Freshman setter Ali Finch notched 40 assists in her first career collegiate appearance, as Ball State rallied to beat Northern Illinois 3-1 (13-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-13) on Friday evening.
Finch also tallied 10 digs, third most of the Ball State defense and had one kill for the Cardinals, as leading sophomore setter Amber Seaman did not play.
Ball State dropped the first set 25-13, before winning sets two, three and four by at least eight points each.
With the victory, Ball State clinched the 2017 Mid-American Conference West Division championship. However, tomorrow's match against Western Michigan is still important to conference tournament seeding next week.
Four different Ball State players reached double figures in kills, led by junior outside hitter Ellie Dunn with 13. Sophomore middle hitter Sydnee VanBeek was second with 12 and also notched three aces.
Northern Illinois' offense was dominated by freshman outside hitter Kaylee Martin and junior blocker Meg Wolowicz who had 36 combined kills. Every other NIU player combined for just eight.
Sophomore libero Kate Avila led Ball State with 25 digs. A trio of Huskies reached double figures in digs.
Ball State is back in action tomorrow evening against Western Michigan at 7 p.m.
The Daily News welcomes thoughtful discussion on all of our stories, but please keep comments civil and on-topic. Read our full guidelines here.