The Ball State women’s volleyball team played at home for the first time since Aug., defeating Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan in a weekend home stand.
“Our defense has just gotten so much better in the past week.” head coach Steve Shondell said. “I couldn’t be more proud of [Nikki] Box, [Alex] Fuelling, and [Kati] Vasalakis. They were solid as rocks, and that’s the reason we were so good this weekend.”
The Cardinals have made adjustments all season, but the latest alterations helped earn two important conference victories and improve to 3-1 in Mid-American Conference play.
In an effort to maximize the toughness of the back row, Shondell moved junior Kati Vasalakis back to libero, the position where she began the season.
Vasalakis made her presence felt in a comeback 3-2 victory over Eastern Michigan. The Yorktown native had a career-high tying 24 digs.
She returned the following night to lead the Cardinal defense with 19 digs, flying all over the court and bringing the crowd to applause on multiple occasions.
“Being put in that [libero] position is a big deal to me, and I take it very seriously,” Vasalakis said. “I know that I’ve got to do the best defensive job and best passing job I can do for this team, because that’s important and that’s what Steve [Shondell] builds this team off of.”
Redshirt junior Alex Fuelling started at libero beginning on Sept. 12, but was moved back to her normal outside hitter/back row position. Her experience playing on the back row through rotations is valuable for the defense.
Fuelling’s best performance of the weekend came in Ball State's 3-1 win over Central Michigan, as she posted 15 digs.
Shondell said Fuelling’s presence as a starting outside hitter adds another dimension to the team that was absent when she was at libero.
“It gave her arm back too,” Shondell said. “When she’s not at libero, she can take swings, and that was something we were missing a little bit is her arm out of the back row.”
Sophomore Nikki Box also played well over the weekend, adding to a back row that is quickly becoming a strength for Ball State.
Box finished the weekend with 25 digs, including a career high of 19 against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 3.
Shondell said the match against Eastern Michigan was the team’s most complete and best defensive match all season.
The Cardinals held the Eagles to just a .175 team attack percentage.
While Ball State wasn’t as strong defensively against Central Michigan, it still held the Chippewas to a .159 hitting percentage.
“That was our focus going into this weekend, we knew we were going to pick up our defense and passing,” Vasalakis said. “Our blockers did a great job as well the defense, we made a couple changes and people stepped up."
