“One of the most accomplished senior classes in Ball State history."
That is how Worthen Arena introduced the 2023 senior class of Ball State women’s volleyball players following their 3-0 sweep of Kent State (13-13, 4-11).
The Cardinals (19-6, 11-2) claimed the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division title with the win, putting enough distance between themselves and Toledo to secure the division.
Dominant service pressure was the name of the game for Ball State with an emphatic ace on the first serve of the game. The Cardinals would have seven aces by game end.
“You could tell we were dialed in; it was coming off our hand a little bit different tonight,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “I thought that was a big factor in keeping the pressure on them all night.”
Fourth-year opposite Natalie Mitchem led the Cardinals on the offensive side of the net with 12 kills. while third-year outside hitter Cait Snyder trailed close behind with 11 kills, followed by fourth-year middle blocker Marie Plitt with eight.
To go along with claiming 13 wins in a row and the MAC West Division title; Mitchem earned her 1,000th career kill.
“I felt good coming into the game tonight, and I left the game feeling good,” Mitchem said. “Senior night is special in itself, but it felt really special tonight.”
Heading into the final road trip of the year, Ball State commands its own destiny. If the Cardinals can win two out of their three remaining games, the Cardinals will claim the MAC regular season title uncontested by Bowling Green, who is currently 2.5 games behind. With the regular season title, the MAC tournament would be played from Worthen Arena and Ball State would have home court advantage throughout.
Ball State heads to Athens, Ohio, Nov. 11 to begin its road trip against Ohio University at 6 p.m.
Contact Nick Shelton with comments at nicholas.shelton@bsu.edu or on Twitter @NickS9954.
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