Game two of the MAC Tournament semi-final between the two-seeded Central Michigan Chippewas (24-6, 15-3 MAC) and the three-seeded Ball State Cardinals (21-9, 13-5 MAC) was high-flying as a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament Championship berth hung in the balance.
Both teams opened play struggling to get their offenses going, but after five different swings in points, Ball State figured things out, taking the first set (25-19) off the back of an offensive explosion by MAC Freshman of the Year Carson Tyler who had six kills in the first.
Ball State would continue their dominant start by bullying the Chippewas in the second set, winning 25-16 with all cylinders firing from Tyler and junior opposite hitter Madison Buckley, who, on the day, combined for 36 of the Cardinal’s 64 total points.
With all hope seeming lost, Central Michigan dug deep and showed the tournament why they were the MAC’s two seed, with the third set being the spark.
In set three, the Chippewas woke up, going on a seven-to-nothing run to open the set, which forced the first Ball State time out of the game.
From that point, MAC Setter of the Year junior Allie Korba started to adjust her placements, aiming the offense directly at Ball State, beating the Cardinal’s offense in hitting percentage (0.323) to (0.087) in the third.
CMU forced a fourth set following their 25-21 victory in the previous set. The Chippewas finally started to look like their old selves, and that did not go away for the rest of the match. Central Michigan poured on three straight points, along with an ace from redshirt junior outside hitter Abby Olin that sent the teams to a fifth set.
The stage was set in the fifth as the Chippewas surged out to a 4-3 lead, that was before Ball State fought back, putting the score at 8-5 in favor of the Cardinals.
Although the teams switched sides, the momentum stayed in the same place, with both squads adamant that they would make the championship.
The nail in the coffin would come as Buckley tallied two straight blocks, which set the new score at 14-9, putting Ball State just one point away from the win.
With their season on the line, Ball State’s serve was returned by CMU, and who would step up, none other than Tyler, just as she had all season.
The Cardinals survived the MAC Tournament Championship, where they will face the four-seeded Western Michigan Broncos tomorrow, Nov. 24, at 4 p.m.
Falcon Media Sports Network’s Ben Corak and Chas McNeil will be on the call starting at 3:45 p.m. on WBGU 88.1 FM.
