Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services
Men’s Volleyball to Host Loyola in MIVA Quarterfinals
April 13, 2017 | Men's Volleyball
11 Ball State vs. 12 Loyola-Chicago
Saturday, Apr. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind.
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ballstate/mvball/
Live Video: http://ballstatesports.com/watch/?Live=74&type=Live
MUNCIE, Ind. – To earn the 4 seed in the MIVA tournament, the Ball State men's volleyball team needed to sweep Loyola last weekend (April 8) and win by a spread of 20 points. The Cardinals did exactly that, winning the three sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-19. With the victory, Ball State jumped ahead of Loyola to earn the 4 seed and will now host the Ramblers in the MIVA Quarterfinals Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Scouting Loyola:
The Ramblers enter Saturday's match with a 16-11 overall record and 8-7 in conference play. This will be the third time Loyola and the Cardinals meet this season. The first match went to Loyola, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23). Loyola's Ben Plaisted led the match with 12 kills and three service aces along with five digs. Jeff Jendryk had a match high 10 blocks in the first contest.
Loyola then traveled to Muncie on April 8 and fell to the Cardinals, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19). Plaisted had 12 kills and three blocks in that contest while Jendryk added five kills and two blocks.
Cardinals to watch:
Freshman outside attacker Matt Szews is on the MIVA leader board in three different categories. Szews has tallied a total of 337 kills for 3.47 kills per set, placing him third in both those statistics. Szews also sits at third in service aces per set with 0.37. He was just named MIVA Co-Freshman of the Year along with begin named to the All-MIVA First Team and All-Freshman Team.
Senior setter Connor Gross is second in the MIVA with 10.43 assists per set. Gross is sixth in school history (during rally scoring era) in total assists with 1,241. He is fifth in the record books in career assists per set with 9.26. Gross was also just named to the All-MIVA Second Team.
Junior Matt Walsh sits at second in the conference in hitting percentage (.441) and blocks per set (1.21). Those numbers also place him in the top five nationally. Walsh is second in the country with his .441 hitting percentage and fourth in blocks per set. Walsh was also just named to the All-MIVA First Team.
Freshman Blake Reardon has worked his way into the starting lineup and looks to continue powerful play in the MIVA Tournament. In last week's matches against No. 7 Lewis and No. 10 Loyola, Reardon tallied 17 kills for 2.43 kills per set. He also added 16 digs, three total blocks and two service aces.
Edgardo Cartagena has also had a huge impact on the Cardinal's team in the second half of the season. Last weekend, Cartagena had 16 kills for a .278 hitting percentage and 2.29 kills per set. He also had eight digs and three blocks.
MIVA Tournament Information:
Ohio State earned the No. 1 seed with an undefeated 16-0 mark in league play. They will host No. 8 Quincy (2-14). The Hawks make the tournament over Fort Wayne via tiebreaker. The two clubs split the two meetings with both winning in five. They both scored the same amount of points in the two matches. The next tie breaker is sets won and lost in league play. Quincy wins this tie breaker with a .285 mark to Fort Wayne's .281.
Lewis (13-3) is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 seed Lindenwood (4-12).
Grand Canyon (11-5) holds down the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed McKendree (6-10).
Ball State (9-7) is the No. 4 seed and Loyola (9-7) is the No. 5 seed. Loyola defeated Ball State 3-0 earlier this year but Ball State swept Loyola on Saturday. The next tiebreaker is point differential in the two matches, which Ball State won by a single point.
The quarterfinals will be played April 15. The higher seed will host each match in the MIVA Tournament. The tournament will reseed after the quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for April 19. The MIVA Championship will be played April 22.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men's volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB.
Saturday, Apr. 15 (7:30 p.m.)
Muncie, Ind.
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/ballstate/mvball/
Live Video: http://ballstatesports.com/watch/?Live=74&type=Live
MUNCIE, Ind. – To earn the 4 seed in the MIVA tournament, the Ball State men's volleyball team needed to sweep Loyola last weekend (April 8) and win by a spread of 20 points. The Cardinals did exactly that, winning the three sets 25-21, 25-15, 25-19. With the victory, Ball State jumped ahead of Loyola to earn the 4 seed and will now host the Ramblers in the MIVA Quarterfinals Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Scouting Loyola:
The Ramblers enter Saturday's match with a 16-11 overall record and 8-7 in conference play. This will be the third time Loyola and the Cardinals meet this season. The first match went to Loyola, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-23). Loyola's Ben Plaisted led the match with 12 kills and three service aces along with five digs. Jeff Jendryk had a match high 10 blocks in the first contest.
Loyola then traveled to Muncie on April 8 and fell to the Cardinals, 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-19). Plaisted had 12 kills and three blocks in that contest while Jendryk added five kills and two blocks.
Cardinals to watch:
Freshman outside attacker Matt Szews is on the MIVA leader board in three different categories. Szews has tallied a total of 337 kills for 3.47 kills per set, placing him third in both those statistics. Szews also sits at third in service aces per set with 0.37. He was just named MIVA Co-Freshman of the Year along with begin named to the All-MIVA First Team and All-Freshman Team.
Senior setter Connor Gross is second in the MIVA with 10.43 assists per set. Gross is sixth in school history (during rally scoring era) in total assists with 1,241. He is fifth in the record books in career assists per set with 9.26. Gross was also just named to the All-MIVA Second Team.
Junior Matt Walsh sits at second in the conference in hitting percentage (.441) and blocks per set (1.21). Those numbers also place him in the top five nationally. Walsh is second in the country with his .441 hitting percentage and fourth in blocks per set. Walsh was also just named to the All-MIVA First Team.
Freshman Blake Reardon has worked his way into the starting lineup and looks to continue powerful play in the MIVA Tournament. In last week's matches against No. 7 Lewis and No. 10 Loyola, Reardon tallied 17 kills for 2.43 kills per set. He also added 16 digs, three total blocks and two service aces.
Edgardo Cartagena has also had a huge impact on the Cardinal's team in the second half of the season. Last weekend, Cartagena had 16 kills for a .278 hitting percentage and 2.29 kills per set. He also had eight digs and three blocks.
MIVA Tournament Information:
Ohio State earned the No. 1 seed with an undefeated 16-0 mark in league play. They will host No. 8 Quincy (2-14). The Hawks make the tournament over Fort Wayne via tiebreaker. The two clubs split the two meetings with both winning in five. They both scored the same amount of points in the two matches. The next tie breaker is sets won and lost in league play. Quincy wins this tie breaker with a .285 mark to Fort Wayne's .281.
Lewis (13-3) is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 seed Lindenwood (4-12).
Grand Canyon (11-5) holds down the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed McKendree (6-10).
Ball State (9-7) is the No. 4 seed and Loyola (9-7) is the No. 5 seed. Loyola defeated Ball State 3-0 earlier this year but Ball State swept Loyola on Saturday. The next tiebreaker is point differential in the two matches, which Ball State won by a single point.
The quarterfinals will be played April 15. The higher seed will host each match in the MIVA Tournament. The tournament will reseed after the quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for April 19. The MIVA Championship will be played April 22.
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State men's volleyball team, please follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateMVB.
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