On Saturday afternoon, No. 1-seeded Ball State women’s volleyball, the reigning MAC regular season champions, took on No. 4 Toledo Rockets at the Stroh Center, with the Rockets upsetting the Cardinals in five sets to advance to the MAC Championship.
First Set
Ball State jumped out to an 11-6 lead heading into the first media timeout. They also racked up three service aces in that span.
By the second timeout, BSU had a 15-7 lead. The Cardinals excelled in multiple aspects of their game, including blocking at the net.
Coming out of the timeout, though, Toledo middle blocker Anna Alford had a big-time block to give the Rockets a point.
Up 18-11, Ball State made a coaches’ challenge, but ended up losing it.
A few plays later, BSU middle hitter Gwen Crull had a kill. On the very next play, she tipped the ball down at the net for another Cardinal point. Two plays later, she logged a service ace.
This late-set takeover helped the Cardinals win the set handily, 25-15. In the first set, they notched a .225 attack percentage, while Toledo’s was just -.027.
Second Set
Notably, Ball State’s sophomore outside hitter Carson Tyler won the 2025 MAC Player of the Year, and Cardinals head coach Kelli Miller Phillips won Coach of the Year.
But the second set was more competitive than the first. Toledo made some plays, led mainly by freshman outside hitter Jessica Costlow. Midway through the set, the Rockets led 12-11.
Toledo became more physical in the second set, raising their attack percentage to .271. Soon the game was tied, 17-17. A kill by Costlow gave Toledo an 18-17 lead, which they took into the timeout.
Coming out of the stoppage, Toledo took a three-point lead, their biggest of the match so far. Their physicality and aggression had markedly improved from the first set.
Headed into the next timeout, Toledo led 23-22. A Cardinal attack error brought it to set point, the Rockets leading 24-23.
The Cardinals knotted it up with a kill. They then scored again, taking the advantage.
A Ball State service error tied it up again. Ball State scored. Toledo scored. Toledo’s Olivia Heitkamp logged a kill, putting the Rockets up 27-26. Then, a big-time block by setter Kelsey Smith awarded Toledo the set, as they won 28-26.
Third Set
Toledo jumped out early in the third set, leading 11-7. They became more aggressive, their attack percentage improving to .150.
Still, the Cardinals refused to go away quietly, as Tyler logged a service ace. Crull got another kill, keeping the Cards close.
But momentum shifted in Toledo’s direction. Smith and Alford made plays as the Rockets led 21-17.
Ultimately, Ball State committed several attack errors – eight in the third set alone – that put them in a tough situation.
Cardinal outside hitter Noelle VanOort made a big-time play, tipping the ball over the net to draw the Cards within two. On the next play, a service ace made it a one-point set.
Like the last set, the final plays of the third set brought plenty of drama. A Cardinal error made it a 24-24 tie before a huge block by Heitkamp put Toledo in set-point position.
But an attack error by Smith knotted it up at 25 apiece. Then a kill by Heitkamp put Toledo ahead. On the next play, Tyler made an explosive kill to tie it again. Then, a Cardinal block gave Ball State the set victory, 28-26.
Fourth Set
The fourth set began with back-and-forth action, as each team logged four kills on their first four volleys.
Both teams stayed within a point of each other until Ball State pulled ahead 10-8. The Cardinals won a long volley, as a Toledo blocking error put them ahead 11-8. Toledo issued a coaches’ challenge and won it.
Another play was ruled a Toledo attack error, and the Rockets issued another challenge. However, they lost this time.
Coming out of the timeout, the Cardinals and Rockets were tied, 19-19. A service ace by Tyler gave Ball State the lead. They scored again, prompting a Toledo timeout.
Ball State scored again coming out of the timeout. But a service error by Tyler gave Toledo new life. Toledo scored again, drawing within a point. But Tyler redeemed herself with a kill, putting Ball State up 23-21.
A kill by BSU middle hitter Tiffany Snook brought it to match point for BSU. They led 24-23 going into the timeout.
An attack error by Snook tied it up, 24-24. Ball State scored to go up 25-24. Heitkamp got a kill, tying it up at 25-25.
But on the next play, VanOort delivered to bring it back to match point. Toledo scored again to knot it up. On the next play, a huge block gave Toledo the 27-26 lead.
Then, the crowd erupted as a kill by Heitkamp gave Toledo the 28-26 set victory, forcing a fifth and final set.
Fifth Set
Going into the fifth set, Carson and VanOort led the Cardinals with 15 kills apiece.
“I loved how aggressive we played, I loved our mentality going into the fifth,” Toledo head coach Brian Wright said.
But Toledo opened the scoring, on a kill by middle blocker Sierra Pertzborn.
In a 15-point set, there is less room for error. Both sides traded points as they had for the past three sets. But a couple of BSU errors gave Toledo a 4-2 advantage.
Toledo issued a coaches’ challenge, claiming that a ball was in bounds when the referees had ruled it out of bounds. They won the challenge, pulling ahead 5-3.
Toledo then scored back-to-back points, taking a 7-3 lead into the timeout. When the teams switched sides, Toledo had an 8-5 advantage.
Fans of both teams were on their feet. A block by Costlow expanded the Toledo lead. A successful challenge by the Rockets’ coach grew their lead to five points.
Heading into the timeout, Toledo led the Cardinals 12-6.
A Ball State attack error brought the match to a match point, with Toledo leading 14-8. Ball State challenged the ruling, but lost the challenge.
Ball State scored twice to draw within four points, prompting a Toledo timeout.
Then, a Ball State attack error gave Toledo the win. They took the fifth and final set, 15-10.
“There’s definitely a little change (late in sets) because I know we have to fight harder,” Smith said. “We just stick to our mindset and get it done.”
The Rockets will take on the Western Michigan Broncos in the MAC Championship Game on Sunday at 4:00. Falcon Media Sports Network will have full coverage on bgfalconmedia.com.
