Webster’s Dictionary defines “loud” as “Having a great sound; high sounding; noisy; striking the ear with great force; as a loud voice; a loud cry; loud thunder."

Or a way to describe Worthen Arena anytime third-year outside hitter Cait Snyder smashed a kill against Eastern Michigan Sept. 30.

“We had big left side production from Cait Snyder and that was a huge turnaround,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said. “The biggest difference [from previous matches] was Snyder’s performance.”

Snyder lead Ball State Women’s Volleyball with 13 kills as the Cardinals' grabbed a win in their first home Mid-American Conference (MAC) match of the season and their first win after a five-match losing streak.

The Cardinals opened the first set with shakiness on the offensive side, 13 of their 23 points came off of errors from Eastern Michigan.

Of the 10 kills for Ball State in set one, three came from senior outside hitter Natalie Risi and freshman outside hitter Katie Egenolf. Senior opposite Natalie Mitchem smashed two kills for herself.

When the second set came around, the Cardinals' offensive production stepped up in the form of 12 kills. Sophomore setter Megan Wielonski tallied three kills while having the most for Ball State in set two. Along with two kills, junior middle blocker Lauren Gilliland got two blocking assists, one with Risi and another with Snyder.

Two kills from senior middle blocker Marie Plitt near the end of set two helped seal the set for Ball State. The Cardinals cleaned up their play with seven total errors compared to Eastern Michigan’s 10.

The momentum from set two carried into the third set, where Ball State committed only five total errors and raked in 16 kills. 

Snyder and Plitt led the way for the Cardinals in set three kills, with Snyder notching five and Plitt scoring four of her own. Risi led the way for Ball State in kills after three sets with nine total, four of them coming in that set.

Risi showed up on defense with the second most digs on the team at 14. Her eight digs after three sets were the second most on the team behind senior libero Maggie Huber, who had 22. 

A service ace from Wielonski put the Cardinals up 2-1 going into the fourth set. 

The Snyder and Plitt show continued into the last set where Synder again led the Cardinals through the set with six kills and Plitt had four. 

Risi’s 12 kills and 14 digs gave her another double-double in kills and digs on the season. Plitt finished the match with 12 total kills as well.

Ball State runs back tonight’s match against Eastern Michigan tomorrow at 6 p.m. inside Worthen Arena.

Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_

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