Aug. 25, 2006

Box Score

MUNCIE, Ind. - In the team's first visit to Worthen Arena, the Xavier volleyball team defeated host Ball State in its opening game of the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend tournament. Senior Astyn Bjorklund started her senior year off right, while freshman Lauren Kaminsky, a native of Muncie, Ind., had a great beginning to her XU career. The win moves XU to 1-0 on the season, while Ball State drops to 0-1 after its first match of 2006.

The Musketeers took the opening game by a score of 30-23. After jumping out to a 19-13 advantage, Ball State crept back into the game and cut the lead to 19-17. Xavier would respond with another run to take the 23-19 advantage before outscoring the Cardinals 7-4 to finish out the game. Bjorklund led the Blue and White with seven kills on the game, while sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 15 assists.

The second game was tight until the last points with Xavier claiming the 31-29 victory. With the score tied at 18-18, XU rattled off the next three points which included Kaminsky's second career ace to give the Musketeers the 23-18 edge. BSU would battle back to knot the score at 25-25 and play point for point with XU until another ace by Kaminsky sealed the win. Xavier would notch five aces in the frame and 18 more kills en route to a .341 hitting percentage. Bjorklund led the way on offense with seven more kills in the frame.

The Musketeers mixed up the lineup in the final game of the match as freshman Hillary Otte had her first start for the Blue and White. Otte ended the game with her first two kills of her career and also added two digs in XU's 30-21 win. Classmate Kaminsky ended strong with seven of her 12 total kills coming in the final stanza as Xavier pounded out 23 kills and a game-high .488 hitting percentage.

Bjorklund was six kills shy of her career high on the night and finished with 19 kills, three digs and a .654 hitting percentage. The rookie Kaminsky was impressive in her debut as she ended with her first career double double in 12 kills and 14 digs. She also tallied a team-high five aces and finished with a .360 hitting percentage. Junior Jenni Horvath also added a career-high 11 kills in the victory, while sophomore Jenn Welsh dished out 50 assists and had nine digs.

Xavier will return to the court tomorrow afternoon to finish the final day of the Ball State Nike/Active Ankle Weekend. The Musketeers will face Michigan State in the first match of the day at 12:30 pm and wrap up the tournament with IPFW at 5:30 pm. For the latest results, statistics and live updates from the tournament continue to check www.GOXAVIER.com.