With an efficient offense, Ball State was able to defeat Northern Illinois in three sets Saturday night to keep its optimism high for finishing the season in the top spot in the Mid-American Conference West Division.
Ball State seemed to be hitting mistake free against Northern Illinois. The Cardinals' offense recorded a dominating .366 hitting percentage against the Huskies.
"Having so many players hitting well, it's a very balanced offense," coach Steve Shondell said. "And when you have that balance, it becomes more difficult to stop."
With a possible seed in the West and an undefeated home record in mind, the Cardinals received significant offensive play from junior middle blocker Jennifer Boyd and freshman outside hitter Kylee Baker. Boyd consistently put balls away, having a hitting percentage of .667 on nine kills. Baker was just as effective, putting away 12 balls on 22 attempts for a .545 hitting percentage.
"A lot of our offensive success came from adrenaline and wanting to be in the top seed," Baker said.
In the first set, Ball State came out with strong energy and dominated Northern Illinois, hitting .297 and an 82 side out percentage. Baker said staying aggressive was an aspect Ball State worked on in preparation for this weekend. junior middle blocker Kelsey Brandl also recorded four of her 11 blocks in the opening set.
"During practice this week, we worked on being aggressive in the front row," Baker said.
The aggressive play continued in Ball State's favor for the second set. Boyd recorded five kills on seven attempts to her already impressive first set. Boyd said her performance was fueled by the importance of this match up.
"Tonight was a match of who is going to stay on top in the MAC West," she said. "Myself and my teammates wanted to get out there and kill the ball and get the momentum."
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