percentage: .126
Ohio State attack percentage: .362
Ball State aces: 1
Ohio State aces: 6
Ball State team blocks: 3
Ohio State team blocks: 8
In the final match of the two-day Active Ankle Challenge, Ball State women’s volleyball (4-10) fell to the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) in three sets (25-21, 25-17,25-14) Sept. 17.
Sophomore outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel led the Cardinals with 10 kills, but the team's .126 attack percentage was dwarfed by the Buckeyes' .326 attack percentage. In the second set, the Buckeyes had a .400 attack percentage and in the third set they posted a .516.
Still, Goodsel said playing against a Big Ten Conference opponent was an exciting challenge.
“We just want to keep getting better and playing better people so if that means were learning on a loss, I mean we don’t want to lose, but if were learning and were getting better that’s what we want,” Goodsel said.
The Cardinals led for most of the first set, but the Buckeyes rallied behind a .216 attack percentage to take the 1-0 lead.
First-year head coach Kelli Miller said she liked Ball State's fight.
“I thought we really had good composure set one," she said. "Battled right with them, and as the match wore down, our passing started to wear down a little bit."
Ball State struggled on the defensive end, tallying three team blocks in the match to Ohio State's eight. Freshman defense specialist Kate Avila led Ball State with 10 digs, but Miller said she wants Ball State to improve its passing on tough serves.
Ohio State snapped a four-game Ball State winning streak, and Miller said the turnaround has been in her players' heads.
“We're learning how to fight, we're learning how to compete on every point getting mentally tougher,” Miller said. “It’s not been a skill change, just a mentality change.”
The Cardinals return to action on Sept. 23, hosting Central Michigan in their Mid-American Conference opener.
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