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Score: Ohio 3, Ball State 2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16)
Location: Athens, Ohio (Convocation Center)
Record: Ohio 17-3 (7-0 MAC), Ball State 9-12 (3-4 MAC)
Short Story: The Ohio volleyball team (17-3, 7-0 MAC) notched its 10th consecutive win with a thrilling 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25, 18-16) victory over Mid-American Conference West Division foe Ball State (9-12, 3-4 MAC) on Friday (Oct. 16) in a Dig Pink match at the Convocation Center.

THE BASICS
• Ohio attacked at a .243 pace while limiting Ball State to a .163 hitting percentage.
• Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ali Lake (Liberty Township, Ohio) recorded a career and match-high 18 kills while recording two total blocks (one solo, one assisted). She also had four digs.
• Senior middle blocker/outside hitter Shelby Walker (Bradenton, Fla.) paced the attack from the outside with 12 kills and a dig.
• Sophomore outside hitter Jaime Kosiorek (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) recorded 11 kills along while notching three assisted blocks. She also tallied a service ace, an assist and four digs.
• Senior setter Abby Gilleland (Bull Valley, Ill.) had a match-high 54 assists to go along with 13 digs and nine kills. She also recorded a service ace and two total blocks (one solo and one assisted).
• Senior libero Meredith Ashy (Louisville, Ky.) had a match-high 22 digs to go along with three assists and three service aces.
• Junior outside hitter/libero Mallory Salis (Oak Lawn, Ill.) contributed 16 digs to match her career high. She also posted five kills and an assist
• Senior middle blocker Karin Bull (Bloomington, Minn.) added six kills while having a match-high four assisted blocks.
• Redshirt senior outside hitter Alex Fuelling led Ball State with 14 kills and tallied 11 digs for a double-double. She also recorded three assists and two assisted blocks.
• Freshman outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel added 13 kills and six digs for the Cardinals.
• Redshirt senior middle blocker Kelly Hopkins notched 10 kills, three assisted blocks and two digs for Ball State.
• Redshirt freshman setter Jenna Spadafora led Ball State with 40 assists and chipped in 16 digs, six kills and a service ace.
• Senior defensive specialist Kati Vasalakis posted a team-high 21 digs for the Cardinals and chipped in eight assists.
• Freshman defensive specialist Lauren Schreiner logged 11 digs, a service ace and an assist for Ball State.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Ohio jumped ahead to a 10-7 advantage in the opening set thanks to two kills by Kosiorek and Gilleland and kills by Lake and Salis. The Cardinals answered with a 4-0 run to take a 11-10 edge, but the Bobcats responded by rattling off 10 of the next 11 points -- including nine in a row to take a commanding 20-12 lead. The stretch was highlighted by three straight kills by Lake, three service aces by Ashy and a pair of double blocks by Bull and Kosiorek. Ball State utilized a 7-3 run to cut the Ohio lead down to 23-19, but the Bobcats closed out the set victory with a kill by redshirt freshman middle blocker Katie Nelson (Regina, Saskatchewan) and a kill by Walker.
• The two squads traded points throughout the second set to build up to a 17-all tie. The Cardinals used a 7-4 stretch to grab a 24-21 lead, but back-to-back attack errors by Ball State cut Ohio's deficit down to one at 24-23. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, Goodsel evened the match at one set apiece with a kill. 
• Ball State picked up right where it left off in the third set, forcing Ohio to burn a timeout by taking an 18-14 lead. Ohio took advantage of two kills by Gilleland and kills by Lake, Kosiorek and Walker to give the Bobcats a 21-20 lead and force the Cardinals to burn a timeout. The Bobcats snatched the 2-1 match lead thanks in large part to kills by Gilleland and Nelson to close out the set.
• The Cardinals refused to go away, however, decisively taking a four-point win in the fourth set. Ball State used three kills apiece from Fuelling, Goodsel and redshirt senior middle blocker Amanda Raker to force a fifth set.
• It was only fitting that the fifth and final set was a wild one. Ohio built up a 13-10 lead thanks to two kills apiece by Lake and Salis and a double block by Bull and Gilleland. Ball State responded by receiving kills by Hopkins and Goodsel and taking advantage of an Ohio attack error and a bad set by the Bobcats to force match point at 14-13. The Bobcats and Cardinals then proceeded to trade the next five points, with Ohio staving off a loss three times thanks to a kill by Walker and two by Lake. With the set even at 16-all, a solo block by Gilleland and a kill by Salis gave Ohio an 18-16 victory in the fifth set and an epic match triumph over the Cardinals.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Ohio's 17-3 start to the 2015 season marks the program's best opening to a season since starting 17-3 in 2006.
• Ohio has won 10 straight and 12 of its last 13.
• The Bobcats begin MAC play 7-0 for the second straight season and sixth time since 2003. The Green & White have won 31 straight league regular season matches.
• Ohio improved to 2-2 in five-set matches in 2015.
• Lake posted double-digit kills for the second time in her career.
• Walker recorded double-digit kills for the fifth time this season and sixth time in her career.
• Kosiorek finished with double-digit kills for the 13th time this season and 27th time in her career.
• Gilleland achieved her ninth double-double of the year and 34th of her career. She recorded double-digit assists for the 20th time this season and 112th time in her career -- including tallying 50 or more for the third time this season and 12th time in her career. Gilleland notched double-digit digs for the 11th time this season and 39th time in her career.
• Ashy totaled double-digit digs for the 18th time this year and 102nd time in her career -- including posting 20 or more for the ninth time this season and 41st time in her career.
• Salis logged double-digit digs for the 10th time this year and 26th time in her career.

QUOTABLE
"It was a tough one tonight. It really was. Give credit to Ball State. They played really hard over there. They're a good team. The last two times they've come to Athens, they won. We haven't beaten them in this building since 2009. Like I said earlier this week, they're hot and cold, but when they're good, they're tough to beat. Tonight, I think they were good, and, tonight, I think we had a lot of self-inflicted wounds. We're glad to get the win." - Second-year head coach Deane Webb

"I think there was a lot that went into that game. I think we talked a lot about getting better and our desire to be challenged. I think this is good that it happened and we pushed through and played as a team. Credit to Ball State. They played an awesome game. It's about getting in the gym and getting better at the things that didn't go well tonight and giving ourselves some credit for the things that did." - Senior setter Abby Gilleland

"Everyone's going to have a good night. This was my night. It was just good to know that I was the player tonight, and I could help out where I was needed." - Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ali Lake

WHAT'S NEXT
Ohio plays host to another MAC West Division foe on Saturday (Oct. 17), welcoming Toledo (3-17, 0-7 MAC) for a 7 p.m. ET match. Saturday's match is the program's Bobcat Blackout, with free gloves for the first 350 fans in attendance.

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