At the end of the first set between Ball State (18-8, 11-4 MAC) and Toledo (15-13, 8-8 MAC), the Rockets were within throwing distance at 22-21, but the Cardinals swiftly rallied behind three consecutive kills to close out the frame. Most notably, the kills came from three separate Ball State players: junior outside hitter Katie Egenolf, sophomore middle hitter Camryn Wise and freshman outside hitter Carson Tyler.
“Any given night, any one of those players could be the one that we’re going to for the go-to kill and the player that’s leading us,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “What can make us really, really hard to defend is the balance. One, because we can ball control, and two, because we have six attackers that can all score at a really high level.”
It was a theme Cardinal fans have become used to seeing during what has been a historic run. Ball State would use the first set momentum to power through two more sets and complete the back-to-back sweep. Tonight’s win meant eight on the bounce for the Cardinals and 21 consecutive set wins, a new program record.
“I thought [it was] another solid all-around effort for our team,” Phillips said. “Overall, proud of our composure, proud of our ability to stay consistent and play six really high-level sets."
The weekend was also overwhelmingly successful as Ball State secured a spot in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament at the end of the month.
“The key is consistency,” Phillips said. “I don’t think you can put a number figure on kills or a number figure on aces or who is leading us. I think it’s about the ability to maintain a consistent level of play and a consistent presence because I do believe that’s the team that’s ultimately going to win out when push comes to shove."
In the back-to-back sweeps against the Rockets, Tyler led the offense with 19 kills, flanked by Egenolf and junior opposite hitter Madison Buckley, who combined for 20 kills. Senior setter Megan Wielonski dished out a team-high 47 assists over the two-game stretch, but sophomore setter Lindsey Green stood out as well, totaling 45 assists and 6 aces.
Green’s recent involvement comes as Ball State transitioned into a 6-2 system, where a team utilizes two setters, rather than a 5-1, where a team would utilize one.
“One, obviously [Green’s] service pressure helps us a ton. Two, we felt like having a third attacker out there at all times with Aniya Kennedy. She’s such a dominant attacker behind the setter. It allowed us to use her in an area that we felt like she was playing at a really high level in at practice.” Phillips said.
Green said she has seen a 6-2 formation before, but “not a long period of time,” while Wielonski, who has been Ball State’s starting setter since arriving in Muncie, said she had not yet played in a 6-2 system, but both said the transition was smooth.
“It’s just [about] maximizing our offense,” she said. “We have a lot of great attackers and being able to use a lot of our attackers and have three hitters up all the time has really been to our benefit.”
Ball State is home for its final three regular-season matchups, including back-to-back matches against Western Michigan. The Broncos occupy the No. 3 seed for the tournament as things stand, just above the Cardinals.
Before Western Michigan, the Cardinals host Miami on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
Contact Daniel Kehn via email at daniel.kehn@bsu.edu or on X @daniel_kehn.
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