Despite poor defense, Ball State still managed to down CentralMichigan in straight sets.
Ball State (10-6, 4-1 Mid-American Conference) used itsseason-high .363 hitting percentage to defeat the Chippewas (4-12,1-5) Friday night at Rose Arena. The Cardinals had three juniorfinish with double-digit kill totals -- Sarah Obras, Rachel Refenesand Kristin Westhof.
"Thank god for great offense tonight," head coach RandyLitchfield said. "Three people putting up big numbers was reallythe story, because our defense was absolutely pathetic."
The Cardinals' defense had been their strong suit so far thisseason, but that wasn't the case Friday, as they allowed a Centralteam that was hitting just .169 to hit .306.
"It's great to be a struggling offensive team, because you knowyou'd better buckle down and play defense," Litchfield said."Unfortunately, since we found our offense, we keep leaving ourdefense in the locker room."
A 4-0 run late in game one helped propel the Cardinals to a30-28 victory. The game was competitive throughout, with both teamshitting the ball well. Ball State had a .514 hitting percentagewith 22 kills, compared to the Chippewas' .472 and 20 kills.
"The only problem was we let them hit .472, and that wasdefinitely a big downfall for us," Obras said. "Defense washorrible, but offense was we won the first game."
The high hitting percentage wouldn't continue, but Ball Statecontinued to outhit Central in game two, with a .262 percentage (18kills) compared to CMU's .147 and 13 kills. Ball State scored fourstraight to close the game and win 30-24.
Central Michigan scored the first two points of game three,giving them a lead it would hold on to for awhile. Ball Statedidn't take long to recover, getting the lead back with an Obrasservice ace to make it 7-6.
Central tried to get back in the game with kills forthree-straight points, but the Cards held on to win 30-24.
"I think it should have been like that in games one and two,"Refenes said. "It was very important that we pulled away and showedthem we were the better team."
The Cardinals, who won their fourth straight, look to continuetheir streak against Eastern Michigan. The match against the Eagles(10-6, 5-0 heading into Friday's match), could be for the WestDivision lead.
"We have that Eastern match circled on our calender," Litchfieldsaid. "Much of defense is attitude, and I sure hope we have a lotof attitude tomorrow night."
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