WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Rejuvenated Baker sparks Ball State to win

Brandl reaches career-high with nine blocks in match

IUPUI found itself in an unlucky position Tuesday night.

It was caught in Kylee Baker's crosshairs.

Coming off a poor offensive outing against IPFW Sunday, the sophomore outside hitter found a perfect punching bag in the Jaguars two days later.

Baker sparked Ball State to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 27-25) sweep over IUPUI with 16 kills off 33 attempts and a .394 attack percentage.

She also was active on defense with a match-high 13 digs and three blocks assists. Sophomore outside hitter Whitney Heeres bounced back on offense as well with four kills, zero errors and a .364 attack percentage in two games of action.

"We really had excellent performances from [Baker] and Whitney," coach Steve Shondell said. "I was actually extremely pleased with our entire team for the most part for the first two games."

Baker remained focused on how well Ball State played as a team.

"It was good to see the team come together and play well tonight and hopefully gain some momentum," she said. "We are where we need to be, but there's always room to improve."

While the Ball State outside hitters took control of the match offensively, senior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl had a career night on defense.

Brandl was responsible for a career-high nine blocks in the match, as well as seven kills, five digs and a service ace.

Each of Ball State's top players helped steady the team through turmoil in the third game when IUPUI was fighting for the game point.

"Give our girls credit. They stepped up when IUPUI had a game point on them," Shondell said.

Ball State moves to a perfect 3-0 with the victory. With a four-match weekend looming this weekend in the Marriott Volley Brawl at Valparaiso, it was performance to build on, according to Shondell.

"Overall, it was a solid performance tonight and I think our best to date."


Comments

More from The Daily






This Week's Digital Issue


Loading Recent Classifieds...