Ball State went to Chapel Hill, N.C., with beating North Carolina on their mind. First-year women's volleyball coach Steve Shondell knew it wouldn't be easy, but believed it was possible.
Beating North Carolina (7-4) was a task 2009 Mid-American Conference champion Ohio couldn't pull off earlier this year. The Bobcats played the Tar Heels tough, but lost in three. Ball State (8-2) did one better than Ohio by taking a set while falling to North Carolina 25-20, 25-27, 25-16, 25-21.
"If we made one less attack error and one less service error could have beat them in the first set," senior libero Alyssa Rio said. "There weren't as many people there as we expected so we had to create our own energy throughout."
Ball State managed to beat North Carolina in the second set 27-25, fighting off a set point in the process.
North Carolina stormed out of the locker room and stomped Ball State into submission in the third set, building a 10-3 advantage early in the third set. The Tar Heels went on to win the set 25-16.
A good start in the fourth set wasn't enough for Ball State to force North Carolina to five sets. The Tar Heels managed to pull away and held control of the fourth set until the Cardinals rallied within three at 23-20 and forcing a timeout.
"We were playing very aggressive in game two and fought tough for two games," Shondell said. "They're playing with basically all juniors and seniors on the floor while we have a mix of experience and youth. We fought hard, but weren't as physical as they were and that took a toll."
A Ball State service error ended the match as Ball State fell 25-21. The loss is just the second on the season for Ball State.
Junior setter Brittany McGinnis led Ball State offensively with seven kills. Junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl had six and while senior Hannah Sullivan and freshman Kylee Baker had five kills each.
Rio recorded 33 digs to pace the Cardinals on defense. Baker added 14 digs.
Ball State returns to the floor in Chapel Hill at 11 a.m. against Temple (2-8) and concludes participation in the Tar Heel Classic at 5:30 against Appalachian State (9-2)
"As a team we competed. I'm happy we won a game, but we should have at least gone to five sets," Rio said. "I like that we showed the potential against a team like North Carolina, but we have more in the tank."
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