After winning its first match of Ball State University's annual Nike Active Ankle Challenge Friday, the Cardinals' women's volleyball team could not manage another win.
Ball State beat the University of Maine (26-30, 30-23, 30-24, 25-30, 15-13) in its first match, but lost to Southeast Missouri State University (30-22, 30-23, 23-30, 27-30, 15-13) and The Ohio State University (30-21, 30-28, 30-23) in matches two and three.
The Cardinals finished third in the four-team tournament.
Despite the win against Maine, coach Dave Boos said he wasn't impressed with the five-game match.
"In the first match, I think we were very tight," Boos said. "We competed hard enough to win which is a credit to us, but I wasn't overly happy with the performance."
The tournament's high point came in the last match against No. 16 Ohio State. The Cardinals went down 3-0 but the team members said they were impressed with their performances.
In the second game Ball State rallied from a 25-16 deficit with a 12-3 run. With the score tied at 28, and the momentum shifted in Ball State's favor, Ohio State called a time out. The one minute break successfully broke the momentum swing as the Cardinals allowed two quick points, ending their bid to tie the match at one game a piece.
"It was definitely a downfall, but I think we were happy to have come that close to a team of that caliber," freshman libero Alyssa Rio said. "We definitely wanted to win it, but we were happy with our performance."
Rio, Ball State's lone member of the seven person All-Tournament team, led the tournament with 84 digs, including 41 in the match against Southeast Missouri State.
"I think that she got better and better as the weekend went on," Boos said. "She is a very talented player and she has become a fan favorite. We have had a lot of great ball control players here, before my arrival, Stephanie Keller and Amanda McCormick and so on."
Diving onto the hardwood floor doesn't hurt as much as some might think, Rio said.
"It's not really that bad," she said. "It's more about reading, and if I can read where the ball is then hopefully it will go right to me. For defense its my favorite thing to do in the game."
The Cardinals were led by senior Brittany May offensively in the tournament. May had a total of 49.5 points with 45 kills. However, she had 32 errors in the three matches.
"I think I played pretty all right," May said. "I need to really work on being more consistent."
Angie Parrell, one of two seniors on the team, started 55 of 60 matches the past two seasons. However, she was not in the starting lineup against Ohio State.
After losing game one and two against Southeast Missouri State, Boos replaced Parrell with sophomore Cassie Conners.
"I thought that Cassie Conner came in and did a great job against Southeast, so I thought that Cassie earned it," Boos said.
Parrell was not on the bench long, as she subbed in during the Ohio State match. Boos said he thought the team needed a different approach, so he sent Parrell back in.
Boos said coming into the tournament that serving would be a key. The Cardinals had 46 serving errors to 16 serving aces.
"The part of the weekend that was most unlike what we did in the alumni match was our serving," Boos said. "Against the alumni our serving was at a very high level ... and this weekend was the exact opposite. Our practice this next week is going to be all about serving and passing."
With three close losses in the Ohio State match, Boos said he thinks serving was a major reason why Ball State couldn't win a game.
"If you look at the stats against Ohio State in game one we out dug them, out blocked them, and out hit them but lost 30-23," Boos said. "That's all because of serving and passing."
After seeing his team compete well in the final match Boos said he is optimistic about the team's season.
"We competed hard in that last match, which is what we wanted to do all weekend," Boos said. "It took us a little longer than what I would have liked but by the end I think we showed people what we are going to be ... people who were on the floor and people on the bench saw that if we can play loose, relaxed, the way we do in practice we are going to improve a lot and get better everyday."
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