Use any cliché about fatigue you want, but three matches in a 24-hour window will take a toll.
Ball State University clashed with the University of Pennsylvania, George Washington University and Towson University in the Towson Invitational in quick succession.
After dropping the first two matches against Penn and George Washington, Ball State rallied Saturday morning on short rest to save what was left of the weekend, routing Towson in three sets.
"When we woke up Saturday morning, we were angry," sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Brandl said. "We said we were not going to lose this match no matter how tired we were. It wasn't happening again."
Brandl was correct. The Cardinals made short work of the Tigers, taking a 25-17 first set win and a 25-11 second set win.
"Playing three matches in 24 hours is very difficult," coach Dave Boos said. "It certainly wasn't ideal for us. But the girls showed toughness. They came out focused and fired up and were not going to let any fatigue affect them in the final match."
An Alisha Green kill capped off a small run to put a gap on the Tigers and that was all the Cardinals needed. Ball State pulled away to win the final set 25-18 after a stalemate early.
Charde' Phillips and Green led the way offensively for Ball State with 12 and 13 kills respectively. Brandl added 10 kills of her own while Kaylee Schembra and Julie Breivogel each picked up 12 digs.
Ball State led the Tigers 43-19 in kills and 14-4 in aces.
"We played very confident and aggressive," Brandl said. "We made [Towson] look like us on Friday."
Friday, Ball State played Penn. After dropping the first set to the Quakers 25-20, the Cardinals responded. Holding a slim 10-7 edge, Ball State went on a 10-7 run to push the lead to 20-14. Breivogel closed the set with a kill clinching a 25-21 win.
The third and fourth sets were forgettable for the Cardinals as the Quakers jumped out to big leads. A bright spot came in the final set when Ball State rallied and even pushed ahead of Penn, but it wasn't enough. The Quakers responded with three straight points to take the 26-24 win.
"We were beat by effort," Boos said. "It was impressive to watch Penn and how they played. They refused to let the ball hit the floor and we were not able to match that effort or mentality."
Four hours later, the Cardinals met the Colonials in a thrilling first set that saw a monumental rally by Ball State. But the one important word, win, was missing,
George Washington took a commanding 8-1 lead and led by as much as 20-12 before a furious Ball State rally. Fighting off six straight set points, the Cardinals took a 25-24 lead on a service error.
Each team took turns teetering on the brink, only to fight out of danger. After being knotted up at 29, Jennifer Boyd came up with a big kill to keep Ball State alive. But in the end, attack errors proved costly as Ball State dropped the first set 32-30.
"Fatigue did play a role in how we played," Phillips said. "It's not an excuse though. We fought and tried to overcome it. We'll learn from this though."
A large George Washington run midway through the second set put the pressure on Ball State. Despite a Cardinal rally, the Colonials slammed the door, taking a 25-20 victory.
"Ball control played a big factor in the outcome of the matches," Boos said. "Penn and George Washington played small ball better than us. We struggled controlling the ball despite the efforts of Karin Caudill in the backcourt."
Disaster struck in the third set. Nothing went right for the Cardinals and the Colonials pounced. Another quick start led to a big win for George Washington who completed the sweep of Ball State with a 25-13 set victory.
"This was a great tournament for us to take part in," Boos said. "We were overloaded by fatigue, but it's good for us. We'll learn how to handle this going into MAC play and it will pay dividends."
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