Playing for their final time in the regular season in Worthen Arena, seniors Brittany May and Angie Parrell had the best match they could have hoped for as the Ball State University women's volleyball team swept the University of Toledo 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-21) Thursday.
In the match the Cardinals (4-22, 3-10 Mid-American Conference) hit .150 or better in all three games and had twice as many kills as errors.
"That is the biggest gift for me on senior night; that everybody just showed up, and we finally played as a team," May said. "This win gives us so much more confidence ... We came out and played as a team and that is really going to help us going into the MAC Tournament."
The two seniors have combined to play in more than 200 matches throughout their years at Ball State. Parrell, a fifth-year senior, said she there isn't any one memory that sticks out above the rest.
"I don't think I have one specific memory here at Worthen rather just the whole experience," Parrell said. "The experience was everything to me because I have met some wonderful people here and I have really grown these last five years."
With two seniors on the roster, May said the two have grown close.
"Me and Angie are very, very close," May said. "We went through a lot together. I think having each other was very important for tonight because without each other I think we would have broken down somewhere along the line. I love her to death."
The win snaps a nine match losing streak and continues the Cardinals rein against the Rockets. Ball State, with the victory, now has a 41 match win streak against Toledo going back 21 years to 1986.
Coach Dave Boos said what help the team win was ball control.
"The part that was fantastic was that we had a middle [blocker] go for 15 kills in 28 attempts," Boos said. "That means we had great ball control."
The middle blocker Boos speaks of is Christine Kennedy. Boos said Kennedy was unstoppable when sliding over to kill the ball allowing her to have 15 kills and a .429 attacking percentage. Kennedy had six blocks and nine digs in the match.
Two nights before Thursday's match the Cardinals finished up their out-of-conference portion of the schedule with a loss to IPFW in the fashion of a sweep. The Cardinals lost the final game of that match 30-9, causing the team to talk out their problems.
"The team really hashed out a lot of things this week and we really got down to the nitty-gritty to figure out what we need to win," Parrell said. "I think we figured it out tonight and I think it shows with our play."
The Cardinals next opponent is Akron University Saturday. The Cardinals have not faced Akron yet this season. The Zips are tied for last at 1-11 in the MAC East. Boos said what the team wants to do is continue to build towards the tournament.
"We talked about building from here on out and go on out and play our best volleyball in our last four matches before the MAC Tournament," Boos said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
