With a momentum shift and heavy offensive power on its side, Ball State was able to squeak by a tough Western Michigan team in five sets.
On the offensive side of the match, the Cardinals were supported by junior middle blockers Kelsey Brandl and Jennifer Boyd, and freshman outside hitters Kylee Baker and Whitney Heeres — all of whom recorded more than 15 kills individually.
Despite not starting off the way coach Steve Shondell would have liked, both outside hitters in Baker and Heeres proved to big factors in the Cardinals' victory.
"Jennifer was a real secret for us tonight. She was sturdy throughout the match." Shondell said. "But it was a struggle for both Baker and Herres early in the match. Especially for Whitney during the first three sets of the match, she couldn't get into a rhythm and finally she did and she was able to run the offense more rhythmically during the last two games, and our outside hitters were huge down the stretch."
During the third set, Western Michigan had an 82 percent side out, which prevented Ball State from making any ground in a runaway match by the Broncos.
After the low energetic third set, Baker sparked the Cardinals with a kill in a tied 14-14 match to put them on top. From there, the Cardinals controlled the lead.
"We were able to put balls down, and some of them were momentum changers," Baker said. "When you put balls away, it makes you think ‘Hey, we are going to win this.'"
Shondell believes Baker is able to play well during the most crucial part of the matches.
"She loves to play with the big crowds," Shondell said. "Where everything's on the line, that is her calling — crunch time."
The offense will surely need to show up again tonight, as the Cardinals look to climb to the number one spot in the MAC West against Northern Illinois (9-2 MAC). The game is set for 7 p.m. at Worthern Arena.
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