The Ball State University women's volleyball team was able to take advantage of home court advantage in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament by defeating Eastern Michigan University 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) Tuesday night at Worthen Arena.
"It doesn't get any better than this," coach Dave Boos said. "I think the biggest thing that we did tonight was we made good choices."
With the win, Ball State - the No. 7 seed in the tournament - advances to play No. 2 seed Ohio University in Friday's MAC quarterfinal at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.
"Looking at Ohio, it's just an exciting match for us because we know their past and what they look like this year," junior outside hitter Julie Breivogel said. "This is a great match for us because we can really show our potential and that no matter what seed we are or what seed they are, we can play with anybody and anything can happen."
The Cardinals were able to complete the 3-0 season series sweep against the No. 10 seed Eagles (10-22, 4-13 MAC). Ball State defeated Eastern Michigan by 3-1 scores on Sept. 27 and Oct. 31.
Ball State hit a season-high .336 as a team for the match. Leading the way for the Cardinals (12-20, 7-10 MAC) was Breivogel with 11 kills and a career and match-high 21 digs. Junior outside hitter Alisha Green had a match-high 12 kills, while freshman middle blocker Jennifer Boyd and junior opposite side attacker Elaina Kakatolis both had 10 kills each.
"Tonight, I really have to talk about the play of Julie Breivogel - she was outstanding," Boos said. "Not just with the 11 kills, but the 21 digs to lead our team is an unbelievable number."
Defensively, sophomore libero Alyssa Rio had 13 digs and freshman defensive specialist Christie Waters added 10.
Friday's MAC Tournament quarterfinal match against Ohio begins at 7 p.m.
Ohio (20-7, 13-3 MAC), the regular season MAC East champions, received a first round bye.
"The offense was something that we really needed to find," Boos said. "Everybody finished that note on a very high note offensively, and that's a great thing for us."
Five things to take away1. The Ball State women's volleyball team defeated Eastern Michigan 3-0 in the first round of the MAC Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals.
2. The No. 7 seed Cardinals will play No. 2 seed Ohio University in the quarterfinal.
3. Outside hitter Julie Breivogel led the Cardinals with a double-double; 11 kills and 21 digs.
4. Ball State hit a season-best .336 as a team.
5. Friday night's quarterfinal against Ohio in Toledo, Ohio, begins at 7 p.m
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