Ball State University Athletics
No. 14 Men's Volleyball Upsets No. 6 Penn State
January 14, 2006 | Men's Volleyball
State College, Pa. - - The No. 14 Ball State (2-0) men's volleyball team pulled off a 3-0 (32-30, 30-28, 30-28) upset of host No. 6 Penn State (1-1) Saturday evening at Rec Hall's South Gym. The Cardinals survived a late Nittany Lions rally in the first game, rebounded from down 19-11 in the second stanza and overcame a 27-25 deficit in the third frame to win the match.
"The team played with a lot of tenacity tonight," said head coach Joel Walton. "Our scrappy play on defense led to their offense having a tough time scoring points. To go on the road and beat the No. 6 team in the country is a nice start to the season."
Patrick Durbin (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) paced all players with a match-high 16 kills win the win, while hitting at a .481 (
Matt McCarthy (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) also added double-figure kills for the Cardinals, collecting a career-high 12 in the contest. He also hit for a career-best .455 (
"Both Patrick and Matt played a huge roll in our victory tonight," Walton added. "Not only did they turn in solid offensive numbers, they also help establish our blocking."
After trading the first two points of the match, the Cardinals opened up a four-point advantage at 7-3 and eventually took a five-point edge at 19-14. Penn State would fight back, however, posting an 8-3 run to tie the set at 22. Ball State would regain a three-point lead at 27-24 - - capped by a McCarthy kill, only to see PSU tie the set again at 28-28.
A Penn State attack error would give BSU its first game point at 29-28. After a Penn State kill, Durbin would follow with a kill of his own to give BSU its second game-point at 30-29. A BSU attack error would follow, before a Penn State service ace - - one of the team's seven in the set - - would give Ball State its third and final game point.
This time, BSU setter Dave Carlson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Coon Rapids H.S.) would end the frame with a kill just over the Penn State defense and inside the back line.
In the second stanza, the Cardinals would see the Nittany Lions jump out to a 19-11 advantage. However, Ball State would not lie down, posting a 19-9 rally of its own to win the game. BSU tied the frame at 21-21 on a Durbin kill off a Todd Chamberlain (Louisville, Ky./Trinity H.S.) serve. Chamberlain entered the game with BSU trailing 19-12 and provided three kills and a block in the Cardinals rally. The game-winning point also came off a Chamberlain serve which for a setter mishandle.
The third and final frame of the night proved to be the toughest, as there were six lead changes and 14 total ties. Early in the frame, Ball State gained several leads, while the middle and late portion for the contest saw Penn State ahead.
The Nittany Lion's looked poised to send the match to a fourth-game with a 27-25 edge, but kills from Chamberlain and Durbin would help BSU tie the set at 28. BSU would go on to win the match on back-to-back Penn State attack errors.
BSU's Chamberlain would finish the match with four kills, two digs, two blocks and his first career-service ace. Carlson would pace all players with 38 assists, while recording six digs, three kills, a pair of aces and a block assists.
"Todd came off the bench for us in the middle of the second game and did a good job of playing under pressure. He provided us with a nice energy boost off of the bench when we needed it the most."
"I also though Dave did a nice job setting the ball and getting our offense going when we needed it tonight."
Defensively, Ian Peckler (Vernon Hills, Ill./Vernon Hills) posted a match-best 12 digs, while Evan Berg (Bristol, Wis./Central H.S.) added nine. Berg also logged five kills and four assists.
Zoran Grabovac (Des Moines, Iowa/Hoover H.S.) added five blocks and four kills in the win, while Nick Meyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller H.S.) added four kills and a pair of blocks.
Also factoring in the win were Doug Willmann (St. Louis, Mo./Parkway South H.S.), Ted Summers-Torres (San Diego, Calif./University of San Diego H.S.) and Mark Rumschik (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park H.S.).
Statistically, the teams were pretty well matched throughout the contest, with Ball State coming out slightly ahead in three categories. BSU held a .195 (48-25-118) to .174 (44-25-109) advantage in hitting, a 39-37 lead in digs and a 45-42 edge in assists. Penn State won the blocking (14 to 10.5) and service ace (4 to 3) categories.
Matt Proper paced the Nittany Lions with 14 kills in the contest, while Aaron Smith turned in a team-best 11 digs.
The Cardinals have a quick turnaround Sunday, as they travel about an hour south to face St. Francis (Pa.) at
