Ball State University women's volleyball outside hitter Julie Breivogel said her team's theme for the Active Ankle Challenge was "just go."
Although the team was unable to win in three chances this weekend, Breivogel was convinced the stiff competition the team faced would pay dividends later in the season.
"We just went after it, didn't hold back, didn't want to be tentative - we just went all out like that's all we had to do," Breivogel said. "I feel like that's where our runs came in because everyone just wanted to bust their butts and just get out there and do the best they could."
The Cardinals lost 3-1 to Southern Illinois on Friday before their comeback bid against Tennessee Tech was denied in a 3-2 loss. In the final match of the tournament Saturday night, Ball State faced off against No. 18 Purdue University, and although the team was able to increase its point total each set, it lost 3-0 to the Boilermakers in front of the fifth-largest Ball State women's volleyball crowd in Worthen Arena history (1,535).
Coach Dave Boos said he was ecstatic about the crowd for the Purdue match and guaranteed fans that things will only improve.
"Right now it's a transition period for the program, and I hope people came out and saw that there's some things happening right now," Boos said. "We have some pieces in place that are going to keep developing over this year, and it's just going to get better and better."
The Cardinals opened play with a 3-1 (25-14, 25-19, 21-25, 25-17) loss to Southern Illinois on Friday night. Ball State, playing in its first home match of the season hit .065 for the match.
Leading the way for Ball State was Breivogel, who had a team-high 10 kills and three blocks. Defensively, sophomore libero Alyssa Rio contributed a match-high 25 digs for the Cardinals.
Southern Illinois (5-1) would go on to claim second place in the invitational by defeating Tennessee Tech and losing to Purdue.
Things did not look much better for the Cardinals in their match against Tennessee Tech. After losing the first two sets of the match; however, Ball State stormed back to take sets three and four behind the serving of aces from Rio and the attacking from middles Alisha Green and Jennifer Boyd.
Serving would prove to be a problem for Ball State throughout the match; however, as 14 service errors gave points and the serve right back to the Golden Eagles (2-4).
The Cardinals lost 3-2 (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 22-25, 15-13).
"I think it's always a delicate balance in serving," Boos said. "When you have 14 errors, that means you've given up 14 points. It also means the serves you do get in are hopefully getting the opponent to do harder things with the ball. Sometimes you have to miss a few to put the pressure on them when you have a chance."
Boos said the "just go" mentality was absent for the first two sets, but picked up after speaking with the team in between the second and third sets.
"I thought in the first two games, we didn't compete. That was our biggest issue. We were out there playing, but that was about the extent of it," Boos said. "I think games three, four and five we competed as hard as we could, and it showed in effort."
Breivogel had a match-high 22 kills to go along with 11 digs, and Green added 17 kills and six blocks. Defensively, Rio notched a team-high 20 digs and freshman libero Kaylee Schembra earned a career-high 19 digs.
In the first two sets of the finale against Purdue, the Boilermakers' 10 roster players more than 6-foot seemed too much for the six active 6-footers on the Cardinals' depth chart.
Purdue's 6-foot-4-inch outside hitter Danita Merlau had a match-high 10 kills and four blocks, while two-time All-American honorable mention selection Stephanie Lynch - a 6-foot-3-inch middle hitter - had seven kills and a match-best five blocks.
Green, who had six kills and four blocks in the match, said a general irritation set in with the team after the first two sets.
"It was frustration at first," Green said. "But once we went back to the locker room we said, 'Just go for it; we've got nothing to lose.'"
In a third set that featured nine ties and four lead changes, Purdue (6-0) was ultimately able to hang on to the set and win the match and the tournament with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-21) victory.
Boos said he was pleased with his team's progression against a nationally-ranked Big Ten opponent.
"As a program and a staff right now, we're patient knowing that come MAC season time, we're going to have a really strong team and a good unit," Boos said. "We have a lot of new people out there -- we just tried a new lineup today, compared to yesterday, that was different than the weekend before, so we're going to find the right combination; we're going to be playing pretty well come that first weekend in the MAC season."
Breivogel was the only Ball State player selected to the Active Ankle Challenge's All-Tournament team. Her 41 kills this weekend was tops in the entire field.
"I'm honored; very shocked," Breivogel said. "I don't go out to play to win something, I go out there and play for my team. I'm hoping for the best for us, and hoping for a win. I'm very shocked and still can't believe it, but I'm very honored and honored being with the other girls who were picked, too."
2005 Muncie Central graduate Kelli Miller, a libero for Purdue, claimed MVP honors in the tournament. Miller had 42 digs in the three-game invitational.
Ball State (2-5) next plays at home against IUPUI (5-2) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Five Things to Take Away:
1. The 1,535 attendance for the Ball State-Purdue match was the fifth-highest total ever for BSU Women's Volleyball in Worthern Arena history.
2. Ball State went 0-3 this weekend as host in the Active Ankle Challenge; No. 18 Purdue University swept all nine games en route to three wins and the tournament title.
3. Ball State junior outside hitter Julie Breivogel was named to the All-Tournament team. She led all attackers in the field with 41 kills over the weekend.
4. Coach Dave Boos used several lineups throughout the tournament.
5. In Ball State's comeback attempt against Tennessee Tech on Saturday, the Cardinals hit more than .400 for three consecutive sets (3-5) for the first time in the Boos era.
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