MUNCIE, IN - Toledo's struggles continued against Ball State tonight as the Rockets dropped a 3-0 (30-27, 30-22, 30-21) decision at Worthen Arena. The win snaps BSU's nine-match losing streak and was the 41st match in a row that UT has lost to the Cardinals.

 

   With the victory, the Cardinals improve to 3-10 in MAC action, while raising its overall record to 4-22. Toledo drops to 3-21 (0-13 MAC) with the loss.

 

Freshman OH Margot Joniec led the Rockets' offense with nine kills. On the defensive end, sophomore Sarah Wilson notched a team-high six blocks with junior Lori Ruth collected a team-best 12 digs. 

 

Ball State's junior Christine Kennedy paced all players with 15 kills, while adding six total blocks. Freshman Alexis Shonkwiler and sophomore Elaina Kakatolis tied for match-high honors with eight block assists.

 

   The match opened with the teams playing to a 5-5 tie before a small Toledo run put the guests ahead by three at 8-5. The Rockets managed to pull ahead by four points at 16-12, before a kill from Kakatolis sparked a 6-2 BSU run to tie the score at 18.

 

   After a UT kill pushed the score to 19-18, May answered with back-to-back kills to give BSU a 20-19 edge. BSU followed with four more points to build a 24-19 lead and went ahead 29-23. The Rockets tried to rally back, closing within two points at the 29-27 mark, but the Cardinals' Brittany May tallied a game-winning kill on the next play.

 

   After falling behind 4-1 in the second game, the Cardinals were able to rally around a pair of Toledo errors and the serving of freshman Karin Caudill, as a 6-0 run gave BSU an advantage it would not relinquish in the game. Caudill had a pair of aces in the rally and helped force a UT ball handling error with her strong serving. BSU's largest advantage in the set came at the end of the game, when a Kennedy kill followed by a Toledo attacking error gave the Cardinals a 30-22 set win.

 

   Kakatolis opened the third game with a kill, while Rachel Alcorn added a service ace on the following play, as the Cardinals pulled ahead 4-0 and never looked back. BSU built an 11-point advantage at the 20-9 mark, before winning the game 30-21 on a block assist from Kakatolis and Shonkwiler.

 

   Toledo to action Saturday night, when it travels to Buffalo, NY for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the Bulls.