Final · 4 setsThu, Sep 3, 2026

AwayCUSA

1:3

HomeMAC

Ball St. def. Western Ky. 3–1

(20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21)

Set	1	2*	3	4	Sets
W KY	25	20	17	21	1
BALLST	20	25	25	25	3

* Set 2: the NCAA play-by-play has a gap or score correction here, so this set is left out of the rotation splits.

RallyIQ model

Win probability

BALLST above 50 · W KY below

Biggest swing: 4.9% to Ball St. — set 3, W KY 12-13 BALLST. Attack error by Kaira Knox. BALLST win probability 51% → 56%.

Before first serve

Pre-match

W KY 46.0%54.0% BALLST

Western Ky. wins

3-0

10.9%

3-1

17.1%

3-2

18.0%

Ball St. wins

3-0

14.3%

3-1

20.4%

3-2

19.3%

W KY break %: 39.5% vs this opp
BALLST break %: 40.3% vs this opp

Exact Markov model on each team's RallyIQ serve and receive strength, adjusted for schedule and applied to this matchup (D1 average break % 42.7%). Ratings use the whole season, including this match. Gold = actual result.

Largest win-probability swings

Top plays

01
Kaira KnoxAttack error+4.9%
Attack error by Kaira Knox
Set 3 · W KY 12-13 BALLST · BALLST 51% → 56%
02
Ava SmithKill+4.8%
Kill by Ava Smith (set by Sophie Ledbetter)
Set 3 · W KY 12-14 BALLST · BALLST 56% → 61%
03
Tiffany SnookKill+4.7%
Kill by Tiffany Snook (set by Lindsey Green)
Set 3 · W KY 12-12 BALLST · BALLST 47% → 51%
04
Aubrey SearsAttack error+4.7%
Attack error by Aubrey Sears
Set 4 · W KY 15-18 BALLST · BALLST 86% → 91%
05
Kaira KnoxKill+4.6%
Kill by Kaira Knox (set by Kate Rush)
Set 4 · W KY 15-16 BALLST · W KY 13% → 17%
06
Eliza McKnightAttack error+4.4%
Eliza McKnight stuffed by Gwen Crull
Set 3 · W KY 12-15 BALLST · BALLST 61% → 65%
07
BALLST serverAce+4.3%
Ball St. ace on Tayler Baron
Set 3 · W KY 12-11 BALLST · BALLST 42% → 47%
08
Ava SmithAttack error+4.1%
Attack error by Ava Smith
Set 3 · W KY 11-8 BALLST · W KY 56% → 60%

Official NCAA box

Box score

Western Ky.away

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
22Faith YoungOH	4	11	2	34	.265	3	3	2	5	0	2	2	3	17
21Eliza McKnightOH	4	13	1	22	.545	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.5	13.5
5Kaira KnoxOH	4	9	3	23	.261	1	2	3	6	0	0	0	0	11
20Kate RushS	4	4	1	11	.273	44	2	2	9	0	0	1	0.5	6.5
8Cali FosterL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	9	1	0	0	0	0
16Sonja LaaksonenOH	1	2	2	8	.000	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2
17Alivia SkidmoreOH	4	8	3	27	.185	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	0.5	8.5
2Tayler BaronL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	1	3	2	18	1	0	0	0	3
3Kennedy CherryL/DS	4	0	0	0	–	2	1	1	8	0	0	0	0	1
13Kendall MellerOH	3	5	6	27	-.037	0	0	1	0	1	1	1	1.5	6.5
18Aubrey SearsOH	1	2	1	5	.200	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2
9Camila AdamsDS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		54	19	157	.223	52	11	15	60	5	3	6	6	83

Ball St.home

Player	S	K	E	TA	Hit%	AST	SA	SE	DIG	RE	BS	BA	BLK	PTS
14Ava SmithOH	4	19	3	36	.444	0	0	0	11	4	0	0	0	19
1Audrey GeerOH	4	15	4	37	.297	0	3	0	15	2	0	0	0	18
11Tiffany SnookMB	4	10	3	23	.304	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0.5	10.5
13Gwen CrullMB	4	1	0	6	.167	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	1	2
8Lindsey GreenS	4	0	0	0	–	24	1	0	13	0	0	1	0.5	1.5
17Camryn WiseMB	2	0	2	8	-.250	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21Madison BuckleyOPP	4	8	2	15	.400	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	0.5	8.5
12Sophie LedbetterDS	4	0	0	1	.000	8	1	4	18	3	0	0	0	1
2Reese AxnessS	4	0	0	2	.000	20	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
10Leah PikeMB	2	2	0	8	.250	0	0	0	4	0	0	1	0.5	2.5
3Elizabeth TabelingDS	1	0	0	0	–	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Team totals		55	14	136	.301	52	5	4	70	11	1	4	3	95

Starters listed first. BLK = BS + ½ BA. The box score is the source for every counting stat on this page.

Point differential by rally

Momentum

Longest run 5 W KY · BALLST 7

Set 1

25-20

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 2

Set 2*

20-25

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 6

Set 3

17-25

Longest run 4 W KYBALLST 7

Set 4

21-25

Longest run 5 W KYBALLST 7

Bars above the line = Ball St. leads, below = Western Ky. leads. Bright bars are points inside a run of 3+.

Sideout and break % by rotation slot

Rotations

Western Ky.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	30%7/23	13%1/8
2	88%7/8	53%8/15
3	88%7/8	42%5/12
4	75%6/8	14%1/7
5	55%6/11	50%6/12
6	45%5/11	40%4/10
All	55%38/69	39%25/64

Ball St.

Slot	Sideout %	Break %
1	58%7/12	72%13/18
2	64%7/11	59%10/17
3	58%7/12	13%1/8
4	60%6/10	0%0/7
5	55%6/11	50%6/12
6	75%6/8	14%1/7
All	61%39/64	45%31/69

Slot = rotations since the start of the set (slot 1 is the lineup a team opened the set in), not a fixed player alignment. Only clean sets count (3 of 4 here): sets where the NCAA play-by-play has gaps or score corrections are left out because the rotation can't be tracked through them.

178 rallies

Rally log

#	W KY-BALLST	Srv	Point	End	Player	Setter / blockers / passer	WP Δ
Set 1
1	1-0	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Camryn Wise	blk Faith Young	+2.6
2	1-1	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Sonja Laaksonen		+1.7
3	2-1	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Sonja Laaksonen	set Kate Rush	+1.8
4	3-1	W KY	W KY×4	Attack err	Tiffany Snook		+2.7
5	4-1	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	W KY server	aced Ava Smith	+2.6
6	5-1	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	W KY server	aced Ava Smith	+2.5
7	5-2	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.4
8	6-2	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.7
9	6-3	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.5
10	7-3	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.7
11	7-4	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+1.5
12	7-5	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.5
13	8-5	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Madison Buckley	blk Alivia Skidmore, Eliza McKnight	+1.9
14	9-5	W KY	W KY	Kill	Faith Young		+2.6
15	9-6	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.5
16	10-6	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.8
17	11-6	W KY	W KY	Kill	Sonja Laaksonen	set Kaira Knox	+2.3
18	11-7	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.2
19	11-8	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer		+2.3
20	12-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kate Rush	set Tayler Baron	+1.8
21	12-9	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+1.5
22	12-10	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.8
23	13-10	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+2.2
24	14-10	W KY	W KY	Ace	W KY server	aced Team	+2.9
25	14-11	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
26	15-11	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.0
27	16-11	W KY	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.4
28	16-12	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Kate Rush		+1.1
29	17-12	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.6
30	18-12	W KY	W KY	Ace	W KY server	aced Audrey Geer	+1.7
31	18-13	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+0.7
32	19-13	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.1
33	19-14	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+0.6
34	20-14	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Madison Buckley		+1.0
35	20-15	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Sonja Laaksonen		+0.5
36	20-16	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer		+1.3
37	21-16	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.4
38	21-17	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+0.7
39	21-18	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+1.9
40	22-18	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.0
41	22-19	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+1.1
42	23-19	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	BALLST server		+1.9
43	24-19	W KY	W KY	Ace	W KY server	aced Ava Smith	+1.3
44	24-20	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+0.2
45	25-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+0.5
Set 2
1	0-1	BALLST	BALLST	Ace	BALLST server	aced Cali Foster	+2.7
2	1-1	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.8
3	2-1	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.8
4	3-1	W KY	W KY×4	Attack err	Tiffany Snook	blk Kendall Meller	+2.8
5	4-1	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+2.7
6	4-2	W KY	BALLST×6	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.7
7	4-3	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Kendall Meller	blk Lindsey Green, Tiffany Snook	+2.8
8	4-4	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+2.9
9	4-5	BALLST	BALLST×6	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+3.0
10	4-6	BALLST	BALLST×6	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+2.9
11	4-7	BALLST	BALLST×6	Ace	BALLST server	aced Kendall Meller	+2.8
12	5-7	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.7
13	5-8	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.9
14	5-9	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+2.5
15	6-9	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	BALLST server		+1.5
16	6-10	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Gwen Crull	set Lindsey Green	+1.7
17	6-11	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Alivia Skidmore		+2.2
18	7-11	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.2
19	7-12	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+1.5
20	8-12	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+1.2
21	9-12	W KY	W KY	Feed gap	Placeholder: the NCAA feed skipped this point; only the score change is known.		+2.3
22	9-13	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+1.8
23	10-13	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Faith Young	+1.5
24	11-13	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Camryn Wise	blk Faith Young	+2.8
25	11-14	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.2
26	12-14	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+1.9
27	12-15	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+2.3
28	13-15	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+2.0
29	13-16	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+2.3
30	13-17	BALLST	BALLST	Feed gap	Placeholder: the NCAA feed skipped this point; only the score change is known.		+2.9
31	14-17	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.5
32	14-18	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+2.0
33	14-19	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.2
34	15-19	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+0.9
35	16-19	W KY	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.1
36	16-20	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+2.0
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.3
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.0
39	18-21	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.2
40	18-22	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.0
41	18-23	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
42	19-23	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+0.4
43	20-23	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+1.2
44	20-24	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.6
45	20-25	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+0.6
Set 3
1	0-1	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Leah Pike	set Lindsey Green	+2.3
2	0-2	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+3.4
3	1-2	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	BALLST server		+2.2
4	1-3	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.3
5	2-3	BALLST	W KY×4	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+2.2
6	3-3	W KY	W KY×4	Kill	Kate Rush	set Kennedy Cherry	+3.6
7	4-3	W KY	W KY×4	Attack err	Ava Smith	blk Kate Rush, Faith Young	+3.8
8	5-3	W KY	W KY×4	Ace	W KY server	aced Ava Smith	+3.8
9	5-4	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Alivia Skidmore		+2.4
10	6-4	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+2.6
11	6-5	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.4
12	6-6	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Leah Pike	set Reese Axness	+3.9
13	7-6	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+2.7
14	8-6	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Faith Young	+4.1
15	9-6	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kendall Meller	set Kate Rush	+3.9
16	9-7	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.3
17	9-8	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Sophie Ledbetter	+3.9
18	10-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+2.9
19	11-8	W KY	W KY	Attack err	Ava Smith		+4.1
20	11-9	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+2.4
21	12-9	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+2.8
22	12-10	W KY	BALLST×7	Serve err	W KY server		+2.5
23	12-11	BALLST	BALLST×7	Ace	BALLST server	aced Tayler Baron	+4.3
24	12-12	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+4.7
25	12-13	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Kaira Knox		+4.9
26	12-14	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+4.8
27	12-15	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Eliza McKnight	blk Gwen Crull	+4.4
28	12-16	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+3.7
29	13-16	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.9
30	13-17	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.5
31	14-17	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+1.9
32	14-18	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.5
33	15-18	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.9
34	15-19	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.6
35	16-19	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.8
36	16-20	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+2.6
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Tiffany Snook	blk Kendall Meller, Faith Young	+1.7
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST×5	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+2.6
39	17-22	BALLST	BALLST×5	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Sophie Ledbetter	+2.3
40	17-23	BALLST	BALLST×5	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+1.1
41	17-24	BALLST	BALLST×5	Ace	BALLST server	aced Team	+0.3
42	17-25	BALLST	BALLST×5	Attack err	Kendall Meller		+0.1
Set 4
1	0-1	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Sophie Ledbetter	+3.4
2	0-2	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Faith Young		+3.3
3	0-3	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+3.1
4	0-4	BALLST	BALLST×7	Attack err	Kate Rush		+2.9
5	0-5	BALLST	BALLST×7	Ace	BALLST server	aced Team	+2.6
6	0-6	BALLST	BALLST×7	Bad set	Kate Rush		+2.2
7	0-7	BALLST	BALLST×7	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+1.8
8	1-7	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+0.9
9	1-8	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Tiffany Snook	set Lindsey Green	+1.2
10	2-8	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+0.9
11	2-9	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+1.2
12	3-9	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+0.9
13	3-10	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+1.2
14	4-10	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+0.9
15	5-10	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Kate Rush	set Eliza McKnight	+1.7
16	6-10	W KY	W KY×3	Ace	W KY server	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+2.2
17	6-11	W KY	BALLST×4	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+1.8
18	6-12	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+2.2
19	6-13	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.7
20	6-14	BALLST	BALLST×4	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Reese Axness	+1.2
21	7-14	BALLST	W KY×3	Kill	Eliza McKnight	set Kate Rush	+0.5
22	8-14	W KY	W KY×3	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.1
23	9-14	W KY	W KY×3	Ace	W KY server	aced Audrey Geer	+1.6
24	9-15	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Alivia Skidmore	blk Leah Pike, Madison Buckley	+1.4
25	10-15	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Faith Young	set Kate Rush	+1.0
26	10-16	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.4
27	11-16	BALLST	W KY×5	Kill	Aubrey Sears	set Faith Young	+1.0
28	12-16	W KY	W KY×5	Ace	W KY server	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+2.0
29	13-16	W KY	W KY×5	Ace	W KY server	aced Sophie Ledbetter	+2.8
30	14-16	W KY	W KY×5	Attack err	Ava Smith		+3.7
31	15-16	W KY	W KY×5	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+4.6
32	15-17	W KY	BALLST	Attack err	Faith Young		+3.5
33	15-18	BALLST	BALLST	Attack err	Aubrey Sears		+4.7
34	16-18	BALLST	W KY	Serve err	BALLST server		+2.5
35	16-19	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Lindsey Green	+3.2
36	16-20	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Ava Smith	set Reese Axness	+3.8
37	17-20	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Aubrey Sears	set Kate Rush	+1.7
38	17-21	W KY	BALLST	Serve err	W KY server		+2.5
39	18-21	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Kaira Knox	set Kate Rush	+1.5
40	19-21	W KY	W KY	Kill	Kate Rush	set Kennedy Cherry	+3.7
41	19-22	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+3.7
42	19-23	BALLST	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+3.4
43	20-23	BALLST	W KY	Kill	Alivia Skidmore	set Kate Rush	+1.0
44	20-24	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Madison Buckley	set Reese Axness	+2.0
45	21-24	BALLST	W KY	Attack err	Audrey Geer		+0.5
46	21-25	W KY	BALLST	Kill	Audrey Geer	set Lindsey Green	+1.3

Score shown after each rally, Western Ky. first. WP Δ = match win-probability points gained, colored by the team that gained them. “Feed gap” rows fill points the NCAA play-by-play never logged.