Fresh off two conference wins, NIU volleyball visited the Ball State University Cardinals Thursday night. The Huskies (9-3, 2-1 MAC) struggled to find openings against the Cardinals (7-8, 3-0 MAC) early in the first set, and Ball State ran away with the lead.
NIU didn’t go down without a fight, trying to work around Ball State’s blockers. After three sets with long rallies, the Huskies couldn’t find a groove and fell to the Cardinals 0-3.
“Ball State is just a really efficient team on both sides of the ball,” head volleyball coach Sondra D’Amore said via text. “They defend really well, which pushed us to have to make different decisions offensively. They out-killed us by quite a bit. We struggled to put pressure on them, which led to early frustration as a team.”
MIXING IT UP
In attempts to diminish the Cardinals’ momentum, the Huskies got 12 of their players involved in the match. Seven NIU players landed at least one kill against the.
“Our bench did a great job coming in and providing relief,” D’Amore said via text. “We are going to need that depth as we get pushed through the MAC.”
Sophomore outside hitter Ava Grevengoed led the team with seven kills and three service aces. On defense, she made eight digs and put up one solo block. She said the Cardinals’ style of play made it harder for the Huskies to adjust.
“I think Ball State is a very clean team,” Grevengoed said via text. “Cleaner than we have seen in our other opponents this season. Our goal was to adapt to this game and be ready for anything. We just didn’t learn that quickly enough. If we did, it would’ve been a lot longer of a game.”
Senior right side Alexa Hayes landed five kills and put up one block assist. She gave Ball State’s defense credit for keeping the Huskies at bay offensively.
“I think that their defense plays a big part in their game,” Hayes said via text. “It’s always frustrating playing against a back row that just won’t let the ball drop. On the other hand, I think our team did a phenomenal job of moving away from things that were not working.”
Freshman middle blocker Savannah Gogel also got involved on offense, matching Hayes’s five kills. Sophomore middle blocker Rylea Alvin added four kills, while junior middle blocker Autumn Flynn helped with three.
LOOKING FORWARD
With their first conference loss out of the way, NIU hopes to bounce back immediately against Miami (Ohio) University.
“We get to choose how we want to respond,” D’Amore said via text. “We know we have more in the tank, and plan to come out ready to go with a focus to execute at a higher clip.”
As the only senior on the team, Hayes said she works to keep her team confident through difficult matchups.
“I don’t have the option of not being cool, calm and collected,” Hayes said via text. “If my head isn’t in the game, I think it has a direct effect on my teammates. Therefore, I’ve chosen to really step up in that role. I make sure that no matter how I am playing in a match, I’m consistent with my attitude and effort. As for my team, I make sure to let them know that they are all capable of shutting down any team in this conference.”
Sophomore libero Jordyn Tynsky, redshirt junior setter Kylie Schulze and Grevengoed recorded eight digs each. Schulze notched 11 assists, following behind sophomore setter Ella Strausberger’s 15. Tynsky and Strausberger both added one service ace. Grevengoed said their next game won’t be a repeat of this sweep.
“We are using this loss as fuel for tomorrow,” Grevengoed said via text. “We all want it, and we have a super gritty team. I don’t think this team will let what happened tonight happen again. We are excited to come back and play our game tomorrow.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies head to Miami (Ohio) University to take on the RedHawks at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Oxford, Ohio. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats provided on SIDEARM Sports.
