TOLEDO, Ohio - Amanda McCormick had a very good weekend for Ball State University's women's volleyball team. McCormick, a junior libero who transferred to Ball State from Nebraska, dug out 72 balls over the two-match weekend, including a career-high 37 against Toledo on Saturday.
The Cardinals won both matches, defeating Akron 3-2 and Toledo 3-0. McCormick's 37 digs against Toledo ties for third in the NCAA records with most digs in a three-game match.
"Remarkable play; based on the amount of pain from her hurt foot, she just was in the right place at the right time," coach Randy Litchfield said. "She's a real ball hawk for us."
It is also the most digs for any volleyball player this season in a three-game match. The record holder is Dayle Hammontree of Morehead State, who had 49 digs in a three-game match on Nov. 4, 1989. Galina Fouks is the only other person in NCAA history to have more digs in a three-game match, with 39 digs against Virginia Commonwealth on Oct. 11, 1990. McCormick is tied with Boston College's Allison Anderson (2004) and Elisa Caraulia of Cleveland State (1987).
McCormick previously had 35 digs in four games against Yale, 34 in five against Miami and 31 in three against Bowling Green.
Her 39 digs, coupled with 16 kills from Rachel Refenes and only 15 attack errors throughout the entire team, helped secure the Cardinals' (17-8, 10-4 in the Mid-American Conference) win over Toledo (15-11, 8-6 MAC).
"We're defiantly playing better volleyball," Litchfield said. "We're not getting these wins cheap. I think we're getting the best of our opponents."
The previous night, the Cardinals struggled to get things going against Akron (10-18, 4-11 MAC). After dropping the first game 30-28, the Cardinals managed to take the second game 37-35. The Cardinals had no big runs in game three, but slowly built up a lead and took game three 30-22.
The Zips went on a huge run early in game four, scoring 12 of the first 15 points and held a lead by as much as 13 points, 23-10. Litchfield made wholesale changes to his lineup, putting in freshman setter Lanee Mikesell, who he credited with getting the team back on track. The Cardinals were able to bring the lead to 28-22 before two straight Akron points closed the game.
"One person who deserves a lot of credit is Lanee Mikesell," Litchfield said. "Angie [Parrell] went through some problems in the early part of game four. We ended up regaining some momentum - lost the game, but regained some momentum."
In game five with the score tied 6-6, the Cardinals scored six straight points before the Zips responded with a six-point run of their own. With the score tied 13-13, Brittany May knocked home her 12th kill of the night, a career high, to give the Cardinals the advantage. On the next ball, two Akron players watched a ball fall to the ground to give the Cardinals a 15-13 game-five win and the 3-2 match victory.
"I think Brittany was the difference-maker," Litchfield said. "We were struggling monumentally from our offense, and Brittany came in and just gave us tons of offense.
"I'm just elated to see Brittany back again."
Refenes had a match-high 22 kills and eight blocks. Parrell closed with a career high 69 assists, and McCormick tied a then-career high 35 kills.
The Cardinals entered the weekend with only two road wins. Ball State will enter the final weekend of the season on the longest winning streak of the season, taking seven straight victories, including three road wins.
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