Volleyball Drops First Contest of Notre Dame Tournament

Saturday, August 29

South Bend, Ind.

3 p.m. ET

Xavier University

0-2,0-0Big East

Ball State

2-0,0-0MAC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Xavier	19	25	22	22	1
Ball St.	25	21	25	25	3

Volleyball Drops First Contest of Notre Dame Tournament

08.29.26 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Sydney Ragland, Athletic Communications

SOUTH BEND, IND. - Xavier volleyball lost 3-1 against Ball State in the first match of the Notre Dame Tournament Saturday, August 29.

Charlotte Moriarty led the match in kills for the second game in a row with 16. She hit .170 with 11 digs on the afternoon.

The Musketeers had a slow start down 7-14 in the opening frame before going on a 3-0 run to make it 10-14. Xavier would get within four points at 19-23 off a kill by Catherine Flaharty, but Ball State would pull through to end the set 25-19.

Xavier took the second set 25-21 to level the match. Moriarty had five kills while Flaharty had four for XU in the second frame. Kelsey Niesen would take the 3-2 lead on a service ace for Xavier early, and Ball State would not regain the lead for the remainder of the set. Ball State came within one point (21-20), but two kills by Flaharty and two Ball State errors would secure the second set victory for the Musketeers.

All tied up going into the third set; XU would lead for most of the game until Ball State tied the game 20-20. Despite a Ball State service error and a kill from Moriarty, Xavier would drop the set 25-22.

Macy Hatkevich started the fourth set with a service ace to put XU on the board before setting to Moriarty who made the kill for the second point. Ava Tilden entered the set and immediately had two kills to go up 4-2 against Ball State. The Musketeers were leading 13-10 after McKinley Boehm sent a bomb over the net for a service ace. Ball State then took the lead (16-15) and would not lose control of the set again, winning 25-22 in the final frame.

The Musketeers move to 0-2 overall in 2026.

Notables

Nine Musketeers played all four sets against Ball State.

Flaharty had a career-high 12 kills in the match hitting .296.

Niesen had a career-high 27 digs to pair with her service ace.

The Indiana native, Hatkevich tallied two kills, 37 assists, and 11 digs across four frames of work.

Tilden hit .206 with 12 kills for a season high.

up next

Xavier remains in Indiana to face Notre Dame Sunday, August 30 at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed on ACCNX as the Musketeers go up against the Fighting Irish.