Coming into yesterday’s match against Western Michigan, Ball State Women’s Volleyball (20-9, 15-5 MAC) was unbeaten in 10 matches — even winning 28 consecutive sets — dating back to Oct. 18.
The Broncos (17-12, 13-5) ended both streaks at Worthen Arena in a five-set thriller, meaning the Cardinals will go into next weekend's Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament on a loss.
“Obviously not the result that we were looking for, but I do think it wasn’t the MAC tournament, so there are definitely lessons that we’re going to take from this,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “I think it was a healthy dose of pressure. A healthy dose of having to play and fight for something that’s going to translate well into what we’re going to have to face come MAC tournament time.”
After falling in straight sets yesterday, Western Michigan switched up its starting lineup, coming out with a different middle blocker in Amanda Glanton.
“They were running their middles in the middle of the court instead of behind the setter,” Phillips said. “I thought that took us some time to really get used to.”
Phillips also highlighted the Broncos’ aggressiveness from the service line, which ended up as a key to their victory. Western Michigan had eight service aces in the win, including four from senior middle blocker Madison Merz and three from freshman outside hitter Elana Erickson.
“They served a lot tougher, they really just attacked it at the service line,” Phillips said.
Despite the loss, the Cardinals' ability to have multiple threats in attack was evident, with junior opposite hitter Madison Buckley (16), junior outside hitter Katie Egenolf (14) and freshman outside hitter Carson Tyler (13) combined for 33 kills on the night.
Senior Megan Wielonski and sophomore Lindsey Green continued to share the load as Ball State’s two setters in the 6-2 system, combining for 52 assists as the Cardinals hit at a .214 hitting percentage.
With 14 blocks to Western Michigan’s seven, Ball State’s defensive abilities at the net helped keep the game close. That effort was spearheaded by graduate student middle blocker Aayinde Smith’s nine total blocks.
The loss to the Broncos means Ball State is sitting even on conference record with Western Michigan, but Friday’s 3-0 sweep gives the Cardinals the edge for tournament seeding. Ball State will be the No. 3 seed and play No. 6 seed Toledo (17-13, 9-8 MAC) in the first round of the MAC tournament next weekend.
“We’re going to be in a position to where we have to get three matches in a row to win that tournament,” Phillips said. “I think [we need to] be understanding of how hard you have to play and a healthy dose of pressure. From here on, that’s all it is.”
No. 1 seed Bowling Green (21-8, 16-2 MAC) will host while Central Michigan (24-6, 15-3 MAC) will occupy the No. 2 seed, Western Michigan the No. 4 seed and Buffalo (16-15, 12-6 MAC) the No. 5 seed.
If the Cardinals defeat Ohio, they will face a Central Michigan side that they split a weekend series with at the beginning of October.
“I think we usually do a nice job with being able to channel [pressure] into a positive way,” Phillips said. “I think our group is a mature group and understands competing at a high level. We’d love to have gone into it winning tonight, but it just didn’t fall that way.”
Buckley said the loss will sting, but there is potential for it to be a blessing in disguise ahead of the postseason.
“We were on a 28-set winning streak and we haven’t had to face a whole lot of adversity,” she said. “This tonight was a great opportunity for us to learn and to grow and take that toughness that we had to fit through in that fifth set and take it into next weekend.”
Smith agreed, highlighting the importance of continuing to push through challenges when they arise.
“Although it’s tough to say, it’ll teach us lessons to move forward and face adversity throughout the rest of the season,” she said.
As the last regular season game at Worthen Arena, the Cardinals celebrated four departing players in Smith, Wielonski and defensive specialists Paige Busick and Kendall Seimet.
“This group has made a huge impact on our program,” Phillips said. “Above all, all four of them [are] great teammates, great people, hard workers [and] pour their all into this program.”
While three of the departing players have played the entirety of their college careers at Ball State, Smith is in her first and last year at Ball State after spending her first four years at Towson University.
“I think my goal here, my purpose, was to take advantage and maximize my opportunities, connect with the goals and win a MAC tournament championship,” she said.
Ball State will face Toledo Nov. 22 at 6:30 p.m. at Bowling Green. The game will be available on ESPN+
Contact Daniel Kehn via email at daniel.kehn@bsu.edu or on X @Daniel_kehn.
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